In this post, we will discuss what the Fast Startup feature is, how it works, and whether should you disable Fast Startup on Windows 11. A device set to fast startup boots up instantly when you attempt to restart your Windows PC.
When you keep this feature enabled, it doesn’t let your device shut down completely. Rather, it keeps your computer in hibernate mode. As we all know, services keep running in the background during this mode, you don’t require restarting all those services when Windows 11 reloads.
Should I disable fast startup on Windows 11?
Every good thing has its own shortcomings, and so is the case with Fast Startup as well. According to official reports, the fast startup is known to interfere with Windows updates.
Most importantly, when you are working on more than one operating system, the fast startup setting may crash out of nowhere. As a result of this, Windows loading hangs in between and this might trigger a blue screen type error.
If you are getting Blue screens too frequently, you better disable fast startup on your computers. Otherwise, continue using fast startup and enjoy Windows booting up in no time.
3 Ways to disable Fast Startup on Windows 11
Though disabling fast startup is not recommended by Microsoft, if you are willing to do so, follow either of the below three methods.
The first one is by using the Control Panel. In case this doesn’t work, or you want to explore other methods, alter a key policy inside GPE. Windows 11/10 Home Edition users may configure a DWORD entry inside the registry to disable fast startup on their PCs.
1] Through Control Panel
Control Panel provides a straightforward setting to disable the Fast startup on any Windows PC. One may proceed with disabling Fast Startup by following the below steps –
- Launch Control Panel first.
- Use View by drop-down menu and select either Large or Small.
- You will notice all control panel items appearing on this page.
- Click on Power Options.
- On the left navigation, click “Choose what closing the lid does“.
- You must have reached this page by now –
Control Panel > All Control panel items > Power options > System Settings
- Locate and click “Change settings that are currently unavailable“. You must be logged in as an administrator to proceed any further. Else, you need to provide an Admin passkey to proceed ahead.
- Under Shutdown settings, untick the box left of “Turn On fast startup (recommended)“.
- Finally, click Save changes.
That’s it, the fast startup must have been disabled by now.
2] Via Group Policy
Alternatively, one may also disable fast startup on Windows 11 by modifying a key policy on the Group Policy Editor. As group policy is available only on Pro and Enterprise editions of Windows, you can’t apply this method on Windows 11/10 Home Edition. Here’s what you need to find and modify inside GPE –
- Press Win + S, and type “Policy“.
- Click on the first result i.e. Edit Group Policy. You may launch its window by running
gpedit.mscon the Run window as well. - When the Group Policy Editor opens up, navigate to the below path –
Computer Configuration > Administrative templates > System > Shutdown
- Head over to the right pane and look for a policy titled “Require use of fast startup’ setting”.
- When found, double-click on it. Doing so will launch the chosen policy-setting window.
- Tick the radio button left of Disabled and hit Apply.
- Click OK next to confirm the recent changes on your computer.
- Close the Group Policy window and restart your PC.
From the next logon, you will find your device turning On normally. This confirms that the fast startup is disabled on your PC.
3] By modifying the Registry
If the Control panel method fails on your PC and you are running Windows 11/10 Home Edition, there’s a way out there by which you may disable the fast startup. This is by modifying a key entry inside the registry.
Note: Do generate a registry backup beforehand so that you can retrieve the corrupted OS whenever the need arises.
Here’s how to perform this task –
- Launch the Run dialog by pressing Win + R.
- Type Regedit in the text field and hit OK.
- The UAC window will window appear next, hit Yes to authorize opening the registry.
- On the registry window, navigate to the below path –
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Power
- You may copy/paste the above path into the address bar and press Enter.
- When you are inside the Power folder, jump to the right pane and locate the DWORD entry – “HiberbootEnabled“.
- Double-click on this entry and when it opens up, change its value data field to “0”.
- Click OK to confirm the recent changes and close the registry window.
Restart your PC and this time, your PC will load without skipping the usual startup things.
That would be all. I hope you find this article useful and easy to follow. In case you face any difficulty following this guide, do tell us in the comment box.
Does fast startup affect SSD on Windows?
Enabling or disabling the fast startup feature matters only when you are using a conventional hard disk on your Windows PC. For SSD, you won’t notice any change in the startup time. If you are having a Solid State Drive (SSD), we recommend keeping this feature disabled on your computer. Doing so will reduce the overall read and write on your SSD drive and this increases the longevity of this drive.
How does Fast Startup affect RAM in Windows?
When you enable this startup feature on Windows, your device will instantly purge all the accumulated cache in memory during its shutdown. This helps in rebooting your device more quickly.
