PageFile.sys and Hiberfil.sys

McDug · 03 Jun 2022

they total 93 GB on my hard drive. I never noticed this before. Any idea what they could be for?

NavyLCDR · 03 Jun 2022

Hiberfil.sys is for hibernation and Windows 10 fast startup. It can be disabled with:

Code:

powercfg -h off

That will automatically delete hiberfil.sys.

Pagefile.sys is virtual memory and should not be messed with. But, if you really must mess with it, you can find the settings in Windows 10 virtual memory settings:
Manage Virtual Memory Pagefile in Windows 10

zbook · 03 Jun 2022

See these links:

Free Up Drive Space in Windows 10

Enable or Disable Hibernate in Windows 10
Manage Virtual Memory Pagefile in Windows 10

Consider turning off each hibernation and page file > reboot > turn hibernation and page file back on > reboot > record size > watch size over time

dalchina · 04 Jun 2022

As they are hidden files, you must have chosen to show them.

The reason these are hidden is that normally you have no need to access them, and they are like your car engine- you use it but normally don't go prodding around inside it unless you really know what you're doing.

Tools like Wiztree (free) are a very good way to see all your files in a helpful manner, without having to change settings.

PageFile.sys and Hiberfil.sys-untitled.png

McDug · 05 Jun 2022

Thanks guys! I got that all figured out!
That WizTree program kicks ass too!! I freed up almost 150GB of garbage I couldn't find before haha!
Thanks so much everyone for your help!
I also have another question about the pagefile. Do I really need one? I want to have it on my other SSD but it gave me a warning saying log files couldn't be saved anymore, so I left a 2GB page file on my C drive (OS) and made a larger one on my other SSD, but do I even need one with this awesome computer? I have 64 GB Ram 8 GB Video Ram, but I do often have 3DS Max, Photoshop, browsers with tons of tabs open among other programs running all at the same time.
Thanks again for the help guys!

zbook · 05 Jun 2022

McDug said:

I also have another question about the pagefile. Do I really need one? !

For computers with large amounts of RAM Microsoft recommends using a page file so that it can support crash dumps.

Berton · 05 Jun 2022

Two things used to be required [haven't paid much attention lately] for installing programs, one was the swapfile/paging file/Virtual Memory and the other was a Temp folder on the boot/system drive. It was how the programs were written to be able to run in Windows, programs like CAD/CAM, photo editing, video editing, etc., generally programs that needed a lot of "elbow room" in performing their tasks or a scratch file for their storage while working on a file. Could even be the office-type programs that have an autosave feature.