Which Windows system file stores the contents of RAM when the system hibernates?

• A. C:\\pagefile.sys
• B. C:\\config.sys
• C. C:\\ALCSetup.log
• D. C:\\hiberfil.sys

Answer: (D)

When a Windows machine hibernates, it needs to preserve everything in memory so it can power off and later resume exactly where you left off. This memory image is written to a dedicated hibernation file at the root of the system drive, named hiberfil.sys. The file holds a compressed dump of RAM plus some boot and resume state, and Windows reads it back into memory when you wake the PC to restore the session. This is different from pagefile.sys, which is used for virtual memory paging while the system is running, not for storing the entire RAM image during hibernation. The other files mentioned are unrelated to hibernation. So the correct file is hiberfil.sys.