Why do I have no hibernation mode in Windows 7?

I have installed Windows 7 two days ago.

Why is there no hibernation mode in my licensed Windows 7 Ultimate?

I have tried using these commands to enable it, but they didn't work:

powercfg -h on
powercfg -hibernate on

What could be the problem? On Windows XP, I was able to hibernate.

Things I've checked:

I've looked under the arrow next to Shutdown, it's not there.
I have executed the above commands with admin privileges.
I have installed the latest drivers.

Edit Hybrid Sleep was enabled, after I disabled it, the Hibernation mode button appiered.

Little Helper

Posted 2011-09-19T18:21:02.187

Reputation: 1 906

Keep in mind that even if that button is not there, you still may be able to hibernate with the power button: check Control Panel > 'Change what the power buttons do' – golimar – 2014-12-16T13:24:00.510

Have you looked under the arrow next to Shutdown? – Tamara Wijsman – 2011-09-19T18:24:34.880

Thats the problem, it isn't there. – Little Helper – 2011-09-19T18:26:30.197

Did you execute these commands as administrator? See the last FAQ here.

– Tamara Wijsman – 2011-09-19T18:29:17.477

Yes, executed with admin – Little Helper – 2011-09-19T18:29:58.660

The second FAQ here lists some causes that you could check. Also check out if the power options are set right. Given that you installed this 2 days ago, it might be the case that you haven't installed all drivers?

– Tamara Wijsman – 2011-09-19T18:34:24.567

I have latest drivers :) – Little Helper – 2011-09-19T18:35:04.893

Given that Windows XP works I believe it's not the BIOS, the only suggestion left is that Hybrid Sleep could be enabled in your Power Options; but, it would be weird if they were different from their default settings. Does manually executing shutdown /h work regardless? – Tamara Wijsman – 2011-09-19T18:38:45.090

Yes Hybrid Sleep is enabled. Do i need to turn it off? – Little Helper – 2011-09-19T18:41:05.507

You should do powercfg -energy. I'll bet it'll come back with a problem. – Shinrai – 2011-09-19T18:42:05.953

@Robrok: Yes, as the second FAQ on Sleep/Hiberantion of Microsoft mentions. I've made up an answer...

– Tamara Wijsman – 2011-09-19T18:49:26.943

Answers

Yes, Hybrid Sleep is most likely causing this, see the second FAQ. Disable it by turning it's setting to Off.

What is Hybrid Sleep?

Hybrid sleep is another new power-saving feature designed primarily for desktop computers. Hybrid sleep saves any open documents and programs to memory and to your hard disk, and then puts your computer into a low-power state.

Unlike mobile PCs, desktop computers typically don't have battery-based power backup. So if a sudden power failure occurs to a desktop computer in standard sleep mode, data loss could occur.

But with hybrid sleep turned on, Windows can restore your work from your hard disk. On desktop computers, hybrid sleep is typically turned on by default.

When hybrid sleep is turned on, clicking Sleep automatically puts your computer into hybrid sleep. When hybrid sleep is turned off, or if your computer doesn't support hybrid sleep, clicking Sleep puts the computer to sleep.

— Microsoft - Turn off a computer FAQ

How does Hybrid Sleep relate to Hibernate?

Hybrid Sleep uses Hibernate to save the memory to disk, but doesn't actually hibernate the computer.

It can be configured to hibernate the computer after a certain time, which disallows manual hibernation...

To turn Hybrid Sleep on or off:

Open Power Options by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Power Options.

On the Select a power plan page, click Change plan settings under the selected plan.

On the Change settings for the plan page, click Change advanced power settings.

On the Advanced settings tab, expand Sleep, expand Allow hybrid sleep, and then:

If you are using a mobile PC, click On battery or Plugged in (or both), click the arrow, and then click On/Off.

If you are using a desktop computer, click Setting, click the arrow, and then click On/Off.

Click OK, and then click Save changes.

— Microsoft - Turn off a computer FAQ

Tamara Wijsman

Posted 2011-09-19T18:21:02.187

Reputation: 54 163

3Hybrid sleep, IMO is more advantageous than either sleep or hibernate. You have the resume speed of Sleep but you also are immune to power failures like Hibernation. It is a Win-Win. – surfasb – 2011-09-20T02:09:18.923