Disable Hibernate From Your XP

Do you use "Hibernate" when closing your computer down?

Did you know that putting your Computer into Hibernation instead of closing it down may help you start up faster, but can use anything from 200MB to 500 or more MB? If your system is tight for HD space, turn the Hibernate feature off. To do this, go to

START > Control Panel > Power Options > Hibernate.

Un-tick the small box that says "Enable Hibernation". Have a look around on this page and it will tell you how much memory you would use if you Hibernate. I have never used it, but the 295MB it would use was "in reserve" just in case I did. I now have an extra 295MB to use.

When you put your computer in hibernation, Windows XP writes all memory content to the Hiberfil.sys file before shutting down the system. Then, when you turn your computer back on, the OS uses the Hiberfil.sys file to put everything back into memory, and the computer resumes where it left off. However, Windows XP leaves the Hiberfil.sys file on the hard disk, even though it's no longer needed.

The Hiberfil.sys file, which can be very large, is a special system file that Disk Defragmenter cannot defragment. Therefore, the presence of the Hiberfil.sys file will prevent Disk Defragmenter from performing a thorough defragmenting operation.

Follow the steps above to locate where you can temporally stop the Hiberfil.sys. As soon as you remove the tick from the box, Windows XP automatically deletes the Hiberfil.sys file from the hard disk. Once you complete the defrag operation, you can re-enable the Hibernation feature, and when you are finished with your computer for the day, you can safely Hibernate again.