What is Hiberfil.sys and How Does It Speed Up Windows Boot Time?

Windows offers a Fast Startup feature that significantly reduces boot time by preloading system data. This article explains three methods to enable Fast Startup, ensuring your system starts faster after shutdown.

1. How Fast Startup Works?

1. When Fast Startup is enabled, Windows saves system state information to a file named C:\hiberfil.sys.
2. This file stores key system data, allowing Windows to quickly load this information into memory during the next startup, thus bypassing the need to reload the system entirely.
3. If you cannot find the hiberfil.sys file in the C drive, it might be because Fast Startup is not enabled or the file is hidden. To reveal it:
4. Open File Explorer.
5. Click the three dots in the top-right corner, select Options.
6. Under the View tab, uncheck Hide protected operating system files.
7. Now, let’s explore three ways to enable Fast Startup.

2. How to Enable / Disable Windows Fast Startup?

2.1 Method 1: Through Control Panel.

1. Open the Start Menu and search for Control Panel.
2. If you’re in Category View, switch to Large Icons or Small Icons, then click Power Options.
3. On the left-hand side, select Choose what the power buttons do.
4. Click Change settings that are currently unavailable.
5. Check the box for Turn on Fast Startup, then save changes.

2.2 Method 2: Through Group Policy Editor.

1. Open the Start Menu and search for gpedit to launch Group Policy Editor.
2. Navigate to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System, and click on Shutdown.
3. Double-click Require use of fast startup, select Enabled, and click OK.

2.3 Method 3: Through Registry Editor.

1. Open the Start Menu and search for regedit to open Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System.
3. Find HiberbootEnabled and change its value from 0 to 1 to enable Fast Startup.

By using these methods, you can easily enable Fast Startup in Windows, improving your system’s boot speed.

4. Video Demo.

You can watch the following demo video by choosing your preferred subtitle language.