This is a follow-up to the tip on quick shutdowns, inspired by a comment from Jojoyee.

If you have never used Hibernation, check that it is enabled in the Power Options settings in Control Panel. Hibernation takes a few seconds since the contents of RAM have to be written to the hard drive.

Windows XP

You can make a shortcut to hibernate this way:

1. Right-click on an empty spot on the Desktop
2. Choose “New-Shortcut” from the context menu
3. In the line labeled “Type the location of the item” enter:
    rundll32.exe PowrProf.dll, SetSuspendState
    Note: You must use uppercase where indicated and include all spaces.
4. Press “Next”, give the shortcut a name and choose “Finish”

Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8

Microsoft added a hibernation switch to shutdown.exe in its latest operating systems. A shortcut can be made this way:

1. Right-click on an empty spot on the Desktop
2. Choose “New-Shortcut” from the context menu
3. In the box labeled "Type the location of the item:" enter:
    %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -h
4. Click "Next"
5. Enter a name for the shortcut and click "Finish"

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This tips section is maintained by Vic Laurie. Vic runs a Windows blog called The PC Informant and also operates a computer education website.

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