You are now entering the PC Anatomy portal

Hibernate is a power-saving mode for computers that saves the current system state, including all open programs and data, to the hard drive and then fully powers down the machine. When the computer is turned back on, it loads the saved state from the hard drive, allowing the user to resume exactly where they left off, though this takes longer than resuming from sleep mode. It uses virtually no power, making it ideal for extended periods of inactivity, unlike sleep mode, which keeps power to the RAM.

How it works

The contents of the computer's random-access memory (RAM) are saved to a storage drive. The computer then completely shuts down, consuming no power. When the computer is powered back on, the saved state is restored from the hard drive to the RAM, and all programs and documents open exactly as they were.

When to use it

Hibernate: Best for extended periods of inactivity, like overnight or for a long trip, because it saves more power than sleep and eliminates the need to save work before shutting down.