HUGE pagefile.sys and hiberfil.sys

[whimseh]

Hello! I recently finished my first build. Everything is working flawlessly!

I'm using an OCZ Agility 3 (120 GB) as my boot drive and using Seagate Momentus XT for data storage.

I noticed something peculiar on "My Computer" when it said that I only have 63 GB free of 111 GB. I downloaded WinDirStat to see what was taking up so much space because showing the hidden files did nothing...

I found a "pagefile.sts" and "hiberfil.sys" that take up way too much space.. pagefile taking up 16GB and hiberfil taking up 12.

What am I supposed to do? :S

Not sure if any specifications are needed but I'll post before I go to bed!
Intel Core i7-2700k
16GB of RAM (does the 16 have anything to do with the 16 gb pagefile?)
ASUS P8Z68 Motherboard

*Oh! And, why is there a hibernate file when it's not even enabled..? I thought it was only for laptops.

 

[Gh0s7y]

How much RAM do you have?
The pagefile.sys is a file where working memory will temporarily be saved when your RAM is full.
If you have more than, let's say 6 gigs of RAM, you can disable it:

Spoiler

Start -> right click Computer -> Properties -> (for Windows 7) left side of the screen "Advanced system settings" -> tab advanced -> Performance settings -> tab advanced -> Virtual memory, change -> deselect "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives" -> select "No paging file", click "Set", OK, OK, OK, OK, Restart Now.

Hiberfile.sys is for hibernation mode, if you don't use it, you can disable it with a command in command prompt with admin rights:

powercfg.exe -h off


You might also want to take a look at a tool called "SSD Tweaker".


Also, what operating system do you have? Because Windows 7 should automatically disable the pagefile when it finds an SSD during installation.

 

[13thmonkey]

they aren't way too big, they are precisely the size they are needed to be. You can move the pagefile to another drive and with 16GB of ram shrink it dramatically.
Turn hibernate off if you want, but it allows sleep, you may find this useful.

 

[Kursun]

Pagefile is generally about 1.5*ram size. I think this is to enable to write ram content to hd before sleep, if you use this function.

You might also be interested in this thread:
http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=82516

 

[13thmonkey]

Pagefile is generally about 1.5*ram size. I think this is to enable to write ram content to hd before sleep, if you use this function.

You might also be interested in this thread:
http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=82516

NO its not, pagefile is where windows puts data it wants to hold in memory when there is not enough memory, it used to be recommended about 1.5 x ram, which larger amounts of ram this is less of an issue, and the recommendation is system controlled. Personally on a rotating disk I set it to a fixed size so that it does not fragment.

Hiberfil.sys is a percentage of the ram size as it will store all of ram as an image to allow fast restarting from exactly where you were, I think there is some compression involved hence why it is not = to ram size.

Pagefile on SSD's are not the greatest idea as to change data on an SSd you have to write it elsewhere and then delete the original, and that then forces some garbage collection and trimming to make the deleted space writable. HDD's don't have this issue.

 

[Kursun]

NO its not, pagefile is where windows puts data it wants to hold in memory when there is not enough memory, it used to be recommended about 1.5 x ram, which larger amounts of ram this is less of an issue, and the recommendation is system controlled. Personally on a rotating disk I set it to a fixed size so that it does not fragment.

Hiberfil.sys is a percentage of the ram size as it will store all of ram as an image to allow fast restarting from exactly where you were, I think there is some compression involved hence why it is not = to ram size.

Pagefile on SSD's are not the greatest idea as to change data on an SSd you have to write it elsewhere and then delete the original, and that then forces some garbage collection and trimming to make the deleted space writable. HDD's don't have this issue.

I'm not sure I understand what you wrote. You mean Windows doesn't use pagefile for sleep writes? BTW It still recommends 1.5*ram. I use win7.
My pagefile is not on my boot drive as suggested by the link I've given.

 

[13thmonkey]

the last bit was for the OP, page file is used on-the-fly as additional memory, it was called swap space. The page is used during shutdown, but only as memory, it is all written to the hiberfil.sys which has to be on the boot drive afaik.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/889654

 

[whimseh]

Thanks guys! ^_^ Disabled hiberfil.. got some space. Gotta invest in another SSD soon.

