How to Delete hiberfil.sys in Windows 7 – Complete Guide

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If you’re looking to free up disk space on your Windows 7 computer, one potential candidate for removal is the hiberfil.sys file. This file, which can sometimes consume a significant amount of space, is used by Windows to store the contents of your RAM when your system enters hibernation mode. While hibernation can be a useful feature, if you don’t use it often, you might want to reclaim that space. In this article, we’ll dive into how to delete hiberfil.sys in Windows 7, exploring all the details and steps you need to follow to safely remove this file.

Understanding hiberfil.sys

Before jumping into the deletion process, it’s important to understand what hiberfil.sys does. When your computer hibernates, Windows saves the current state of your system, including all open documents and applications, to this file. This allows your computer to resume exactly where you left off when you turn it back on. Hiberfil.sys is essential for the hibernation feature to work, but if you rarely use hibernation, you might want to get rid of it to free up space.

How to Delete hiberfil.sys in Windows 7

1. Disable Hibernation

The first step in learning how to delete hiberfil.sys in Windows 7 is to disable the hibernation feature. This will automatically remove the hiberfil.sys file from your system. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator: Click on the Start menu, type “cmd” in the search box, right-click on “cmd.exe,” and select “Run as administrator.”
2. Enter the Command: In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter:

   powercfg -h off

This command will turn off hibernation and delete the hiberfil.sys file.

3. Check for File Removal: After executing the command, navigate to your C: drive and check if the hiberfil.sys file is gone. If the file is still there, try rebooting your computer and check again.

2. Verify the Deletion

Once you’ve followed the steps above, you should verify that hiberfil.sys has been successfully deleted. You can do this by:

• Checking Disk Space: Go to “My Computer,” right-click on your C: drive, and select “Properties” to see if the available disk space has increased.
• Reopening Command Prompt: Type dir /a in the Command Prompt to list all files, including hidden ones, and ensure hiberfil.sys is no longer listed.

Why Might You Need to Delete hiberfil.sys?

Deleting hiberfil.sys can be beneficial for several reasons:

• Free Up Disk Space: The file can take up a significant amount of space, often several gigabytes, which can be reclaimed for other uses.
• Improve System Performance: On systems with limited disk space, removing large files like hiberfil.sys can help improve performance.
• Hibernation Not in Use: If you never use the hibernation feature, there’s no need to keep this file.

Considerations Before Deleting

Before you proceed with how to delete hiberfil.sys in Windows 7, keep these considerations in mind:

• Hibernation Feature: Disabling hibernation will also disable Fast Startup, which is a feature that helps your computer boot up faster. If you use Fast Startup, you might want to weigh the pros and cons before making the change.
• System Updates: Ensure that your system is up-to-date to avoid any compatibility issues during this process.

Re-enabling Hibernation

If you decide to re-enable hibernation in the future, you can do so by following these steps:

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator: As described earlier, run Command Prompt with administrative privileges.
2. Enter the Command: Type the following command and press Enter:

   powercfg -h on

This will recreate the hiberfil.sys file and re-enable hibernation.

3. Verify: Check your C: drive again to ensure the file has been recreated.

Conclusion

Understanding how to delete hiberfil.sys in Windows 7 is a practical skill for managing your disk space and system performance. By disabling hibernation, you can safely remove this file and reclaim valuable storage. Just remember to consider whether you’ll miss the hibernation feature before you make the change. If you do decide to re-enable it later, you can easily reverse the process.

Feel free to revisit these steps as needed, and keep your system’s needs in mind as you manage your disk space!