Where is the memory used by computer hibernation stored?

Question

I allowed my computer to hibernate, which told me it would take up about 1,073 megabytes. Once I turned my computer back on, I checked "My Computer" to see if I had gained the memory back, but it hasn't. How do I find this memory so I can delete it? I don't want that gigabyte of information to be lost forever!

Answer 1

i prefer hybernation over shut down, here is why:

when you hibernate, all the data stored in the memory is written to the hard drive, and then shut down. when you start it up, the hard drive starts to load the same data to the memory, and then deletes the data on the hard drive.

when you shut down/startup the programs have to load, meaning they have to go to the processor, to be processed and then loaded into the memory, thats why it takes longer to startup than the get out of hibernation.

Answer 2

The space should come back in a little while.  There is a place where the information is stored, but if you delete it manually before it is ready to go, you will have major problems.  I believe that when your computer is put into hibernation that the computer used Virtual Memory.  This is memory used on your hard drive once your RAM fills up.  You can change settings with your Virtual RAM, like the maximum amount that can be used, but it is highly discouraged.

I haven't tried this myself, but I've heard that if you manually delete your Virtual RAM that your computer crashes.  I don't know that it would be THAT severe, but you'd definitely run into problems.

If you want to get rid of unnecessary temporary files, try CCleaner.  It only deletes files that are ready to go and it can free up a lot of space.

http://www.filehippo.com/download_cclean...

Answer 3

When a Windows system hibernates (or enters a similar power saving mode), the contents of system memory is written to a file on the hard drive (in Windows XP this file is C:\hiberfil.sys). The temporary storage for each running program is stored unencrypted in RAM and, therefore, unencrypted on the hard drive during hibernation. Even when you are using programs such as PGP or TrueCrypt to encrypt disk volumes, files that are open and in use may be stored unencrypted during hibernation.  

Answer 4

You won't see the space being used by hibernation, it happens as it's going into hibernation.  If it becomes corrupt your os should warn you that you need a fresh boot.  Otherwise it will be deleted automatically after coming out of hibernation.