If you're a hard core computer user like me, you have your system running 24/7. No screen saver or power saver options (I just turn off the monitors when not in use). I need to be able to walk into my office and have it ready to go. So when I noticed that my version of Windows 7 still had the Hiberfil.sys file and I am not using hibernation, it was time to remove this file and regain that hard drive space back (in my case, 8 Gb).
The Hiberfil.sys is a hidden system file located in the root folder of the drive where Windows is installed. The Windows Kernel Power Manager creates this file when you install Windows. The size of this file is approximately equal to how much Random Access Memory (RAM) is installed on the computer.
The computer uses the Hiberfil.sys file to store a copy of the system memory on the hard disk when hibernation is turned on. If this file is not present, the computer cannot go into hibernation.
To delete the Hiberfil.sys file and make hibernation unavailable, 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.
- If you are prompted by User Account Control, click Continue.
- At the Command Prompt, type powercfg.exe /hibernate off, and then press ENTER.
- Type exit and then press ENTER to close the Command Prompt window.
To recreate the Hiberfil.sys file and make hibernation available, 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.
- If you are prompted by User Account Control, click Continue.
- At the Command Prompt, type powercfg.exe /hibernate on, and then press ENTER.
- Type exit and then press ENTER to close the Command Prompt window.