Windows comes with a Fast Startup feature that has been part of the OS since Windows 8 and continues to be enabled by default on Windows 10 and 11. Theoretically, it seems a helpful feature to reduce boot times, especially on low-end devices with HDDs, by combining the best parts of shutdown and hibernation. I mean, who wouldn’t want their PC to start up quicklyright?
However, in my experience (and that of many others), it’s not always the best approach. Enabling Fast Startup can cause issues on your PC, such as updates not being applied, the dual-boot setup becoming inaccessible, driver issues, and more. It often leads to more inconvenience than actually helping the users. Additionally, on modern laptops and PCs, the effect is insignificant.
So, do you really need to keep it enabled?
What Fast Startup actually does
Table of Contents
A mix of shutdown and hibernation
To better understand why Fast Startup can be problematic rather than helpful, we first need to understand what it does behind the scenes. When you usually shut down your PC, Windows closes all the running and background applications, logs you off, and powers off your device completely. In the process, Windows also clears your system memory.
When Fast Startup is enabled, Windows doesn’t quite go that far. Rather than entirely shutting down your system, Windows saves a kernel session and loads drivers into a hibernation file (hiberfil.sys). So, when you boot up the system next time, Windows simply reloads the saved system state instead of starting everything from scratch. That’s why the boot process feels faster.
It’s essentially neither a proper shutdown nor a true hibernation, and that’s what leads to the main issues caused by enabling it.
Why I recommend disabling Fast Startup
I faced some annoying issues on my Windows PC, which traced back to Fast Startup. Disabling it actually fixed those.
The primary issue I faced was when I installed a Linux distribution on my PC as a secondary OS and tried accessing the Windows drive. When dual-booting Windows with LinuxFast Startup prevents my Windows partitions from being accessible from Linux. It’s mainly because the file system isn’t truly closed, but rather just hibernated. It’s similar to Windows’ “file in use” conflict. My Windows partition wasn’t even visible when I booted the Ubuntu system.
Apart from that, some users also reported being unable to use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when booted through their Linux system because Windows Fast Startup had locked those hardware features.
The boot manager is accessible even when Fast Startup is enabled.
Another issue with Fast Startup is that it makes it difficult to access the BIOS/UEFI setup menu. Because Fast Startup shortens the POST (Power-On Self-Test) process, you might miss pressing the necessary key to open the BIOS menu.
Generally, Windows and software updates are applied simply by restarting the PC. However, some driver updates or system-level updates and configurations just don’t take effect unless the system reboots cleanly after a complete shutdown.
Fast Startup can also lead to troubleshooting headaches. If something goes wrong in your system temporarily, such as slowdowns, memory leaks, or glitches, you would expect it to be cleared after a restart or shutdown. But with Fast Startup enabled, you are actually booting from a cached state, and therefore, the issue may persist.
Further, if you have enabled Fast Startup on your laptop, you may notice that sometimes the battery drains even after a complete shutdown. This is because Fast Startup enables certain wake timers and power settings tied to hibernation. This can increase the likelihood of random wake-ups even when the laptop lid is closed. To be fair, the battery drainage is almost negligible if you use your laptop regularly. However, if you plan to keep your laptop shut down for an extended period, consider disabling Fast Startup and then shutting it down.
How to disable Fast Startup
A quick step-by-step guide
Disabling Fast Startup on Windows is a straightforward process and takes a few seconds. Here are the steps to follow:
-
Open the Control Panel and select Power Options.
-
On the sidebar, click Choose what the power buttons do.
-
Click Change settings that are currently unavailable at the top.
-
Scroll down to the Shutdown settings section and uncheck the Turn on fast startup (recommended) option.
-
Finally, click Save changes.
When it might make sense to leave it on
It can be helpful in certain uses
To be fair, Fast Startup isn’t entirely bad; it largely depends on your specific use case. If you run a single-boot system and everything is working fine on your system when Fast Startup is enabled, you don’t necessarily need to disable it. Additionally, for older laptops with mechanical hard drives, this can be a significant advantage, as your system will boot up faster.
On the latest machines with SSDs, Fast Startup won’t give you a significant boost. A second or two of boost isn’t worth risking your PC with all that could possibly happen by enabling the Fast Startup.
