How to Show Hibernate Option in the Windows 11 Start menu

Want to use the Hibernate feature? Here is how to enable and show the hibernate option in the Windows 11 Start menu.

What is the hibernate feature?

Hibernate is one of those features that everyone should know and use. When you hibernate Windows, it will save the system state to disk and shut down the computer. Since the system state is saved, it will be restored when you turn on the computer.

As good as the hibernate feature is, Microsoft long removed it from Windows. In fact, the last time we actively saw the hibernate option was in Windows 7. A couple of the main reasons for removing or disabling the hibernate option is its outdated nature and the fact that there is a much better alternative called Hybrid Sleep. If you don’t know, Hybrid Sleep combines both Sleep and Hibernate functionality. i.e., when you put the system to sleep, Windows will copy the system state to both memory and disk. That way, you can resume the system faster if it is not entirely powered off, and if it is powered off, you can still resume it because the system state is saved to the disk.

Why enable hibernate feature?

Though the Hybrid Sleep is far superior to hibernate, not every system is supported. Even if it is supported, you might not want to use it due to compatibility issues. In that case, you can turn on hibernate and show the hibernate option in the Windows 11 Start menu.

If you want to use the hibernate feature, you need to enable it first. Once enabled, you will see the hibernate option in the Windows 11 Start menu. Here is how to enable hibernate in Windows 11.

Enable hibernate and show it in Windows 11 start menu

To enable hibernate in Windows 11 and show it in the Start menu, follow the steps given below.

1. Open the Start menu.
2. Search and open “Control Panel.”
3. Set “View by” to “Large icons.”
4. Find and click on “Power Options.”
5. Click on the “Choose what the power buttons do” link.
6. Click on “Change settings that are currently unavailable.”
7. Select the “Hibernate” checkbox.
8. Click “Apply.”
9. Close the Control Panel window.
10. The hibernate option will appear in the Start menu.

Detailed steps:

We need to open the control panel first. Either search for “Control Panel” in the Start menu or use the “control” Run command. After opening the Control Panel window, set the “View by” to “Large icons” and click on “Power Options.”

In the Power Options window, click on the “Choose what the power buttons do” link on the sidebar.

Next, click on the “Change settings that are currently unavailable” link at the top.

Now, select the “Hibernate” checkbox and click the “Apply” and “Ok” buttons. Finally, close the Control Panel window.

With that, the Hibernate feature is enabled in Windows 11. From now on, you will see the hibernate option in the Start menu power options.

You will also see the hibernate option in the Power User menu (Win + X).

That is all. It is that simple to enable and show hibernate option in the Windows 11 Start menu.