Modern computer technology is quite economical in terms of energy consumption, nevertheless, the developers of the Windows system made sure that during periods of inactivity of the PC the amount of energy consumed was generally minimized. This is done by transferring the computer to one of three energy-saving modes: sleep, hibernation, or mixed (hybrid).
The main sleep modes and the difference between them
Sleep mode is called the low-power mode, which does not affect memory modules with the working data available on them, leaving them active. You can transfer your computer from this mode to normal in just a few seconds. In sleep mode, a personal computer can be compared to a paused DVD player: in either case, the equipment immediately stops the operations being performed, but at the same time it can immediately resume its work.
Hibernation is another energy-saving mode that first appeared in Windows Vista and is mainly focused on computer technology powered by rechargeable batteries (laptops, netbooks). This mode provides for the storage of all data from RAM on the hard drive of a personal computer before turning it off in the hiberfil.sys file. When you turn on the device returns to its previous state, including all previously opened applications or programs at the time the computer enters hibernation mode. The consumed amount of energy in hibernation mode is the smallest of all the energy-saving modes of Windows, so it is recommended to use it in case of prolonged inactivity of a personal computer or the inability to recharge a laptop battery.
Mixed, or hybrid, sleep patterns are a combination of normal sleep patterns and hibernation. It is intended primarily for desktop PCs, which means storing all open documents and programs in RAM and on your hard drive, followed by a switch to lower power consumption. With active hybrid sleep mode, the computer automatically switches to it during the transition to sleep mode. As a rule, such an energy-saving mode is set by default on all desktop computers and laptops. Unlike hibernation, in this mode, the computer does not have to be powered off, but in the event of an unexpected failure in the power of a personal computer or laptop, data from the disk can be restored.
Hiberfil.sys what is this file responsible for and can it be deleted?
Let us consider in more detail what the hiberfil.sys file is and what its role is in the operating system. To begin with, we note that the file of interest to us is inextricably linked with the hibernation mode. You ask how? The answer is simple - in hibernation mode , data from RAM is written to a special file - hiberfil.sys, so the sizes coincide with the capacity of the RAM. Accordingly, removing it, you can double the amount of RAM. However, it is clear, judging by the hiberfil.sys extension, that this is a system file, and deleting it just does not work. Since he is responsible for the operation of the hibernation mode, for starters, you should disable this mode.
Is it possible to disable hibernation mode and how to do it?
Not all users use hibernation mode, instead preferring a less economical but faster sleep mode. Naturally, they may want to turn off hibernation mode in order to be able to transfer or completely delete hiberfil.sys. This is usually necessary when there is not enough memory on the hard disk and the file is up to 4 GB in size.
In the case of Windows XP, disabling hibernation is done as follows. Firstly, you need to open the control panel, then select the desired item "Performance and Maintenance" and click on the "Power" icon.
In the window that appears, select the "Hibernate" tab and uncheck (checkmark) the permission to use this mode. After these steps, the hiberfil.sys file can be easily deleted.
The way to get the ability to remove hiberfil.sys (Windows 7 or Windows 8, for example) in other versions of the OS is somewhat more complicated and confusing. The first thing to start is to turn off sleep mode. To do this, open the control panel on a computer or laptop and select the "Power", and in it go to the settings for switching to sleep mode.
Next, you need to set all the sleep parameters of the laptop or computer to the value “never”.
After the sleep mode is turned off, you need to open the changes in the additional power settings and turn off all values without exception in the “Sleep” pop-up menu.
In theory, after all these manipulations, you should be able to delete the file, however, in reality, a hiberfil.sys error may occur, and the system will continue to display a message that this file is being used by another application. You can get out of this situation and still delete the ill-fated file using the command line, without first forgetting to get administrator rights.
Removing the hiberfil.sys file using the command line
First of all, open a command prompt. To do this, enter cmp.exe in the search box. Next, the command line opens as administrator.
Having opened it, in the appeared window you should enter the command powercfg.exe -hoff and press the Enter key.
After that, you need to enter the Exit command to exit the command prompt. As a result of the actions taken, the file most likely will not even have to be deleted, as it will self-destruct. However, if this did not happen, then you should delete it manually.
Notepad is another tool when working with hiberfil.sys
Another option to uninstall hiberfil.sys in Windows 7 or Windows 8 is to use Notepad. This is also done quite simply. First you need to open the notepad, write the command powercfg.exe -hoff in it and save the file with the resolution .txt. After that, change the extension to .bat and run as administrator. As with the command line, the file in question is self-deleting.
Delete the hiberfil.sys file using the Windows registry editor
If someone wants to use to delete the hiberfil.sys file in a more non-standard way, then you can use the Windows registry editor . To do this, go to the registry branch HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Power and set the values of the HiberFileSizePercent and HibernateEnabled parameters to zero. In conclusion, you need to close the registry editor window and after all necessary actions restart the computer. It is not recommended to use this method for novice users.
Hiberfil.sys recovery after uninstall
If, after some time after deleting the hiberfil.sys file, the need to use hibernation mode suddenly reappears, then you need to restore this file. To do this, perform the following steps:
- run the command line with administrator rights and enter the command powercfg.exe -hoff into it and press the Enter key;
- open the control panel, go to the "System and Security" section, select "Power Options", and in it go to setting up a power plan;
- then select changes to additional power parameters and in the pop-up window in all settings of the hibernation mode set a certain time, after which the computer will automatically switch to this mode;
- click “OK” and close all windows.
After that, it will be possible to use the hibernation mode again.
How to transfer hiberfil.sys in Windows 7?
Some users, wanting to free up additional space on the system disk, stumble upon the hiberfil.sys file, removing which can significantly increase the amount of free space. However, many are afraid to do this, because it is clear, judging by the hiberfil.sys extension, that this is a system file. It seems quite natural the question of whether it can be transferred to another disk, while retaining the ability to use hibernation mode and at the same time freeing up additional space on the system disk. Unfortunately, this will not work, because the bootloader of the operating system, in which the path to this file is sewn, sees only the main section where hiberfil.sys should be located.
Conclusion
So, we figured out hiberfil.sys what it is and examined the main ways to remove it. Each user must decide for himself how much he needs it. On the one hand, getting rid of this file, you can get a lot of additional space on the C drive, which is always not enough. To say unequivocally: removing hiberfil.sys, which is good, will fail, as there is a negative side, which concerns laptop owners in the first place. The liquidation of this file automatically makes it impossible to apply the hibernation mode, which, as mentioned above, was developed mainly for battery-powered equipment. This mode is extremely convenient to use while traveling, studying, working, as it allows you to return to the programs or sites that were open at any convenient time and continue to work with them without wasting time trying to restart them. Depending on what is more important to you (additional disk space or the convenience of using a computer), it’s worth making your choice.