"Ghost" files, I thought were deleted

[bongoman31]

I deleted some VOB's (I'm using Windows 98; 2nd ed.) and I noticed in the recycle bin that a couple of them didn't go there. I just assumed they were deleted outright. But then, in Nero of all places, when I'm setting up to burn a disk, I see 2 files that were created at the exact time I deleted the VOB's. And they are the same size, but named: hiberfil.sys and pagefile.sys. I can only find them when in Nero; windows explorer can't find them, even in hidden and protected files. My main question other than W-T-F, is how do I get rid of them??
Thanks

[reepa]

pagefile.sys contains the virtual memory (when programs run out of free RAM virtual memory is used instead)

hiberfil.sys contains an image of the contents of the RAM for when you hibernate the computer (for starting it up faster)

You can get rid of both by disabling virtual memory and disabling hibernating, but I wouldn't recommend the former. IIRC virtual memory can be disabled under System options (My Computer properties or from the control panel) and hibernation can be disabled from Power Settings (under Control Panel).

[CirTap]

the size of "hiberfile.sys" always matches the physical memory of your machine. as you run Win98 it's probably <= 256MB anyway as Win9x can't really manage more than that truly efficient.
as reepa said: leave virtual memory (pagefile.sys) as is, some apps might stop working properly if you turn this off, but you can safely disable hibernation if you don't really use the related features (hibernate, suspend), if for instance this is not a laptop we're talking about.
In order to see the "ghost" files, go to Explorer - Extras - Folder Settings (can't recall exactly where this is in Win98) and untick "hide system files". That still won't allow you to delete them: there's a good reason (well, sort of) why they are hidden in the first place!
the same dates and sizes of the VOB and *.sys files is nothing but a coincidence.
in case you want to directly and physically delete files to free hard drive space, AND bypass the recyle bin entirely (no restore!), hold down the Shift-key while you click the red X or press delete.

CirTap

[bongoman31]

OK, let me mention that the size of hiberfil is 1,047,604 kb and pagefile is 1,047,552 kb. That's exactly the size of my 2 missing files. It is a laptop, and it's taking up a lot of space. I didn't quite understand if I should or should not try to delete these two files? (And I told you wrong; I'm running XP; my office machine is 98)

[CirTap]

well, then you obviously have 1GB RAM (nice laptop <g>), and virtual memory is set to an equal size, and VOB files often come in 1GB chunks ...
The slightly different file sizes may depend on the file system in use. FAT32, NTFS report different values due to the block/sectory size compared to file size and size on disc.
None of your VOBs or any file magically transform into any of the two files, some that only contain data present in the RAM. If they would have, the OS would like have crashed or display the BOD at startup.

This is a coincidence - trust me :)
Don't delete these files, in fact you should be unable to do this manually anyway, they're a managed by XP, and reepa told you how to turn off the "features" that create them.
But anyway: keep the virtual memory, you gain nothing if you turn it off or set the size to an insane high value -- leave it as is, if you basically have no idea of what you're messing around with.
You may disable hibernation temporarily and you will see "C:\hiberfile.sys" disappear. You may need to reboot, but afaik XP drops the file instantly. Disabling hibernation on a laptop is usually a bad idea, as it's purpose is to save your battery's power.

The two VOBs were probably deleted 'cos there was not enough free space for that drive in the recycle bin, who's max. space is calculated in % not MB. Windows certainly told you there's not enough room and deleted the file instead of moving it into trash, or you have disabled notification of that event, or the drives are configured independently to delete rather than move to trash (Recyle bin > Properties)

CirTap

[Doobie]

well, then you obviously have 1GB RAM (nice laptop <g>),...
Don't delete these files, in fact you should be unable to do this manually anyway, they're a managed by XP, and reepa told you how to turn off the "features" that create them.

Not only is it nice to have a laptop with 1GB, it's super-nice if it had 1GB back in the days of Wind98SE, which is what the guy is running! So, that's some trick to have Windows XP manage them.

Bongoman31, you can harmlessly delete both files, if the computer will let you. But, Windows will re-create them unless you change settings. Do you really have 1GB RAM in that laptop??? Are these two files really the same size, to the byte, and how would you know???

[CirTap]

in his last post, bongoman wrote And I told you wrong; I'm running XP; my office machine is 98besides, I never saw a Win98 running with 1GB of RAM, as it simply can't handle this amount of memory.
there's no point in deleting these files -- both being protected anyway -- finding they are recreated automatically, esp. as both can be perfectly controlled via the GUI as reepa already said.

It'll free 2GB on the harddrive, so? some apps might bark and slow down if there is no VM at all. w/o VM all program and OS files and any data need to be in the RAM, preventing Windows from moving currently inactive or unused stuff to the hard drive.
Hibernation is an option that can certainly be disabled, with the only drawback of loosing the benefits of the most useful laptop feature: close, re-open any time later, and continue exactly where you left off.
Summary: these are valid system files, that have nothing to do with the coincidence of some VOBs with nearly the same size disappearing :D
End of story.

CirTap