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Q&A I want to delete or shrink huge files that take a lot of space on hard drive

You can't delete them directly, but you can disable/configure the features in Windows. hiberfil.sys is related to hibernation and usually has the size of the memory installed in the machine. If yo...

posted 8mo ago by GeraldS‭  ·  edited 8mo ago by GeraldS‭

Answer
#2: Post edited by user avatar GeraldS‭ · 2026-01-20T10:00:32Z (8 months ago)
  • You can't delete them directly, but you can disable/configure the features in Windows.
  • hiberfil.sys is related to hibernation and usually has the size of the memory installed in the machine. If you use hibernation, you need this file. If you don't use hibernation, you can disable the feature by running this command in an elevated command prompt:
  • ```powershell
  • powercfg.exe /hibernate off
  • ```
  • pagefile.sys is your virtual memory, also known as a swap file. Memory that is currently not being actively used is swapped out to it to free up memory for running processes. It is not recommended to disable swap, but you can reduce the size if you don't need all of it.
  • Open `sysdm.cpl`, either by running <kbd>Win</kbd>+<kbd>R</kbd>, or by just typing it with the start menu open.
  • 1. go to `Advanced`
  • 2. under `Performance` click on `Settings`
  • 3. Under `Virtual Memory`, click on `Change`
  • Here you can select automatic management of your virtual memory files, or specify a size per drive.
  • You can also disable it completely, but as already mentioned, this is not recommended.
  • You can't delete them directly, but you can disable/configure the features in Windows.
  • **hiberfil.sys** is related to hibernation and usually has the size of the memory installed in the machine. If you use hibernation, you need this file. If you don't use hibernation, you can disable the feature by running this command in an elevated command prompt:
  • ```powershell
  • powercfg.exe /hibernate off
  • ```
  • **pagefile.sys** is your virtual memory, also known as a swap file. Memory that is currently not being actively used is swapped out to it to free up memory for running processes. It is not recommended to disable swap, but you can reduce the size if you don't need all of it.
  • Open `sysdm.cpl`, either by running <kbd>Win</kbd>+<kbd>R</kbd>, or by just typing it with the start menu open.
  • 1. go to `Advanced`
  • 2. under `Performance` click on `Settings`
  • 3. Under `Virtual Memory`, click on `Change`
  • Here you can select automatic management of your virtual memory files, or specify a size per drive.
  • You can also disable it completely, but as already mentioned, this is not recommended.
#1: Initial revision by user avatar GeraldS‭ · 2026-01-20T09:58:18Z (8 months ago)
You can't delete them directly, but you can disable/configure the features in Windows.

hiberfil.sys is related to hibernation and usually has the size of the memory installed in the machine. If you use hibernation, you need this file. If you don't use hibernation, you can disable the feature by running this command in an elevated command prompt:

```powershell
powercfg.exe /hibernate off
```

pagefile.sys is your virtual memory, also known as a swap file. Memory that is currently not being actively used is swapped out to it to free up memory for running processes. It is not recommended to disable swap, but you can reduce the size if you don't need all of it.

Open `sysdm.cpl`, either by running <kbd>Win</kbd>+<kbd>R</kbd>, or by just typing it with the start menu open.

1. go to `Advanced`
2. under `Performance` click on `Settings`
3. Under `Virtual Memory`, click on `Change`

Here you can select automatic management of your virtual memory files, or specify a size per drive.

You can also disable it completely, but as already mentioned, this is not recommended.