Windows is weird in hibernation mode

[kaitie]

Okay, this has been driving me insane. I have my computer (vista) set to hibernate whenever I close the lid. In the past, this hasn't been a problem at all. I'd open it up and everything was right where I'd left it, just like it was supposed to be.

Well, the past month and a half or so, I open the computer and everything was randomly closed out when I closed the lid. It doesn't do this all the time, but probably 80% or more. It's highly frustrating. I use this so I can keep my tabs in Firefox and get straight back into my documents where I left off, and now Firefox doesn't like to start properly after being randomly shut down like that, and my documents have to be reopened and I have to find my stopping place, etc.

I know it's such a little thing and sounds lazy, and I do save everything before I close it so I'm not losing data, but it didn't use to do this. I'm sure there's a setting somewhere messing things up or perhaps an update at some point in the past that made Windows go wonky, but I haven't found anything online that helps. Has anyone else had this problem? Know how to fix it?

[Medievalist]

I'd look at the background processes--and for programs that function in the background--to see if there's something odd happening "in between" times.

This would annoy me too.

[Tirjasdyn]

It's restarting. Either due to updates needing install or errors.

If it's updates, go to Windows Updates in Control Panel and set them to ask me first.

[Matera the Mad]

And if it's errors, it gets more fun....

Firefox can restore a previous session -- History menu, bottom. All your tabs and the odd separate window come back. I use that feature a lot, either because of a browser crashing, or just having to book out in a hurry for whatever.

[cbenoi1]

Or maybe you need a larger disk space slot for everything that's running when you hibernate.

I think the command is something like powercfg /hibernate /size 100 to set the disk file size equal to the used RAM space.

-cb

[Matera the Mad]

BTW, I never hibernate. Takes a big chunk of disk space and I like to start fresh and clean up often -- prevents a lot of problems.

My imaginary Aunt Hildy always said, "Never use a command line prefaced by 'I think" or 'something like'."

[tallus83]

Hibernate turns off the HDD. Hibernation is a crap-shoot as to whether the unit will restart correctly. We always disable it at work. Change your set up to go into Stand-By when you close the lid.

[Margarita Skies]

Back in 2007, I would hibernate my Windows XP Home Edition, Compaq Presario desktop, every time I would finish a writing session. Did it for about a week. Then my hard drive got damaged and it had to be replaced. Luckily when we bought that desktop two years before that, we'd purchased a protection plan for three years, and they replaced our hard drive and reinstalled our operating system for free.

[Matera the Mad]

The advantage of Hibernate is that it uses no power. The disadvantage is that -- yes, it is a crapshoot.

[Wojciehowicz]

The most important thing to remember about hibernate is that it must NOT be abused. Abused in this case means used more than three times in a row, after minor usage during each "on" session. A clean shutdown and restart will clear things up.

How bad can it get? I once went with hibernate only for about three days. When I closed the lid to standby, it was fine. When I opened it, it took fifteen minutes to come back. I no longer do that.

[MoLoLu]

I'm all for not using hybernate. Standby or off is always safer and saves headaches.

Ever since I my laptop refused to come out of hybernate one day I've turned it off on any device I use. Seems to be very hit and miss to me.

Out of curiosity, what benefit are you gaining from hybernate? Is it simply the ability to leave programs open while you're away for a short time or are you leaving it on hybernate overnight or something entirely different?

[SamHorton]

It's restarting. Either due to updates needing install or errors.

If it's updates, go to Windows Updates in Control Panel and set them to ask me first.

This is my guess, too. That said, I can tell you that Windoze may blissfully ignore your settings and do whatever it wants, including partial download, update and reboot. The great Apple ad opportunity was to show a guy named Satan who invented Windows Update.

So, what to do...

You will have to allow Windows to do an update from time-to-time. I let it happen when my browsers (all brands) start acting up, namely I put in a URL and nothing happens after pressing enter, or it gets maddeningly slow.

The other way I know it is time for an update is when the list gets huge, in the >50MB range, for updates. Those are usually security patches, and who doesn't want more security?

Do the updates only via high speed connection, not on the road.

Hope that helps.

[Bigglesworth]

The most important thing to remember about hibernate is that it must NOT be abused. Abused in this case means used more than three times in a row, after minor usage during each "on" session. A clean shutdown and restart will clear things up.
I'm puzzled over poeple's bad experiences with hibernation. I'm a software developer, spending most of my day coding, compiling, linking and debugging, and I hibernate my workstation every evening, often for weeks. Several of my colleagues do the same. None of us have encountered problems on restart.

Given how hibernation actually works, the main (only?) problem with using it is that over time system memory will fragment badly, meaning more and more hits on the pagefile and overall slower performance - that's your cue to do a Restart.

I doubt that avoiding Hibernation is going to alleviate the OP's problems. As already mentioned, I'd look to disabling those pesky automatic updates as a first step.

[SamHorton]

^^ If you know how to actually stop Windows update, please share the setting. I too have written my 10K hours of code, and I have seen hibernation self-destruct more than just the GUI state in all consumer versions of Windows regardless of settings.

[kaitie]

I'm actually supposed to be asked first for updates, and while I've seen updates restart it before, it seems odd that it would do it every day.

I guess I'll just start turning it off and doing it the hard way if hibernation is that bad. The reason I did it was to save power. I always unplug at night for the same reason (well, and to protect against power surges in case of a storm), and when it goes out because of a lack of power it never starts up right anyway.

Oh well. It was nice while it lasted. :tongue I always get Firefox to bring things back up, but it always actually crashes Firefox and I have to do it the hard way.

[Tirjasdyn]

Wait..you unplug it when it's in hibernation?

That would be your problem. Never, ever unplug a computer unless it has a working battery and/or is off.



I'm actually supposed to be asked first for updates, and while I've seen updates restart it before, it seems odd that it would do it every day.

I guess I'll just start turning it off and doing it the hard way if hibernation is that bad. The reason I did it was to save power. I always unplug at night for the same reason (well, and to protect against power surges in case of a storm), and when it goes out because of a lack of power it never starts up right anyway.

Oh well. It was nice while it lasted. :tongue I always get Firefox to bring things back up, but it always actually crashes Firefox and I have to do it the hard way.

[Bigglesworth]

^^ If you know how to actually stop Windows update, please share the setting.
In Win XP, which is the only OS I have handy at the moment, the options live in Control Panel --> Automatic Updates. On my old laptop, for example, I turn off Updates completely, as the machine crawls whilst Windows scans the HDD to see what patches it can foist upon me.

Wait..you unplug it when it's in hibernation?

That would be your problem. Never, ever unplug a computer unless it has a working battery and is off.
This isn't correct. Everything that hibernation does, it does via the hard disk. Once the hibernation is complete, the machine is effectively shut down.