No "Hibernate" Button Is Present After You Click "Turn off Computer" (291790)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional
  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
This article was previously published under Q291790

SYMPTOMS

After you click Turn off computer on the Start menu, you may only see the following buttons even though you have enabled hibernation:

Stand by
Turn Off
Restart

Note: Computers that are on a domain that are using the classic Shut Down menu, do not have these buttons.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs because Windows displays the Stand by button instead of the Hibernate button on computers that support standby.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this behavior, after you click Turn off computer, hold down the SHIFT key to make the Stand by button change to Hibernate.

MORE INFORMATION

Standby

In standby, the computer slows down and uses less electrical power. Programs continue to run in the background although the computer may appears to be off. The computer "wakes up" when it detects user input. With some computers, you can press the power button to wake up the computer.

Note: If your computer experiences a power outage during standby, all work that you have not saved is lost because the computer is still running in the background.

Hibernation

Hibernation, which reduces the start time, saves the complete state of the computer and turns off the power. When you resume from hibernation the BIOS performs the typical Power On Self Test (POST), and then reads the hibernation file, Hiberfil.sys, to restore the state of the computer. Everything that was running when you put the computer in hibernation is restored.

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

291559 How to Change the Logon Window and the Shutdown Preferences

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:1/15/2006
Keywords:kbprb kbui KB291790
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