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Note: Microsoft will end support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. See our Microsoft Windows 10 End of Support Announcement for more information. Are you having trouble with Sleep or Hibernation mode on your computer? This article takes you through a series of ordered steps. Learn how to identify and resolve any issues with the sleep and hibernation mode in the Windows 11 and Windows 10 operating system. Computer Power States S1/S2/S3 - Sleep : Your computer appears to be off. It uses less power than leaving the computer turned on but uses more power than hibernation. S3 consumes less power than S2, and S2 consumes less power than S1. Your computer typically supports one of these three states. In these states, the computer volatile memory is kept refreshed to maintain the computer state when it went to sleep. Some internal components continue to get power so the computer can wake from input from the keyboard, LAN, or a USB device. (This is like pausing and unpausing the computer.) S4 - Hibernate : Your computer appears to be off. This mode uses the lowest level of power consumption, short of turning the computer off. In this state, the computer saves the contents of the volatile memory to a hibernation file. This is to maintain the computer states when it goes into hibernation. Some internal components remain powered so the computer can wake from input from the keyboard, LAN, or a USB device. The working context can be restored if it was stored on nonvolatile media. (This is like copying all open and running apps to media and shutting down, then reloading the saved apps and data on startup.) For more information about Computer Power States, see the following document: System Power States Back to Top
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Troubleshooting Steps Run through the steps below in order to identify and resolve your issue: Show all | Hide all 1. Verify what the computer state of the computer is? The first step is to identify whether your computer is Off, in Sleep or in Hibernation by checking the indicators on your computer: Understanding Beep Codes on a Dell Notebook Personal Computer A reference guide to the Precision Mobile Workstation Diagnostic Indicators Diagnostic and Battery Indicators for Dell Latitude Laptops and Tablets A reference guide to the XPS Notebook Diagnostic Indicators A reference guide to the Vostro Notebook Diagnostic Indicators A reference guide to the Inspiron Notebook Diagnostic Indicators Understanding Beep Codes on a Dell Desktop Personal Computer A reference guide to the Precision Workstation Diagnostic Indicators A reference guide to the Dell OptiPlex Diagnostic Indicators A reference guide to the XPS Desktop Diagnostic Indicators A reference guide to the Vostro Desktop Diagnostic Indicators A reference guide to the Inspiron Desktop Diagnostic Indicators NOTE: This general guideline is for when your computer was working ok: When your computer resumes from Sleep, it goes straight to your login screen. When your computer resumes from Hibernation, it goes through the POST process again. It says it is restoring windows before going to your login screen. 2. Confirm what is the Physical setup of the computer? Confirm the physical setup of your computer to ensure that it is not affecting how your computer is operating: Check all the cabling going to and from your computer. Is it firmly seated in place? Check that all powered devices have power. Check that no media is in any reader through the computer booting. Check that another device or object is not crushing or activating an input device. Check that no damage has occurred, or liquid has been spilt on the computer or its devices. NOTE: For laptop users, this is especially relevant when dealing with Docks such as the WD15 or TB16. To check if the same issue exists when the item is connected or disconnected. (That is Docked or Undocked.) 3. What method are you using to wake the computer? Methods to wake from Sleep You could resume from sleep by using any input device. This can be tapping any key on the keyboard, clicking or moving a mouse, power button. (Alternatively, if Wake-on-LAN is set, a timer has been scheduled or touching the touchpad, opening the lid, or pressing the sleep button.) Methods to wake from Hibernation Press the flashing power button or press a key on the keyboard. (If you have configured hibernation to wake on a key press.) NOTE: Be aware this can differ from machine to machine. If in doubt, press the power button as this is universal across computers. 4. Have you updated the BIOS to the latest revision? Open a browser and go to the Dell Support Site. Enter your computer's service tag to get a page matched to how your computer shipped from Dell. (Alternatively, select your computer type from the product list to get a list of general information for your computer type.) Select Drivers & Downloads on the left. Change the drop-down menu below Category to select Basic Input/Output System (BIOS). Click the download button to the right of the BIOS file that is listed. Double-click the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions. Your computer shuts down and restarts during this process (Do Not turn the computer off while this is happening.) Once the computer restarts, your system BIOS has been flashed to the latest revision. NOTE: Remember to keep your computer connected to mains power throughout this process. You do not want to lose power while in the middle of flashing a BIOS to a new revision. It can cause issues booting and running the computer. 