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Mrchtopherrr's avatar
Mrchtopherrr
Iron Contributor
Aug 13, 2025

How to free up space in c drive in windows 10 or windows 11?

Hi all, I have two budget PCs at my home and both of them only has 128 SSD. Now, the c drive is almost full and the devices are running very slow. I already deleted the large files from the computer...
ZepFluous's avatar
ZepFluous
Iron Contributor
Aug 13, 2025

Disable Hibernation to free up space in c drive for Windows 11 or Windows 10.

Hibernation (hiberfil.sys) is a power-saving mode that saves your current system state (open programs, files, etc.) to the hard drive and shuts down the PC. When you turn it back on, Windows restores everything exactly as you left it.

How Hibernation Works

When enabled, Windows creates a file called hiberfil.sys in the C: drive. This file is roughly 70-80% of your total RAM size (e.g., 16GB RAM → ~12GB hiberfil.sys). Unlike Sleep mode, which keeps power to RAM, hibernation fully powers off the PC.

If you don't use hibernation, the hiberfil.sys file is just wasting space. Disabling it can free up several GBs , especially useful for small SSDs.

How to Disable Hibernation & Delete hiberfil.sys

Press Win + X → Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin).

Run:

powercfg /h off

This disables hibernation and deletes hiberfil.sys immediately.

Final Thoughts

Disabling hibernation is a quick way to free up GBs of space if you don't need it.

If you use a laptop or want Fast Startup, keep it enabled.

For desktops with SSDs, disabling it is often safe (use Sleep instead).

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