 

[13thmonkey]

what do you plan to do with the second ssd?

 

[nikorr]

Hello! I recently finished my first build. Everything is working flawlessly!

I'm using an OCZ Agility 3 (120 GB) as my boot drive and using Seagate Momentus XT for data storage.

I noticed something peculiar on "My Computer" when it said that I only have 63 GB free of 111 GB. I downloaded WinDirStat to see what was taking up so much space because showing the hidden files did nothing...

I found a "pagefile.sts" and "hiberfil.sys" that take up way too much space.. pagefile taking up 16GB and hiberfil taking up 12.

What am I supposed to do? :S

Not sure if any specifications are needed but I'll post before I go to bed!
Intel Core i7-2700k
16GB of RAM (does the 16 have anything to do with the 16 gb pagefile?)
ASUS P8Z68 Motherboard

*Oh! And, why is there a hibernate file when it's not even enabled..? I thought it was only for laptops.

Windows 7 – Delete Hibernation File (hiberfil.sys)
http://helpdeskgeek.com/windows-7/windows-7-delete-hibernation-file-hiberfil-sys/

Do not disable the page file, reduce the size to 4GB min - 6GB max.

 

[nikorr]

Thanks guys! ^_^ Disabled hiberfil.. got some space. Gotta invest in another SSD soon.

Are u using the system restore?

U can reserve smaller amount than u have, but on SSD, I wouldn't use it.

Back up solution off of the SSD solution is better : )

 

[gamerk316]

The pagefile handles the mapping of data that gets written to disk when loaded out of RAM. Its because of this scheme you can, for instance, be using 10GB worth of RAM on a 8GB system.

These days, its normal to leave the size of the pagefile as system managed, as the OS will grow the file as needed. The old rule of thumb, however, was 2x the size of your main memory.

As an aside, a 16GB pagefile isn't too huge these days, especially since the OS now takes a LOT of time preloading stuff into RAM at system startup. I've seen mine get upwards of 32GB or so [I happen to have a 64-bit application thats VERY RAM intensive]

 

[bucknutty]

Lock the page file at 4gb and you will be fine.. This way your are not wasting disk space or seek times as it churns getting bigger or smaller, and it will not end up fragmented.

Unless you have some comercial applications designed to use huge amounts of ram then you will not have an issue. And if you do have an issue windows will throw the out of memory error and then you can manually just add another gb or 2.

There is no way you will be able to utilize 16 gigs of ram using every day programs like office and video games. It is simply not going to happen.

Just for fun disable paging all together and run like that for a few days. Chances are the computer will run great. Again there is no risk because if windows needs more space it will throw a out of memory error and then you can just enable paging again.

I have been running without a paging file for like 2 years now. I only have 8gb of ram on windows 7 ultimate. Never had a problem running games like bf3 on main screen while watching avi's on the second screen and running afterburner and IE and steam buddy list on the 3rd screen.

 

[13thmonkey]

with 6Gb and a tiny page file 1GB I had issues on bf3 with other stuff in background, but 16 should be fine.

 

[ATP_1]

I have recently had quite a large problem with my machine presenting itself as very sick, which I had resolved with the aid of services firm systems engineer.

What he claimed is that he utilised 'PE" & moved hiberfil.sys (3.1GB) & pagefile.sys (4.9 GB) files from C drive to E(another) drive, which solved the presenting problem. However, I have re-examined both C & E drives, & find that EACH of them now contain both these .sys files.

I couldn't understand why I had trouble with hiberfil.sys file (& I wasn't so sure that he knew exactly why either).

I did undertake some online research to understand better why I had this problem, & there was some indication that the problem had arisen because of a sudden power failure/outage--which I had experienced when the local government electrician suddenly turned off the power at the main, to install new digital meters. I did not turn off my computer at the switch prior to the electrician turning the power back on.

While the machine is now ok, I have since had very strange behaviour from my 3rd party desktop search software (copernic home).

Is there any possible relationship between the problems of the .sys files & the resultant effect on my desktop search software not retrieving files I know are there, which it once retrieved without difficulty, but now does not?

If so, how would I resolve this problem??

Thanks very much.