5. Have you updated the computer drivers to the latest revision? Update the Chipset. Open a browser and go to the Dell Support Site. Enter your computer's service tag to get a page matched to how your computer shipped from Dell. (Alternatively, select your computer type from the product list to get a list of general information for your computer type.) Select Drivers & Downloads on the left. Change the drop-down menu below Category to select Chipset. Click the download button to the right of the chipset file that is listed. Double-click the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions. Your computer will ask you to shut down and restart after this process has finished. (Do Not turn the computer off while this is happening, only when it asks.) How to find and update the other computer drivers on your computer. Follow the step-by-step instructions in the Dell knowledge base article How to Download and Install Dell Drivers . 6. Have you updated the Windows operating system to the latest available build? Open the Windows Update Window. Click the Windows start button and type Windows update and select Windows update Settings from the list. Do you see the option Preview Builds down the left menu? When the answer is Yes, click Preview Builds. Click the Check button. Download and install the new build. If the answer is No , is your company or organization hiding or managing this function? Contact your organization or company's IT department to update your operating system. 7. Have you disabled Sleep to rule it out? Open Power Options in the Control Panel Right click the start menu button and select Power Options from the menu that appears Click Change plan settings next to your current power plan. Change Put the computer to sleep too never. Click Save Changes 8. Have you disabled Hibernation to rule it out? Open a Command or PowerShell Prompt with Admin privileges. Right click the Windows Start Button and select the appropriate option from the menu that appears Type the following command followed by pressing the Enter key: powercfg.exe /h off Exit out of the prompt window. NOTE: We do not recommend you leave this disabled on a Dell laptop. Sometimes disabling fast startup and hybrid sleep is enough if you are having issues. 9. Has a Device stopped working after the computer resumed from sleep or hibernation? Has a device stopped working or is no longer detected when the computer has resumed from sleep or hibernation? Run through the troubleshooting steps below: If connected to external power, reseat the power cable. Reseat the cable connecting the device to the computer. If the issue continues, then shut down and restart the computer. 10. Have you reset the Power settings to default? In the BIOS Boot into the systems BIOS. Tapping the F2 key during start-up takes you straight into the BIOS on most Dell computers. Under Power Management , ensure that USB Wake Support is enabled and Deep Sleep Control is disabled. Save and Exit the BIOS In Windows Open the Advanced Power Options settings window. Press the Windows + R keys together to open the Run dialog box and type control.exe powercfg.cpl,,3 and click OK. Select the plan that you are using from the drop-down list. Click Restore plan defaults. Click OK and exit the window. 11. Have you verified the wake-up behavior? Open a PowerShell window. Right click the windows start button and select Windows PowerShell (Admin) or CMD Prompt (Admin) on most Windows 10 PCs Type the following command: powercfg /a You receive a report like this: The following sleep states are available on this system: Standby (S3) The following sleep states are not available on this system: Standby (S1) The system firmware does not support this standby state. Standby (S2) The system firmware does not support this standby state. Hibernate Hibernation has not been enabled. Standby (S0 Low Power Idle) The system firmware does not support this standby state. Hybrid Sleep Hibernation is not available. The hypervisor does not support this standby state. Fast Startup Hibernation is not available. 12. Have you confirmed that Hybrid Sleep is turned off? What is Hybrid Sleep? Hybrid sleep - a combination of sleep and hibernate. It puts any open documents and programs in memory and on your hard disk and then puts your computer into a low-power state. So that you can quickly resume your work. If a power failure occurs, Windows can restore your work from your hard disk drive. This can be useful for desktop computers, but not as much for a laptop. This option is the default setting for desktop computers. It is the opposite for laptops, which ship with it disabled. (Desktops depend on mains power, while laptops have onboard batteries to mitigate power issues.) Turning off Hybrid Sleep Open the Advanced Power Options settings window. Press the Windows + R keys together to open the Run dialog box and type control.exe powercfg.cpl,,3 and click OK. Select the plan that you are using from the drop-down list. Go through the plan and expand the Sleep option (by clicking the plus symbol). Expand open Allow hybrid sleep. Ensure that the options under Allow hybrid sleep are all turned to OFF (click the blue text to change it). Click OK and exit the window. 13. Have you run the windows power troubleshooter? Open the Power Troubleshooter. Click the Windows Start Button and type Troubleshoot , select the troubleshoot icon that appears to open the troubleshooter. Scroll down through the options and select power. Click the Run the troubleshooter button. Follow the on-screen prompts and see if it resolves the issue. 