How to enable Hibernate on Windows 11

• To enable Hibernate on Windows 11, open PowerShell or Command Prompt (admin) and run the “powercfg /hibernate on” command, then open the Control Panel’s “Power Options” page, click the “Choose what the power button does” setting, and turn on “Hibernate.”
• You can also enable Hibernate by pressing the Power button or closing the laptop lid.
• To disable hibernation, open the Control Panel’s “Power Options” page, click the “Choose what the power button does” setting, turn off “Hibernate,” and then run the powercfg /hibernate off command from PowerShell or Command Prompt (admin).
• Alternatively, you can configure the hibernation feature through the Registry by modifying the “HibernateEnabled” key.

On Windows 11, you can enable Hibernate to power down your computer while saving your current session, so you can pick up exactly where you left off the next time you turn it on. Although the feature remains available, it’s disabled by default on many installations, so you must enable it before it appears in the Power menu.

Unlike Sleep, which keeps your session in memory and continues using a small amount of power, Hibernate writes the contents of memory to the hiberfil.sys file on the system drive and then shuts down the device completely. When you power the device back on, Windows restores your previous session, including your open apps and files.

Hibernate is especially useful on laptops because it preserves battery life while keeping your work intact. It’s also a good alternative to shutting down when you want to resume your work quickly without having to reopen everything.

Since the option is hidden by default, you’ll first need to enable Hibernate using Command Prompt or PowerShell. After enabling the feature, you can add the “Hibernate” option to the Power menu in the Start menu, configure the power button to hibernate the device, or choose to hibernate automatically when closing the laptop lid.

In this guide, I’ll show you how to enable or disable Hibernate on Windows 11, add the option to the Power menu, and configure how the feature works on your computer.

• Enable Hibernate on Windows 11
• Disable Hibernate on Windows 11
• Pureinfotech’s Take

Enable Hibernate on Windows 11

On Windows 11, you can enable hibernation power mode through the Command Prompt, PowerShell, and the Registry.

From Command Prompt or PowerShell

To enable Hibernate on Windows 11, follow these steps:

1. Open Start on Windows 11.

2. Search for Command Prompt (or PowerShell), right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

3. Type the following command to check the hibernation status and press Enter:

   powercfg /availablesleepstates

4. Type the following command to enable Hibernate on Windows 11 and press Enter:

   powercfg /hibernate on

   

5. Close the Command Prompt (or PowerShell) console.

6. Open Control Panel.

7. Click on Hardware and Sound.

8. Click on Power Options.

9. Click the “Choose what the power button does” option.

   

10. Click the “Change settings that are currently unavailable” option.

11. Under the “Shutdown settings” section, check the Hibernate option.

    

12. (Optional) Select the Hibernate option in the “When I press the power button” setting under the “Power button and lid settings” section to enable hibernation when the power button is pressed.

    

13. Choose the Hibernate option in the “When I close the lid” setting to allow hibernation when closing the laptop’s lid.

14. Click the Save Changes button.

Once you complete the steps, the hibernation feature will be enabled on Windows 11, and the option will be available in the Power menu in the Start menu.

Configure Hibernate from the Settings app

While you can configure the power button and lid close action to hibernate from the Control Panel, starting on Windows 11 24H2 and higher releases, including versions 25H2 and 26H2, you can also configure these features from the Settings app. Here’s how:

1. Open Settings.

2. Click on System.

3. Click the Power & battery page on the right side.

4. Configure the drop-down menus to use Hibernate when you press the power button or close the laptop lid under the “Lid & power button controls” section.

While you can map physical buttons here, toggling the actual “Hibernate” button in the classic Start menu’s Power options still requires using the Control Panel method outlined above.

From Registry 

To enable Hibernate from the Registry, follow these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for regedit and click the top result to open the Registry.

3. Browse to the following path:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power

4. Right-click the HibernateEnabled DWORD and choose the Modify option.

5. Change the value from 0 to 1.

   

6. Click the OK button.

7. Restart the computer.

After you complete the steps, the power mode will be enabled on your computer.

Regardless of the method you choose, when you enable hibernation, Windows 11 reserves a chunk of your storage drive (often equal to 75 percent or more of your installed system memory) for the hidden hiberfil.sys file. If your laptop is tight on storage space, you can shrink this file’s footprint by running the powercfg /hibernate /size 50 command in Command Prompt (admin), which compresses the system state file to save local storage.

Disable Hibernate on Windows 11

You can also use the Registry, Command Prompt, or PowerShell to disable Hibernate on your computer.

From Command Prompt or PowerShell

To disable Hibernate on Windows 11, follow these steps:

1. Open Control Panel.

2. Click on Hardware and Sound.

3. Click on Power Options.

4. Click the “Choose what the power button does” option.

   

5. Click the “Change settings that are currently unavailable” option.

6. Under the “Shutdown settings” section, clear the Hibernate option.

   

7. Click the Save Changes button.

8. Open Start.

9. (Optional) Search for Command Prompt (or PowerShell), right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

   Quick tip: Once you clear the option from the Control Panel, it’ll no longer appear in the Power Options menu. However, if you want to disable the feature, you will need to use the “powercfg” tool.

10. Type the following command to disable Hibernate on Windows 11 and press Enter:

    powercfg /hibernate off

    

11. Type the following command to confirm the hibernation has been disabled and press Enter:

    powercfg /availablesleepstates

After you complete the steps, the Hibernate feature will be disabled on Windows 11.

From Registry 

To disable Hibernate from the Registry, follow these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for regedit and click the top result to open the Registry.

3. Navigate to the following path:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power

4. Right-click the HibernateEnabled DWORD and choose the Modify option.

5. Change the value from 1 to 0.

   

6. Click the OK button.

7. Restart the computer.

After you complete the steps, the power mode will be disabled on your computer.

Pureinfotech’s Take

I still think Hibernate is one of the most underrated features in the operating system. Fast SSDs have made cold boots incredibly quick, so a lot of people simply shut down their computers without thinking twice. However, if you’re someone who regularly jumps back into the same projects, Hibernate is hard to beat because it restores your entire workspace without draining the battery like Sleep can.

I also like that Microsoft has been moving more power settings into the Settings app in recent Windows 11 releases. Even so, it’s a little frustrating that enabling Hibernate and adding it to the Start menu still requires a trip through Control Panel and, in many cases, a command-line tool. It feels like another reminder that Windows power management is still split between old and new interfaces.

If you use a desktop that stays plugged in all the time, Hibernate probably isn’t something you’ll use every day. On a laptop, though, I recommend enabling it, especially if you travel or frequently step away from work without wanting to close all your apps.

What are your thoughts about Hibernate on Windows 11? Do you use it instead of Sleep or Shut down? Let me know in the comments.

Update July 16, 2026: This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect changes to the process.