Suspending and hibernating your computer

In order to save power, you can put your computer into one of a number of power-saving modes when you are not using it:

  • Suspending a computer is like putting the computer to sleep. The computer will still be turned on and all of your work will be left open, but it will use much less power. You can wake the computer by pressing a key or clicking the mouse.

  • Hibernating is turning the computer off completely while saving the current state of the computer (such as keeping all of your open documents). When you turn the computer back on after hibernating, all of your work should be restored as it was before hibernation. No power is used when the computer is hibernating.

  • Shutting down is turning the computer off completely, without saving the current state of the computer. No power is used when the computer is shut down.

  • Resuming is bringing the computer out of a power saving mode and back into normal operation. You can resume the computer from being suspended by pressing a keyboard button or by clicking the mouse. You can resume from being hibernated by pressing the power button on your computer.

You can manually put your computer into a power-saving mode by pressing the User Switcher in the top right hand corner of the screen and then pressing the appropriate button.

[Caution]

Some computers may have problems going into certain power saving modes. The best way of checking if your computer can handle a power-saving mode is to try to switch to that mode and see if it behaves as you expected. Always make sure you save important documents before suspending or hibernating.

My computer does not suspend or hibernate correctly

Some computers are unable to suspend or hibernate correctly with Ubuntu. If this is the case for your computer, you may notice some of the following symptoms:

  • The computer does not turn off after you click to hibernate it.

  • When you turn the computer on after hibernating it, your previously open programs are not restored.

  • The computer will not wake up after you have suspended it.

  • Certain programs or hardware devices stop working correctly after resuming from hibernation or waking-up from being suspended.

If you suffer from any of these problems, you should report a bug to Launchpad. The problems will hopefully be fixed in a subsequent version of Ubuntu. You may also like to see if the General method for trying to get suspend and hibernate working works for you.

If your hardware does not work properly after suspending or hibernating your computer, restart your computer and it should return to normal. If a program does not work properly, try closing the program and then starting it again.

[Caution]

Make sure that you save all of your open documents before testing for suspend and hibernate problems.

General method for trying to get suspend and hibernate working

You may be able to get suspend and hibernate working on your computer, but this can involve a lot of work. The method below should work for many computers. If it does not work for yours, please seek support using one of the many help and support channels for Ubuntu.

  1. Download the Quirk Checker script to your Home folder.

  2. Find the quirk-checker.sh file in your Home folder, right-click it and select Properties. Select the Permissions tab, check Allow executing file as program and click Close.

  3. Open a Terminal (ApplicationsAccessoriesTerminal), type ./quirk-checker.sh and press Enter.

  4. Follow the suggestions that the script makes. These may involve editing important system files, so you should seek support if you are unsure of what you are doing.

[Caution]

Before making the changes recommended by the Quirk Checker, create back-up copies of the files that you are going to change.

Why do I get a strange pattern on the screen when I hibernate my computer?

Your screen may show a black and white pattern just after you click to hibernate your computer. This is usually nothing to worry about and is just how the graphics cards of some computers respond to the initial stages of the hibernation process.

If the computer displays the pattern for a prolonged period of time without turning itself off then you may have a problem with hibernation. See My computer does not suspend or hibernate correctly for more information.