14. Have you tried a clean boot using MSConfig? Creating a clean boot for troubleshooting Open the MSConfig tool. Press the Windows + R keys together to open the Run dialog box and type msconfig and click OK. Go to the General tab. Click the Selective Startup radio button. Clear the box next to Load startup items. Move to the Services tab. Check the box next to Hide all Microsoft Services at the bottom of the window. Click Disable All on the right side of the same page. Move to the Startup tab and click the Task Manager Link. In the Startup Tab in the Task Manager utility, right-click each enabled startup item and select Disable Close Task Manager and go back to the MSConfig tool. Click OK and click Restart. Restoring your computer after running a clean boot. Open the MSConfig tool. Press the Windows + R keys together to open the Run dialog box and type msconfig and click OK. Go to the General tab. Click the Normal Startup radio button. Move to the Services tab Clear the box next to Hide all Microsoft Services at the bottom of the window. Click Enable All at the bottom of the same page. Move to the Startup tab and click the Task Manager Link. In the Startup Tab in the Task Manager utility, right-click each enabled startup item and select Enable Close Task Manager and go back to the MSConfig tool. Click OK and click Restart. 15. Have you refreshed the hiberfil.sys file? How to refresh the hiberfil.sys file You can refresh the hiberfil.sys file by Disabling and Enabling the switch, this resets the file if it has been corrupted: Open an elevated command prompt or PowerShell (Right click the windows start button and select CMD Prompt (admin) or Windows PowerShell (admin) from the menu). Type the following command and press the enter key to disable the file: powercfg -h off Restart the personal computer and go back to an elevated command prompt or PowerShell. Type the following command and press the enter key to enable the file: powercfg -h on How to disable or delete the hiberfil.sys file Leave the file disabled, and it deletes the hiberfil.sys file from your computer: Open an elevated command prompt or PowerShell (Right click the windows start button and select CMD Prompt (admin) or Windows PowerShell (admin) from the menu). Type the following command and press the enter key to disable the file: powercfg -h off Restart the personal computer and go back to an elevated command prompt or PowerShell. 16. Have you tried running system restore? NOTE: Remember if system restore was not enabled before you had this problem, it is not of any help to you. It cannot have created any restore points. If system restore is not already enabled, then you should skip this step and move to the next one. (Turning system restore on is something that you may want to talk to your IT department about.) Confirm that System Restore is Enabled. Open the Control Panel. Click the Windows Start Button and type Control Panel and click the control panel icon that appears in the list. Click the System icon. Click System Protection on the left side menu. Click the System Protection tab on the window that appears. Under Protection Settings check if the computer drive is listed as ON ? If the answer is Yes , then System Restore is enabled, go on to the next set of steps. If the answer is No , then System Restore is disabled, go on to the next section. Use System Restore to go back to a previous checkpoint. Open the Control Panel. Click the Windows Start Button and type Control Panel and click the control panel icon that appears in the list. Click the System icon. Click System Protection on the left side menu. Click the System Protection tab on the window that appears. Under the System Restore heading, click the System Restore button. Follow the on-screen instructions to select the wanted restore point from a list (Remember to pick one before the issue first started to occur.) You can click the Scan for Affected Programs button if you want to check which programs this rollback affects. Click Next to roll the computer back to how it was at the date selected. 17. Have you tried running SFC? (System File Check) Running the System File Check (SFC) Tool. Open a Command or PowerShell Prompt with Admin privileges. Right click the Windows Start Button and select the appropriate option from the menu that appears. Type the following command followed by pressing the Enter key: SFC /scannow. If the SFC did not run, then try the next set of steps to run the DISM tool. Running the Deployment Image and Servicing Management (DISM) Tool. Open a Command or PowerShell Prompt with Admin privileges. Right click the Windows Start Button and select the appropriate option from the menu that appears. Type the following command followed by pressing the Enter key: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth. The DISM tool checks the Windows component store for corruption and fix and faults that it finds. NOTE: The DISM tool can take some time to run. If the tool reports, it is fixed or deleted any corrupt files that you have to restart your computer and rerun the SFC tool. 18. Have you ruled out the Operating System? You can two-way swap the hard drive. The quickest and easiest way to rule out the operating system is to two-way swap the Boot hard drive. Use a boot hard drive from a working example of the same computer model. If the fault stays with the computer, you have ruled the operating system out, and I would recommend contacting Dell Technical Support for further aid. If the fault follows the hard drive, it is likely an issue with the operating system and moves on to the next set of steps. If there is no suitable computer to swap parts with, then move on to the next set of steps. Reinstall the operating system to how it shipped from Dell. Use the following linked article to take you through the step-by-step process of reinstalling your operating system on your computer: Reinstalling your personal computer's operating system Back to Top
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