are gigantic hiberfil.sys and pagefile.sys safe to delete?

[Zaref]

hello
i was trying to empty some space on my C drive , i found those 2 files with a size more than 7 gigabytes
what are they ? can i delete them ? will it affect anything ?
thanks in advance

 

[windows8use]

No, you should not delete them through windows explorer because they are system files.

Hiberfil.sys is the hibernation files, when your PC is in hibernate mode, everything in your RAM will store in the hiberfil.sys, the size of this file will be same as or near to the memory you have so Windows can store everything in your RAM without causing problems.
If you want to disable hibernate and delete hiberfil.sys, open elevated cmd, copy and paste the following:

powercfg -h off

This will delete hiberfil.sys, but Windows will boot slower because fast startup is disabled.

pagefile.sys is the Page File (Virtual Memory). If your memory get full, Windows will store something in the pagefile.sys, it is not recommended to disable Page File even you have a lot of RAM. If you still want you can disable it in the advanced system settings, not delete the pagefile.sys!

 

[Brink]

Hello Zaref,

The hiberfil.sys file is what is used by hibernate and Fast Startup. If you disable hibernate, then it will be deleted automatically.

Hibernate - Enable or Disable - Windows 7 Help Forums

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/6320-fast-startup-turn-off-windows-8-a.html

The pagefile.sys file is the paging file. Do not delete this file since it is needed. You can use an option in the tutorial below to reduce it's size if you are low on free hard drive space, but lowering it too much can give you a "low memory" error.

Virtual Memory Paging File - Change

Hope this helps.

 

[Cliff S]

Don't just delete them. Turn them off. then back on, but pagefile is needed(some programs look for it no matter if you have up to 124GB RAM) and you can set the maximum size although it's better to let windows handle it. Windows only uses the amount it absolutely needs. In File Explorer right click This PC>Advanced system settings(on the upper left)>Performance>Advanced tab>virtual memory change>untick automatic management>tick no paging file>reboot>go back and restore the settings.
Be aware you really should set aside atleast 4 GB(4096 MB). On my system windows can use up to 16GB=my RAM amount but has set aside only 5625MB and uses 2432MB with the minimum of 16MB(needed for system restore and BSOD Error Logs).

Your hiberfil is the hibernation file used for fastboot/quickboot(?)in any case Hybrid sleep, or if you use hibernation and it should also only be a certain % your RAM size.

If you are not having any problems with your system now I urge you not to mess with these files, other wise you'll probably starting a new thread in the near future

Edit: OK Shawn types faster:thumb: