Can I Delete hiberfil.sys?

TL;DR

Yes.  

Run command:
powercfg -h off 

So, I Found This File…

I’m going to presume as you’re here it’s because either you’re wondering what hiberfil.sys is or you’ve gone ahead and tried to delete it and got a scary ‘this file is in use’ style message. Or maybe even a less helpful ‘sorry you can’t do that now’ type message.

Yes you can delete it, but deleting it via Windows Explorer isn’t going to cut it for this bad boy.

What Is It?

It’s a file used by Windows when you hibernate your computer. If you don’t ever hibernate, you don’t need it. However, Windows will maintain this fairly beefy file whilst the option to hibernate is available – and automatically delete it once disabled

What’s The Magic?

Open command prompt and run the following command:

powercfg -h off 

This will simultaneously disable hibernation mode and blast hiberfil;sys into oblivion. Do not pass Go, do not relocate via the Recycle bin.

Space may not longer be at the cost premium it once was, but you’ve likely got another couple of DVD sized chunks free on your disk – which always comes in handy.

Now, time to install that new game…