How can I remove the hiberfil.sys file from my system?

John Savill

December 17, 2002

1 Min Read
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A. When you hibernate your computer, Windows saves the contents of the system's memory to the hiberfil.sys file. As a result, the size of the hiberfil.sys file will always equal the amount of physical memory in your system. If you don't use the hibernate feature and want to recapture the space that Windows uses for the hiberfil.sys file, perform the following steps:

  1. Start the Control Panel Power Options applet (go to Start, Settings, Control Panel, and click Power Options).

  2. Select the Hibernate tab, clear the "Enable hibernation" check box, then click OK; although you might think otherwise, selecting Never under the "System hibernates" option on the Power Schemes tab doesn't delete the hiberfil.sys file.

Windows will remove the "System hibernates" option from the Power Schemes tab and delete the hiberfil.sys file.

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