Sometimes you may be noticed of a big file in your hard drive eating gigabytes of storage and you don’t have any idea what to do with the files, as it is ended with an extension .sys! hiberfil.sys is that file, it is a file generated by your Windows system for using the Windows computers hibernation functionality. Hibernation is one of the power saving options in Windows, you can completely close out of Windows and to unplug the machine. The Hibernation option was designed for laptops, you are back to where you left off. Hibernate uses less power than sleep and when you start up the PC again. You can use hibernation when you won’t need your laptop or tablet for an extended period and don’t want to charge the battery during that period. But Microsoft removed the Hibernate option from the power menu in Windows 10.
Hibernate mode uses the hiberfil.sys file to store the current state of the computer memory on the hard drive. The Hiberfil.sys hidden system file is located in the root folder of the drive where the operating system is installed. The size of this file is approximately equal to how much 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 the hybrid sleep setting is turned on. The computer cannot hibernate without this file. The hiberfil.sys is a hidden file, you could see only if the ‘Hidden items’ is checked in the view menu on the Windows file explorer.
Open power options. In Windows 10, select Start, then select Settings, then to System, then Power & sleep (just search for Power & sleep settings in Cortona), then Additional power settings. Then Select ‘Choose what the power button does’ (in the left side menu), and then select ‘Change settings that are currently unavailable’. Under Shutdown settings, select the ‘Hibernate’ checkbox, and then select Save changes
In Windows 8.1 / Windows RT 8.1, swipe in from the edge of the screen, tap Search, enter Power options in the search box and then tap or click Power options. In Windows 7, click the Start button, click Control Panel, click System and Security, and then click Power Options.
To Hibernate your pc, in Windows 10, select Start, then select Power then Hibernate. You can also press the Windows logo key + X on the keyboard, then select the menu ‘Shut down or sign out’ on the right side you can see Hibernate (if enabled).
The hiberfil.sys is a Windows system file and it will be re-created if you delete it. To delete the hiberfil.sys you need to disable the hibernation option. In Windows 7/8/10 run command line, run as Administrator (type ‘cmd‘ in the search box, when the ‘Command Prompt” appears right click on it and select ‘Run as Administrator‘), now the command prompt appears, type ‘powercfg -h off‘, press enter and type exit to exit from Command Prompt. To enable the feature again, access command prompt again as administrator and enter ‘powercfg -h on’.
