Windows 11 Disable Hibernation File May 2026

She had , so Windows reserved roughly 6–8 GB normally — but here it was almost 19 GB . Why? The real issue Hibernation ( hiberfil.sys ) stores everything in RAM to disk so you can shut down and pick up exactly where you left off. But Windows 11 increases that file to up to 40–50% of RAM if Fast Startup (hybrid shutdown) or hibernation is enabled — even if she never used hibernation.

powercfg /h size 20 That would reduce it from 19 GB to ~3.2 GB in her case. Check your hibernation file size if you’re low on disk space in Windows 11. If you never use Hibernate (only Sleep and Shutdown), disable it with: windows 11 disable hibernation file

She verified with:

dir C:\hiberfil.sys “File not found” — success. Yes — but she didn’t care. Fast Startup is a hybrid hibernation mode. Without hibernation, Windows boots slightly slower (an extra 2–3 seconds on her SSD). Sleep still worked perfectly, and she gained back critical disk space for video projects. What if you do want Fast Startup but not a huge hibernation file? You can keep Fast Startup but shrink the hibernation file to 20% of RAM (minimum safe size): She had , so Windows reserved roughly 6–8

powercfg /h off No registry editing, no reboots needed. Your disk space returns instantly. Reducing writes by removing hibernation can also slightly extend SSD lifespan, though modern SSDs handle it fine. The real win is more free space . But Windows 11 increases that file to up

She did use (which keeps RAM powered, no disk write), but she never needed full hibernation. That huge file was wasted space. What Meera did She decided to disable hibernation entirely , which would remove hiberfil.sys and free up the space — but keep Sleep mode working.

Frustrated, she opened and clicked “Show more categories.” That’s when she saw it: “System & reserved” was huge.