For those who prefer text to video, you can click the Transcript link that appears below the video player window or read Jody Gilbert’s article, “10+ lesser-known shortcuts for formatting Word text,” on which this episode is based. If you want even more Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts, check out the following downloads:

• 60 indispensable Microsoft Word tips
• Microsoft Word 2003 keyboard shortcuts
• The 10 most useful Word shortcuts
• Working more efficiently with Word 2007’s new building blocks
• Practical tips for working with Word 2007 documents
• 10+ tips for using Word as an XML editor
• Supercharge your Word 2003 editing ability with these techniques

You can also sign up to receive the latest TR Dojo lessons through one or more of the following methods:

• Follow Bill Detwiler on Twitter
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Hiberfil.sys and Windows Hibernate function

To understand why hiberfil.sys exists, we must look at the Windows Hibernate function. When you activate Hibernate, Windows takes a snap shot of your current session (all your running programs, open files, etc.) and writes that information to your hard drive. Hibernate was designed to speedup shut downs and restarts and save power on laptops.

Figure A

Hiberfil.sys, as the name suggests, is the file to which Windows saves the snap shot data. Thus, the file is always equal in size to the total amount of available RAM on the computer (see Figure A). On a computer with plenty of free disk space having such a large file just hanging around usually isn’t a problem. But if you’re running low on hard drive space and never use the Hibernate feature, hiberfil.sys is unnecessarily eating up valuable disk real estate.

Disabling Windows Hibernation

As I noted earlier, you can manually delete hiberfil.sys, but it will just come back. To permanently remove the file, you must disable the Windows Hibernate function. You can do this through either the Windows GUI or from the command line.

Windows XP

On Windows XP systems, you can easily disable Hibernate through the GUI using the following steps:

1. Open the Control Panel and access Power Options.
2. Select the Hibernate tab in the Power Options Properties dialog box.
3. Clear the Enable Hibernation check box (see Figure B) and click OK.

Figure B

If you would prefer to disable Hibernate through he command line, you can use the steps outlined below.

Windows Vista and Windows 7

Completely disabling Hibernate through the GUI on Windows Vista and Windows 7 is significantly more difficult than on Windows XP. The Hibernate settings are still stored under the Control Panel’s Power Options applet, but they are buried under each power plan’s advanced power settings submenu. In fact, I was unable to remove hiberfil.sys by altering the appropriate Power Options (Allow hybrid sleep and Hibernate after) on either Windows Vista or Windows 7 (see Figure C).

Figure C

The only surefire method of disabling Hibernate, and thus removing hiberfil.sys, on Windows Vista and Windows 7, is through the command prompt and the following steps:

1. Open a command prompt with administrative privileges.
2. Enter “powercfg.exe -h off” (see Figure D).
3. Exit the command prompt.

Figure D

As soon as you clear the check box or execute the above powercfg.exe command, Windows should delete hiberfil.sys. If not, you can manually delete it.

Re-enabling Windows Hibernate

To turn the Hibernate function back on, simply recheck the Enable Hibernation setting under Power Option Properties or enter “powercfg.exe -h on” at a command prompt with administrative privileges.

And the TechRepublic swag goes to…

This week’s coffee mugs and laptop stickers go to mluck, who was first to correctly associate hiberfil.sys with Windows Hibernate function and jscholefield, who provided information on how to disable hibernation and the corresponding command line text.

Thanks to everyone who submitted an answer.

You can also sign up to receive the latest from the TR Dojo through one or more of the following methods:

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With these trends in mind, I thought I put together a quick pop quiz on the basics of fiber optic LAN and WAN cabling basics. The quiz covers safety, cable types, common light sources, attenuation, splicing, and cable testing.

I realize this quiz barely scratches the surface of fiber cabling knowledge. Indeed, entire books have been written on designing, building, and managing fiber optic networks. My goal with this quiz is to give you a brief introduction to several important fiber optic cabling concepts.

Note: Unfortunately, our poll tool, which I use to create each pop quiz, doesn’t let me indicate a correct answer after each question. To keep from giving away the answers before everyone has a chance to test his/her knowledge, and ruining all the fun, I’m going to hold off posting the answers until later.

More TechRepublic resources on fiber optic cabling:

• When to use fiber optic cabling in your network installations
• Learn the basics of fiber-optic technologies and how to determine which is right for your organization
• Find faults in fiber
• Get IT Done: Maintaining fiber-optic connections takes a creative approach
• Get IT Done: Diagram a building-to-building fiber network with Visio
• Inspection and Cleaning Procedures for Fiber-Optic Connections
• Calculating Fiber Loss and Distances
• Fiber-To-The-Home White Paper
• Fiber to the Home Architectures
• Free On-Demand Webcast: Choosing an OTDR for your Enterprise Fiber Optic Testing
• Free On-Demand Webcast: How to Perform Advanced Fiber Troubleshooting Using an OTDR

• UltraDefrag tool
• MyDefrag 4.2.6
• Smart Defrag
• Defraggler defrag hard disk utility

For those who prefer text to video, you can click the Transcript link that appears below the video player window or read Mark Kaelin’s article, “Product Spotlight: Roundup of file defragmentation apps,” on which this episode is based.

