Hibernate Mode

What Does Hibernate Mode Mean?

Hibernate mode is a power management mode that powers down the computer while maintaining its previous state. In this mode, the current state of the system is saved from the random access memory (RAM) to the hard drive before shutting the system down. When the user turns the system back on, the computer resumes its pre-hibernation state.

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Techopedia Explains Hibernate Mode

This mode saves power better than sleep mode because the device is completely powered down and therefore uses no electrical power, just as if the device is switched off. Sometimes, using this mode can cause faulty operations of some programs upon restarting due to some problems with the hibernation software; it may also terminate connections to peripheral devices. Hibernate mode is usually compared to sleep mode but sleep mode simply powers down the processing functions of the device while still consuming power to maintain the contents of the RAM for an instantaneous wake up. So while sleep mode only saves power, hibernate mode totally cuts off consumption.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…