Pagefile.sys & hiberfil.sys

  • Thread starter Thread starter Okkine
  • Start date Start date
O

Okkine

Hey guys,

I was just browsing through my C drive trying to clear some space and
came across two rather large files whose function I do not know. They
are Pagefile.sys & hiberfil.sys, both located in C:/ and together
take up over a gig. I was just wondering if anyone could tell me what
they do, and if they are suppose to be that large? Also, is it safe to
delete them to clear some space?

Thanks,
 
Hi

For pagefile.sys please have a look at the following article:

"Virtual Memory in Windows XP"
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.php

The hiberfil.sys file is used for 'Hibernation' and can be 'deleted' if not
used by going to Control Panel>Power Options>Hibernate. Uncheck 'Enable
hibernate' and hard disk space equivalent to the amount of RAM you have
installed will be freed up.
 
Pagefile.sys is the file that's used to "page" memory out to your hard disk.
XP (and other operating systems) use hard disk space as though it were
actual RAM. This is called Virtual Memory.

The other file is used for hibernation. When you put your system into
hibernation mode, it copies everything that's currently in memory to your
hard disk so that you can pick up exactly where you left off after you
resume from hibernation.

hope that helps,

JMI
Okkine said:
Hey guys,

I was just browsing through my C drive trying to clear some space and
came across two rather large files whose function I do not know. They
are Pagefile.sys & hiberfil.sys, both located in C:/ and together
take up over a gig. I was just wondering if anyone could tell me what
they do, and if they are suppose to be that large? Also, is it safe to
delete them to clear some space?

Thanks,

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