Delete hiberfil.sys on Windows 7

Solution 1:

To delete restore file you can open command prompt with admin privileges and run command

powercfg -h off

Then reboot, and Windows should automatically delete your hiberfil.sys. If it doesn't, you can remove it manually.

Then running

powercfg -h on

restores sleep and hibernate functionality.

You can start command prompt with admin privileges by starting command prompt (Windows Key+R (Run), type cmd) and then right-clicking command prompt icon on task bar and selecting "Run as administrator".

Solution 2:

I wanted to do this in the easiest way possible, especially without rebooting.

Open a command prompt as administrator and go to the disk where hiberfil.sys resides. In my case:

C:\Windows\System32\> e:

In e:, check for hidden files:

E:\> dir /A:H

In the listing hiberfil.sys should show up. If so, delete it:

E:\> del /AS hiberfil.sys

I have to warn you: I don't know what happens if you do this with an active hiberfil.sys file. In my case it was on an old hard disk drive and was no longer needed.