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• 1 GHz Apple A4 chip
• 16, 32, or 64 GB of Flash storage
• 9.7-inch IPS display
• 802.11n Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Accelerometer and compass
• 10-hour battery life

Shortly after Apple’s iPad press event, I spoke with TechRepublic’s Jason Hiner and ZDNet’s Andrew Nusca about the iPad potential effect on business users. You can play this 23-minute episode from the Flash-based player at the top of the page or:

• Subscribe via iTunes
• Subscribe via RSS
• Download the MP3 file

I think we all agreed that the iPad is primarily a consumer device, but that it might have a few niche business uses–a second computer that you use in conference rooms, at meetings, or while traveling. If the iPad does make its way into corporate IT, I’m interested to hear the TechRepublic audience’s concerns about supporting the device.
Are you concerned about security? What about application compatibility? Do you think the device will be more expensive to support than a traditional laptop or even a netbook? Let me know.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Here are the top 10 passwords by popularity:

1. 123456 - 290,731 users
2. 12345 - 79,078 users
3. 123456789 - 76,790 users
4. Password - 61,958 users
5. Iloveyou - 51,622 users
6. Princess - 35,231 users
7. Rockyou - 22,588 users
8. 1234567 - 21,726
9. 12345678 - 20,553
10. abc123 - 17,542

Imperva’s analysis also showed that about 30 percent of users had passwords with six of fewer characters and nearly half of users “used names, slang words, dictionary words or trivial passwords (consecutive digits, adjacent keyboard keys, an so on).” Considering the above information, can passwords ever be secure? Is it time for a new security mechanism? What should that new authentication mechanism be?

Here are a collection of password resources and discussions from other areas of TechRepublic:

• Gates: Passwords passe
• Gmail password reset options a security hole
• Security 101 - Remedial Edition: Use strong passwords
• Help users create complex passwords that are easy to remember
• How does bad password policy like this even happen?
• Use the Firefox password manager
• Help consulting clients create strong password policies
• Automatically generate and assign strong passwords in Windows XP
• Store passwords with pwsafe
• Removing stored passwords in Windows XP
• Lock IT Down: Creating passwords that are secure and easy to remember
• Are you in favor of password management software?

• What’s the difference between RAM and disk space?
• What’s bandwidth, and why are you recommending I get more of it?
• What’s a network address?

For those who prefer text to video, you can click the Transcript link that appears below the video player window or read Jaime Henriquez’s article, “10 common user questions - and some analogies that help clear things up,” and Toni Bowers’ piece, “Use analogies to explain technical subjects to end users,” on which this episode is based.

You can also sign up to receive the latest TR Dojo lessons through one or more of the following methods:

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In an article published earlier today, the Wall Street Journal reported that “Steve Jobs is betting he can reshape businesses like textbooks, newspapers and television much the way his iPod revamped the music industry-and expand Apple’s influence and revenue as a content middleman”. In a nutshell, Apple wants you to consume a variety of media on its new device–all purchased through iTunes. Of course, you’ll also be able to surf the Web, tap into your favorite social networking tools, get your email, and so forth. But is this really what consumers want and how much will they be willing to pay for it?

Apparently for many, $700 (US) is the limit.

In an article on ZDNet, Andrew Nusca cites a new survey from Retrevo on consumer sentiment of a new Apple tablet. Nusca wrote “70 percent of consumers won’t spend more than $700 for an Apple tablet, and consumers were equally split over whether they would pay for 3G connectivity….”

So, I put the following questions to the TechRepublic audience. What do you think Jobs’ latest creation will cost? And, what are willing to pay for an Apple tablet?

Edited 1/25/2010: Fixed location of Apple event.

Unfortunately, you can’t just delete the file and reclaim the space. If you delete the file and do nothing else, the file will reappear when you restart your machine.

So, here’s the question: What does hiberfil.sys do and how can you remove it?

About the TR Dojo Challenge Series

Each week, I publish a new question designed to test the technical skills and IT prowess of our TechRepublic members. You can submit an answer to the question by posting it within this post’s discussion thread.

I’ll accept answer submissions for one week after I post the question. At the end of the week, I’ll consider the question closed and review the answers. The member, who submits the first best answer, will be featured in a follow-up TR Dojo Challenge article, posted the following week. For being featured on the site, they will also earn themselves a bit of TechRepublic swag-a coffee mug and laptop sticker.

The rules:

Only answers submitted within one week of the initial question’s publication date will be considered for the follow-up article and swag.

All answers must be original and must consist of more than a link or links to third-party resources.

I will choose the correct response from the answers submitted and my decision is final.

Good Luck!

• Network Utility Pro - Codepacity
• Network Ping - MochaSoft
• SNAP - 9BitLabs
• RDP Lite - MochaSoft
• Telnet client - ThroughPut

For those who prefer text to video, you can click the Transcript link that appears below the video player window or read Michael Kassner’s article, “10 indispensable iPhone apps for IT administrators,” on which this episode is based.

You can also sign up to receive the latest TR Dojo lessons through one or more of the following methods:

• Follow Bill Detwiler on Twitter
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