How to set a ‘hibernate’ time on your Windows 11 computer

• You can set your computer’s hibernation time in Windows 11’s Control Panel under Power Options.
• Before you can do that, you might need to enable the hibernate mode, which is disabled by default in Windows 11.
• Hibernate mode is more efficient than sleep mode because it saves your system settings to the hard drive and shuts the PC down completely.

Microsoft has been de-emphasizing the hibernation mode in Windows for years, perhaps to reduce confusion with the very similar sleep mode, which is available in the shutdown options. Even so, hibernation is a useful feature, so you may want to enable it in Windows 11 and routinely use it to shut down your PC. 

What is Windows’ hibernate mode?

You may already be familiar with sleep mode. When you select it at shutdown, the current state of your computer (including all running apps, open windows, and temporary settings) is saved in RAM and your computer goes into a low-power mode. If you’re using a laptop, there’s still a small drain on the battery to maintain RAM, but your entire desktop is restored almost instantly when you wake it up again. 

Hibernate mode is similar. All the same system settings are saved to a file on your computer’s hard drive or SSD — which requires no power to maintain — and then the computer is shut down completely. When you turn the computer back on, all your apps and windows are restored just as if you had put it to sleep, but without the constant drain on the battery that sleep mode imposes. Hibernate mode is also slightly safer, in that a power failure or running the battery completely down won’t cause you to lose any work. 

How to enable hibernate mode in Windows 11

Microsoft removed hibernate mode from the standard shutdown menu, so you’ll need to enable it for use. 

1. Click the Start button and then type “Control panel.” Click Control Panel when you see it appear in the search results.

2. Click System and Security. 

3. In the Power Options section, click Change what the power buttons do.

4. In the Define power buttons and turn on password protection section, click Change settings that are currently unavailable. 

5. In the Shutdown settings section, click the checkbox for Hibernate. 

6. Click Save changes.

How to set a time to start hibernate mode in Windows 11

In addition to manually putting your computer into hibernate mode via the Start menu, you can set your computer to hibernate automatically after a certain period of inactivity – in the same way you can set your computer to sleep automatically. 

1. Click the Start button and then type “Control panel.” Click Control Panel when you see it appear in the search results.

2. Click System and Security. 

3. Click Power Options.

4. To the right of the currently selected power plan, click Change plan settings.

5. On the Edit Plan Settings page, click Change advanced power settings.

6. On the Power Options dialog box, click the Plus sign to the left of Sleep to expand those options.

7. Expand Hibernate after. 

8. Now you can choose the timing settings you prefer for when your computer hibernates. You can set different times for when the computer is running on battery and when it is plugged in.