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Deleting hibernate.sys

Mav
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Deleting hibernate.sys

I never use hibernate on my PC but the hibernate.sys file is there taking up almost 5GB - not a huge amount but I'd like to free it up nonetheless.
Looking at Power Options > Advanced settings there are no options for hibernate under Balanced (Active), High performance or Power Saver.
If I run the Command Prompt as Administrator and enter powercfg.exe -h off or powercfg.exe -hibernate off I get the message "'powercfg.exe' is not a recognised as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file."
Meanwhile, I still can't delete hibernate.sys.
Any ideas, please?

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10 REPLIES 10
pwatson
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Re: Deleting hibernate.sys

Which version of Windows are you running?
Oldjim
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Re: Deleting hibernate.sys

That isn't the correct command http://helpdeskgeek.com/windows-7/windows-7-delete-hibernation-file-hiberfil-sys/
It should be powercfg –h off
pwatson
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Re: Deleting hibernate.sys

The syntax of the command is a moot point if powercfg.exe can't be found...
Mav
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Re: Deleting hibernate.sys

@pwatson Sorry, should have said it is W7 Pro 64
@Oldjim I didn't think it made a difference whether adding the suffix 'exe' or not. But I tried without it with the same result Sad

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pwatson
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Re: Deleting hibernate.sys

Try looking for powercfg.exe in c:\windows\system32  That's where it resides in Win 7 Home Premium
Mav
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Re: Deleting hibernate.sys

It's there. I changed the directory in the Command prompt using the CD command then ran powercfg -h off again (and powercfg -hibernate off) and never received an error message. From what I read that command should turn off Hibernate and delete hiberfil.sys but it's still there and manually deleting doesn't work as I need permission from Administrators. There is only one user on this PC! Perhaps it will disappear or I can delete after a reboot Undecided
Out of interest, I forgot to mention in my OP that the Option for Hibernation is not included in the Start Menu.

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sjptd
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Re: Deleting hibernate.sys

You can try finding 'cmd' in start menu, right clicking, and 'Run as Administrator'.
Then in the command prompt do a 'cd \' and 'erase hiberfil.sys'
You may need to do an 'attrib -s -h hiberfil.sys' before the erase will work; not quite sure.
Then exit the command prompt at once before you accidentally type something else you regret.
Mav
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Re: Deleting hibernate.sys

The file is in the root 😧 folder so I set it to that but I got a 'Could not find D:\hiberfil.sys' message.
Thinking about my reply #6 I went to hiberfil.sys Properties > Security > Advanced and selected Full control then Apply. Hey presto I could delete the file Smiley
I'll need to reboot a little later so will check to see if it's come back.

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RobPN
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Re: Deleting hibernate.sys

Try typing powercfg -hibernate off (that worked for me)   Wink
Edit:  (Whereas powercfg -h off gave the syntax error message)
Mav
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Re: Deleting hibernate.sys

As I said above I tried both versions once I set the directory to c:\windows\system32  with no error for either.
Following from my last message the hiberfil.sys file has not returned after a reboot so all seems good.
Thanks for all the help Smiley

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