Enable Hibernation on Linux Mint 22 (AMD Ryzen + Radeon) – Dual Boot Systems
Why This Guide Exists
Hibernation feature was missing from my Linux Mint. That was a surprise. I had switched from Windows to Linux Mint 22.1 (Zara) in October 2025. Not out of ideology, but necessity. Windows got slower with every forced update. Microsoft Office couldn’t match what Zoho’s Zia does for writing analysis. The machine I bought came with both preloaded, but both failed me. My AMD Ryzen laptop with Radeon graphics now runs Linux Mint 22. But hibernation wasn’t enabled by default. The battery drained overnight in sleep mode.
The strange part? My 10-year-old HP machine had hibernation working automatically on a fresh Linux install. Same distro, same process. The older hardware got better treatment than newer AMD components.
Why Linux?
1. Lower Background Overhead
Windows 11 runs a lot of background services (telemetry, indexing, antivirus scanning, update daemons, cloud sync, etc.).
Linux Mint (and most Linux distros) are much leaner, so your CPU and RAM are less loaded by background tasks. Result is faster boot, less CPU usage, smoother multitasking.
2. More Efficient File System & I/O
Linux’s file systems (like ext4 or Btrfs) handle small file reads/writes more efficiently than NTFS. Windows’ file system overhead can add milliseconds to every disk operation, which adds up and slow it down. Result is that programs open and close faster under Linux.
3. Better Memory Management
Linux caches aggressively and it uses free RAM to store frequently accessed data, freeing it instantly when needed. Windows tends to hold on to cached memory longer, which can slow responsiveness under heavy use. Result is that Linux “feels” faster under load.
4. Graphics Stack Efficiency
With AMD Radeon, Linux drivers (especially open-source Mesa drivers) often perform closer to the metal, avoiding some of the abstraction layers Windows adds. Result is a smoother UI and better power efficiency on Linux with AMD GPUs.
The Dual Boot Problem
Linux distributions often disable hibernation by default on dual boot systems. When one OS hibernates, it saves its state to disk and assumes nothing else will touch those files. If you boot the other OS and access shared partitions, the hibernated system can restore corrupted data when it resumes.
Windows hibernation becomes especially dangerous in dual boot setups. If Linux mounts an NTFS partition while Windows is hibernated, filesystem structures get out of sync. When Windows resumes, it loads outdated data from memory while the disk has different information. This causes catastrophic data loss.
Windows Fast Startup uses hibernation under the hood. Even when you click “Shut Down,” Windows may actually hibernate. The hiberfil.sys file persists, and Linux refuses to mount those partitions for write access.
That’s why Linux Mint plays it safe. Automatic hibernation on dual boot systems risks breaking both operating systems. Better to leave it disabled than deal with corrupted Windows partitions.
But you can enable Linux hibernation safely. Windows and Linux use separate swap spaces. They don’t interfere with each other.
What You Need
- Linux Mint 22 (works on 21 and 20 too)
- AMD Ryzen processor with Radeon graphics (or any hardware)
- Swap partition equal to or larger than your RAM
- Secure Boot already disabled (required for Linux installation)
- Root/sudo access
This guide assumes dual boot with Windows. Single boot systems have fewer complications, but the steps remain the same.
Step 1: Verify Your Swap
Check your current swap setup:
sudo swaponYou should see something like:
NAME TYPE SIZE USED PRIO
/dev/nvme0n1p4 partition 8.3G 0B -2If you have a partition type (not a swapfile), you’re good. The size should match or exceed your RAM.
If you see /dev/zram, hibernation won’t work. That’s RAM-based swap, not disk storage.
Step 2: Find Your Swap UUID
Get the unique identifier for your swap partition:
sudo blkid | grep swapOutput looks like:
/dev/nvme0n1p5: UUID="49fb345c-0dd5-403f-baee-f0e343632235" TYPE="swap"Copy that UUID. You’ll need it next.
Step 3: Configure GRUB
Open the GRUB configuration file:
sudo xed /etc/default/grubFind the line GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT. Add your swap UUID inside the quotes:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash resume=UUID=49fb345c-0dd5-403f-baee-f0e343632235"Replace the UUID with yours from Step 2.
