How to Disable Hibernate in Windows 10 (and Free Up Space)

Hibernation saves everything in memory to a file on your drive (hiberfil.sys) and powers the PC off completely. That file can take up many gigabytes, often about 40% or more of your RAM size. Turning hibernation off deletes it and frees the space. This guide shows how to disable hibernation in Windows 10 (and 11) with one command, how to just hide the Hibernate option instead, how to shrink the file rather than removing it, and what else changes when hibernation is off.

Quick Answer

Open Command Prompt as administrator and run powercfg /hibernate off. Hibernation is disabled immediately, and hiberfil.sys is deleted. To turn it back on, run powercfg /hibernate on.

What Turning Off Hibernation Changes

Feature	With hibernation off
Hibernate option in the power menu	Removed
hiberfil.sys file	Deleted, freeing disk space
Fast Startup	Disabled (it depends on hibernation)
Hybrid Sleep (desktops)	Disabled
Sleep	Still works normally

On laptops, hibernation protects your work if the battery runs out during sleep. Consider keeping it on for laptops, and turning it off on desktops that are short on space.

Method 1: Disable Hibernation with powercfg

1. Click Start, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and choose Run as administrator. PowerShell (Admin) works too.
2. Type powercfg /hibernate off and press Enter. Nothing is displayed if it succeeds.
3. Optional: run powercfg /a to confirm that Hibernate is listed as not available.

To turn it back on, run powercfg /hibernate on in an admin Command Prompt. You can also use the shorter forms powercfg -h off and powercfg -h on.

Method 2: Just Hide the Hibernate Option

If you only want Hibernate removed from the power menu but keep Fast Startup:

1. Open Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options.
2. Click Choose what the power buttons do.
3. Click Change settings that are currently unavailable.
4. Under Shutdown settings, uncheck Hibernate and click Save changes.

Method 3: Shrink hiberfil.sys Instead

To keep Fast Startup but use less space, reduce the hibernation file:

powercfg /h /type reduced

A reduced file supports Fast Startup but not full hibernation. Use powercfg /h /type full to go back.

Method 4: Registry (When powercfg Is Blocked)

1. Open Registry Editor (regedit) and back up the key first.
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power.
3. Set HibernateEnabled (DWORD) to 0. Create it if it doesn’t exist.
4. Restart the PC.

Check How Much Space You Freed

hiberfil.sys is a hidden system file at the root of C:. Before disabling hibernation, you can see its size by turning on hidden and protected system files in File Explorer’s Folder Options. After you disable hibernation, the file is gone.

Troubleshooting

“You do not have permission to enable or disable the Hibernate feature”

Command Prompt isn’t running as administrator. Reopen it with Run as administrator.

hiberfil.sys is still there

Restart the PC, and check that powercfg /a reports hibernation is off. Some management tools re-enable it, so check with your IT department on work PCs.

Startup is slower now

That’s because Fast Startup is off. Use the reduced hibernation file (Method 3) if you want Fast Startup back.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it safe to delete hiberfil.sys manually?

Don’t delete it manually. Use powercfg /hibernate off, which removes it safely.

Does disabling hibernation affect Sleep?

No. Sleep still works. Only hibernate, hybrid sleep, and Fast Startup are affected.

Is it the same on Windows 11?

Yes. The same commands work on Windows 11.

Summary

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator.
2. Run powercfg /hibernate off to disable hibernation and delete hiberfil.sys.
3. Or hide the option in Power Options, or shrink the file with /type reduced.
4. Run powercfg /hibernate on to re-enable it.