Restore Hibernate option if missing in Windows

Posted on October 24, 2008 at 5:45 am

Recently, I reformatted my computer and I noticed that when I went to shutdown the computer, there was no option to Hibernate! Perform I reformatted, I did have the option to Hibernate along with Shutdown, Restart and Standby. So how did my Hibernate option go missing?

Well, apparently even if your computer supports hibernation, you have to configure Windows to be able to properly use it! Go figure! So here’s how you can restore the Hibernate option in the Shutdown menu. Hibernation option is missing in the image below:

Firstly, you need to make sure Hibernation is turned on in Windows. Here’s how to enable hibernation. Also, read my previous post on how to configure advanced power options in Windows.

Step 1: Click on Start and then Control Panel. Then click on Power Options.

Step 2: Click on the Hibernate tab and check the box that says Enable Hibernation. If you do not see a Hibernation tab in the Power Options dialog, your computer may not support Hibernation or you have to update the computer BIOS.

Now that you have enabled Hibernation, there are two ways you can Hibernate your computer. Firstly, you can click Start and then Turn Off and simply press and hold the SHIFT key to switch the option from Stand By to Hibernate.

As you can see, now I can just click on Hibernate. Of course, this is still a pain because you have to press the SHIFT key whereas it’s much nicer if it’s simply another button you can click on.

If you want the Hibernate option to show up in the shutdown list, you will have to update all your drivers one by one! It’s a royal pain, but the option is usually missing after you freshly install Windows because the drivers are not up to date. The best option is to go to your computer manufacture’s website and download the drivers for everything including network card, hard drive, chipset, video card, sound card, etc.

Still having problems with your Hibernate option not showing up? Post a comment and I will try to help! Enjoy!

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