Fixing Suspend crash; enabling Hibernation?

[ander111]

Hi -- I've just installed Mint 21.1 Cinnamon, and have upgraded to kernel 5.19.0-38-generic.

When I use the Suspend command, then resume, I get only a black screen and must do a hard reset.

Also, my Quit options don't include "Hibernate". I didn't create a swapfile when I installed LM, because I understood that more recent LM versions automatically created dynamically sized swapfiles that were used for hibernation (and, of course, swap).

However, when I've looked for guidance on enabling Hibernation, I've found very long, involved guides such as this one:

Guide on how to enable hibernation on Linux Mint 20 Cinnamon (Ubuntu 20) and prevent unwanted wakeups

...that involve manually enlarging the swapfile.

Is it really necessary to go to such lengths just to enable Hibernation? In the various Windows versions I've used, one could do that with a few clicks. I just want to be sure I'm looking at the right thing before I try anything so involved. Thanks!

[Cosmo.]

Yes, for hibernation the swap file needs to be something bigger than the amount of installed RAM. Hibernation means, that the machine will have no power, so the RAM content must be stored on disk. Obviously you cannot put an elephant into a box for a mouse.

The problem with hibernation in Linux is, that it can work, but it can also fail, this is not predictable. It may be, that the computer does never go into hibernation (the better case because rather obvious case) or the computer hibernates, but you cannot wake it up, and in the latter case you have data loss (except you would have saved everything before). Out of this hibernation is by design something, what you cannot use so easily; this is a protection for the users.

[quietlife]

Don't have any solutions for you im afraid because i've been dealing with the same problem without finding any, but just wanted to point you to the thread where SMG was trying to help me work through it.

viewtopic.php?t=391788

Seeing a number of threads having the same basic problem.

[Hoser Rob]

Hibernation is a long standing Linux issue, still no closer to being solved AFAIK. I think Mint was right to drop the option in the logout menu.

[ander111]

Hey guys: Okay, I got it to work. I can't say I understand why such an involved process (pre-activation testing, config-file editing, restarting, reconfiguring and updating Grub) should be necessary in Linux when, in Windows, it's as hard as clicking a "Hibernation" checkbox in the Power settings (or if you really want to, you can type powercfg.exe -h on at a command line). There you go, though---Linux, right?

The problem with hibernation in Linux is, that it can work, but it can also fail, this is not predictable. It may be, that the computer does never go into hibernation (the better case because rather obvious case) or the computer hibernates, but you cannot wake it up, and in the latter case you have data loss (except you would have saved everything before). Out of this hibernation is by design something, what you cannot use so easily; this is a protection for the users.

Funny---I've used Hibernation in Windows for, like, 20 years, and never had a problem with it. Maybe Linux data is fussier... But then, everything's supposed to be more complicated here, right? It scares off the people who aren't willing to jump in with both feet.

[SMG]

Funny---I've used Hibernation in Windows for, like, 20 years, and never had a problem with it. Maybe Linux data is fussier... But then, everything's supposed to be more complicated here, right? It scares off the people who aren't willing to jump in with both feet.

It's not a data issue. Hibernation requires coordination with the firmware/hardware. Your computer's hardware was likely designed to be used with Windows so I would hope it would work. The issues where hibernation does not work on Linux-based distros are due to the hardware not the data or OS.

[Cosmo.]

You quoted me, but did you read it at all? I wrote at the end, that hibernation has been made by design rather difficult to use and that this is out the reasons I told you a measurement for user's data protection. If somebody "jumps in with both feet" and than will possibly fall in an endless data leak, than this is their own decision. But if users should loose their data, because there would be a function implemented where the developers know, that for a greater part of the users this will end in a data nirvana, the users would have the right to be very upset. Not even putting a warning besides the hibernating button would help, as users do notoriously not read; you are here one example for this problem.