Uses of Enable or Disable Hibernation in Windows 7

In Windows XP enabling Hibernate option was a very easy task, but we have to follow a different approach to do the same job in Vista and Windows 7.

If the hibernate option is missing, you may have the hybrid sleep option turned on.

Hibernation is similar to putting your computer to sleep only it saves the state of all open documents, files and folders in a file on your hard disk and then shuts down your computer.

The Hiberfil.sys hidden system file is located in the root folder of the drive where the operating system is installed. The computer uses the Hiberfil.sys file to store a copy of the system memory on the hard disk when the hybrid sleep setting is turned on.The Windows Kernel Power Manager reserves this file when you install Windows. The size of this file is approximately equal to how much random access memory (RAM) is installed on the computer. If this file is not present, the computer cannot hibernate.

To make hibernation unavailable, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then type cmd in the Start Search box.
2. In the search results list, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as Administrator.
3. When you are prompted by User Account Control, click Continue.
4. At the command prompt, type powercfg.exe /hibernate off, and then press ENTER.
5. Type exit and then press ENTER to close the Command Prompt window.

To make hibernation available, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then type cmd in the Start Search box.
2. In the search results list, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as Administrator.
3. When you are prompted by User Account Control, click Continue.
4. At the command prompt, type powercfg.exe /hibernate on, and then press ENTER.
5. Type exit and then press ENTER to close the Command Prompt window. 

Warning: You may lose data if you make hibernation unavailable if a power loss occurs while the hybrid sleep setting is turned on. When you make hibernation unavailable, hybrid sleep does not work.