You’re likely reading this because you noticed a gigantic hiberfil.sys file sitting on your system drive and you’re wondering if you can get rid of it to free up some space. Here’s what that file is and how you can delete it if you want to.
Safely Remove Hiberfil.sys Windows 7
Apr 26, 2015 To disable hibernation and free up the space consumed by hiberfil.sys, follow these steps: Click Start, and then type cmd in the Start Search box. In the search results list, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as Administrator. When you are.
What Is the hiberfil.sys File?
To disable hibernation in Windows, you have to go into Power Options and click on Change plan settings. You can click on Start and type in power options to open this window. Then click on the Change advanced power settings link at the bottom. Now expand Sleep and then expand Hibernate after. Fastest way to delete hiberfil sys from windows 10/8/7 and XP – CMD In this article we will explain how to remove or delete hiberfil sys from Windows 10/8/7 and XP. If you does not use hibernate and you want to free up some space, this article can help. Original title: Delete hiberfil.sys. I want to delete the hiberfil.sys to save some disk space. The reason I am trying to do this is becuase, the hybrnation feature is already deselected in GUI. But this file is taking up alost 2 GB space. I tried running the command in CMD and ran As Administrator, powercfg -h off. Jul 03, 2017 Disable Hibernate Mode in Windows XP. First, head to Control Panel Power Options. In the Power Options properties window, switch to the “Hibernate” tab and disable the “Enable hibernation” option. After you disable hibernate mode, restart your PC, and then you’ll need to manually delete the hiberfil. Oct 30, 2017 Windows operating system creates a file called hiberfil.sys when you turn on the hibernation feature. The hiberfil.sys file is saved in the root of the Windows installation drive. For example, if your Windows 10 drive letter is “C” then the file is located in C: location. The hiberfil.sys file is not visible with default settings.
Depending on the version of Windows you’re using, you have several options for conserving power when you’re not using your PC. Obviously, you can just shut it down. But, you can also send it into a sleep or hibernate mode, where it uses dramatically less power but is still available quickly when you need it. Sleep uses just enough power to maintain the information in your PC’s memory. Hibernate conserves even more power by writing the information in memory out to the hard drive and essentially shutting down—the benefit being that bringing your PC back up is much quicker than bringing it up from a fully off state. That’s where the hiberfil.sys file comes in—Windows writes the information in memory to that file.
While we recommend using sleep or hibernation instead of shutting down your PC in most cases, we understand that many people simply prefer shutting down. In that case, disabling hibernate mode on your PC will allow you to delete that file and reclaim valuable disk space. And the file can use up quite a bit of space. How much depends on the amount of memory installed in your PC. In our example, the hiberfil.sys file is using a whopping 13 GB of disk space.
Disable Hibernate Mode in Windows 10, 8, 7, or Vista
The technique for disabling hibernate mode is pretty much the same in Windows 10, 8, 7, and Vista. You’ll need to use the Command Prompt in administrative mode to get it done, but it’s just one simple command. Disabling hibernate mode automatically deletes the hiberfil.sys file.
Open Command Prompt by first hitting Start and typing “command prompt.” When you see the Command Prompt app pop up, right-click it, and then choose “Run as administrator.”
At the prompt, type the following command and then press Enter:
This command immediately disables hibernate mode, so you’ll notice it’s no longer an option from your shut down menu. And, if you visit File Explorer again, you’ll see that the hiberfil.sys file has been deleted and all that disk space is yours once again.
If you change your mind and would like to enable hibernate mode again, just revisit the Command Prompt and use this command:
The Hibernate command should be available to you once again and Windows will recreate the hiberfil.sys file.
Disable Hibernate Mode in Windows XP
Disabling hibernate mode in Windows XP is a little different than in later versions of Windows. First, head to Control Panel > Power Options. In the Power Options properties window, switch to the “Hibernate” tab and disable the “Enable hibernation” option.
After you disable hibernate mode, restart your PC, and then you’ll need to manually delete the hiberfil.sys file.
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In a previous TR Dojo Challenge question, I asked TechRepublic members, 'What does hiberfil.sys do and how can you remove it?' Several members were quick to respond with the correct answer. The quickest earned some TechRepublic swag.
Hiberfil.sys and Windows Hibernate function
To understand why hiberfil.sys exists, we must look at the Windows Hibernate function. When you activate Hibernate, Windows takes a snap shot of your current session (all your running programs, open files, etc.) and writes that information to your hard drive. Hibernate was designed to speedup shut downs and restarts and save power on laptops.
Hiberfil.sys, as the name suggests, is the file to which Windows saves the snap shot data. Thus, the file is always equal in size to the total amount of available RAM on the computer (see Figure A). On a computer with plenty of free disk space having such a large file just hanging around usually isn't a problem. But if you're running low on hard drive space and never use the Hibernate feature, hiberfil.sys is unnecessarily eating up valuable disk real estate.
Disabling Windows Hibernation
As I noted earlier, you can manually delete hiberfil.sys, but it will just come back. To permanently remove the file, you must disable the Windows Hibernate function. You can do this through either the Windows GUI or from the command line.
Windows XP
On Windows XP systems, you can easily disable Hibernate through the GUI using the following steps:
- Open the Control Panel and access Power Options.
- Select the Hibernate tab in the Power Options Properties dialog box.
- Clear the Enable Hibernation check box (see Figure B) and click OK.
If you would prefer to disable Hibernate through he command line, you can use the steps outlined below.
Windows Vista and Windows 7
Completely disabling Hibernate through the GUI on Windows Vista and Windows 7 is significantly more difficult than on Windows XP. The Hibernate settings are still stored under the Control Panel's Power Options applet, but they are buried under each power plan's advanced power settings submenu. In fact, I was unable to remove hiberfil.sys by altering the appropriate Power Options (Allow hybrid sleep and Hibernate after) on either Windows Vista or Windows 7 (see Figure C).The only surefire method of disabling Hibernate, and thus removing hiberfil.sys, on Windows Vista and Windows 7, is through the command prompt and the following steps:
Remove Hiberfil Windows 7
- Open a command prompt with administrative privileges.
- Enter 'powercfg.exe -h off' (see Figure D).
- Exit the command prompt.
As soon as you clear the check box or execute the above powercfg.exe command, Windows should delete hiberfil.sys. If not, you can manually delete it.
Remove Hiberfil Windows 7 64
Re-enabling Windows Hibernate
To turn the Hibernate function back on, simply recheck the Enable Hibernation setting under Power Option Properties or enter 'powercfg.exe -h on' at a command prompt with administrative privileges.
And the TechRepublic swag goes to..
This week's coffee mugs and laptop stickers go to mluck, who was first to correctly associate hiberfil.sys with Windows Hibernate function and jscholefield, who provided information on how to disable hibernation and the corresponding command line text.Thanks to everyone who submitted an answer.
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