Put Your Computer On Hibernation

I can’t get my computer to hibernate. Is there a lullaby switch I have to engage to put it to sleep?

It’s not called a lullaby switch, but you need to take some steps to make hibernation possible. Hibernation is a useful function; its purpose is to save electricity without actually turning the computer off and spare you the start-up delay. When a computer is in hibernation, all functions appear to be shut down. However, just before it nods off, it saves an image of the computer’s current state—not only recording which files are open but where you were working in each file. When you reawaken the computer, it nearly instantly returns to its pre-hibernation condition—skipping all those file-loading steps.

To activate hibernation, click on Control Panel, Power Options, the Hibernate tab and place a check at Enable hibernation (see screenshot).

The next time you click on Shut Down, you’ll get the Hibernation option. To reawaken the computer, just press the power button.

You also have the option to program your computer to go into hibernation after it sits idle for a period of time. To schedule that, click on Control Panel, Display, Screen Saver, Power and click on the arrow across from System hibernates and select an idle time (see screenshot).