Save the file. Update GRUB:
sudo update-grubYou should see output confirming it found your Linux kernels and Windows boot manager. No errors.
Step 4: Enable Hibernate in System Menu
Create a polkit rule file:
sudo xed /etc/polkit-1/rules.d/10-enable-hibernate.rulesPaste this exactly:
polkit.addRule(function(action, subject) {
if (action.id == "org.freedesktop.login1.hibernate" ||
action.id == "org.freedesktop.login1.hibernate-multiple-sessions" ||
action.id == "org.freedesktop.upower.hibernate" ||
action.id == "org.freedesktop.login1.handle-hibernate-key" ||
action.id == "org.freedesktop.login1.hibernate-ignore-inhibit")
{
return polkit.Result.YES;
}
});Save the file. Reboot:
sudo rebootStep 5: Test Hibernation
After reboot, test from terminal:
systemctl hibernateYour machine should power off completely. Not sleep, not suspend. Full shutdown. Press the power button. The system should resume exactly where you left off. Same windows, same applications, same cursor position. If it works, hibernation is enabled. The shutdown menu should now show a Hibernate option.
Battery Drain Fixed
Real hibernation saves everything to disk and powers off. Zero battery consumption. Sleep mode keeps RAM powered, which drains battery overnight. That’s the difference. Hibernation on my old HP worked perfectly because the installer detected stable hardware and configured everything automatically. The AMD Ryzen system needed manual setup. But once configured, hibernation works just as well on newer hardware.
Important Notes for Dual Boot
Never hibernate both operating systems at once. Pick one. If Windows is hibernated, boot into Windows. If Linux is hibernated, boot into Linux.
Disable Windows Fast Startup to avoid accidental hibernation when you think Windows shut down fully. Go to Control Panel > Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do > Change settings that are currently unavailable > Uncheck “Turn on fast startup.”
Don’t mount Windows partitions from Linux if Windows used Fast Startup. Linux mounting a hibernated Windows partition causes filesystem corruption.
Stick to hibernating Linux only. Use Windows normally without hibernation. This avoids all dual boot complications.
Why AMD Ryzen Didn’t Get Automatic Setup
Older hardware has mature Linux support. A 10-year-old HP has every quirk documented and fixed. The kernel knows how to handle it. Newer AMD Ryzen systems have better hardware, but the kernel plays it safe. It creates swap but skips hibernation configuration. Too many variables on new hardware. The installer assumes newer hardware might have compatibility issues. Better to leave hibernation disabled than risk failed resumes or corrupted data.
Your two-year-old Ryzen should work fine now. The drivers are stable. You just needed the manual configuration the HP got automatically.
Troubleshooting
Hibernation fails or resumes to login screen:
NVIDIA GPUs with modeset=0 can cause session restore problems. The kernel resumes correctly, but the desktop environment treats it as a fresh login instead of restoring your session. If you have NVIDIA graphics, this is a known issue. Stick with suspend instead.
Machine boots normally instead of resuming:
Check that your resume UUID is correct in /etc/default/grub. Run sudo update-grub again. Verify your swap partition appears in sudo swapon.
Hibernate option doesn’t appear in menu:
Confirm the polkit rule file exists at /etc/polkit-1/rules.d/10-enable-hibernate.rules. Restart the polkit service: sudo systemctl restart polkit.
The Real Experience
Hibernation on Linux isn’t as smooth as sleep on MacOS or Windows. The screen might go dark, come back, then finally hibernate. Resume takes longer than waking from sleep. But it works. And more importantly, it doesn’t drain your battery. For a daily driver laptop, hibernation beats sleep. The extra seconds during shutdown and resume are worth the zero power consumption overnight.
Windows disappointed with forced updates and declining performance. Office couldn’t keep up with modern writing tools. Linux Mint gave me control back, but hibernation needed this manual setup.
Now it works exactly like my old HP. Better hardware, same reliable workflow.
Hardware tested: Lenovo AMD Ryzen laptop with Radeon graphics, 8GB RAM, 8GB swap partition on SSD, dual boot with Windows 11
Linux Mint version: 22.1 (Zara), also works on 21 and 20
Date: October 2025