"Fast Boot" was first introduced in Windows 8. Later, In Windows 10, it was renamed "Fast Startup".
Fast Startup works similarly to the hybrid sleep mode of previous versions of Windows. By saving the operating system state to a hibernation file, it can make your computer boot up even faster, saving valuable seconds every time you turn your machine on.
Fast Startup is enabled by default in a clean Windows installation on most laptops and some desktops, but it doesn’t always work perfectly, and some downsides might convince you to turn it off.
In this, blog post, you will know the pros and cons of the Windows Fast Startup feature.
How Fast Startup Works?
Fast Startup combines elements of a cold shutdown and the hibernate feature. When you shut down your computer with Fast Startup enabled, Windows closes all applications and logs OFF all users, just as in a normal cold shutdown. At this point, Windows is in a state very similar to when it’s freshly booted up: No users have logged in and started programs, but the Windows kernel is loaded and the system session is running. Windows then alerts device drivers that support it to prepare for hibernation, saves the current system state to the hibernation file, and turns off the computer.
When you start the computer again, Windows does not have to reload the kernel, drivers, and system state individually. Instead, it just refreshes your RAM with the loaded image from the hibernation file and delivers you to the login screen. This technique can shave considerable time off your start-up.
This is different from the regular hibernate feature. When you put your computer into hibernation mode, it also saves open folders and applications, as well as currently logged-in users. Hibernation is great if you want to return your computer to the exact state it was in when you turned it off. Fast Startup offers a freshly-started Windows, just more quickly. And don’t forget, Windows offers various shutdown options too. It pays to understand how they differ.
Why You Might Want to Disable Fast Startup?
Sounds awesome, right? Well, it is. But Fast Startup also has its problems, so you should take the following caveats into consideration before enabling it:
- When Fast Startup is enabled, your computer doesn’t perform a regular shutdown. Since applying new system updates often requires a shutdown, you may not be able to apply updates and turn your computer off. Restart is unaffected, though, so it still performs a full cold shutdown and restart of your system. If a shutdown doesn’t apply your updates, a restart still will.
- Fast Startup can interfere slightly with encrypted disk images. Users of encryption programs like TrueCrypt have reported that encrypted drives they had mounted before shutting down their system were automatically remounted when starting back up. The solution for this is just to manually dismount your encrypted drives before shutting down, but it is something to be aware of. (This doesn’t affect the full disk encryption feature of TrueCrypt, just disk images. And BitLocker users shouldn’t be affected.)
- Systems that don’t support hibernation won’t support Fast Startup either. Some devices just don’t play well with hibernation. You’ll have to experiment with it to see whether your devices respond well or not.
- When you shut down a computer with Fast Startup enabled, Windows locks down the Windows hard disk. You won’t be able to access it from other operating systems if you have your computer configured to dual-boot. Even worse, if you boot into another OS and then access or change anything on the hard disk (or partition) that the hibernating Windows installation uses, it can cause corruption. If you’re dual booting, it’s best not to use Fast Startup or Hibernation at all.
- Depending on your system, you may not be able to access BIOS/UEFI settings when you shut down a computer with Fast Startup enabled. When a computer hibernates, it does not enter a fully powered-down mode. Some versions of BIOS/UEFI work with a system in hibernation and some do not. If yours doesn’t, you can always restart the computer to access BIOS, since the restart cycle will still perform a full shutdown.
If none of these issues applies to you, or you can live with them, go ahead and try Fast Startup out. If it doesn’t work how you expect, it’s easy to turn off. And if you decide you just don’t want to use Fast Startup, there are plenty of other ways to make your Windows PC boot faster.
How to Enable or Disable Fast Startup?
If you'd like to see how your PC performs without fast startup enabled, you can disable it in just a few steps:
- Right-click on Start and select Search.
- Type "Control Panel" and press Enter key
- In "Control Panel" click on "System and Security".
- In "System and Security", click on "Power Options".
- In "Power Options", click on "Choose what the power buttons does" from the left panel.
- In "System Settings", click on "Change settings that are currently unavailable".
- Under "Shutdown settings", uncheck or untick "Turn on fast startup (recommended)".
- And then click on the "Save changes" button.
Restart your PC, and check if your PC running well. And, if you want to enable fast startup again, you can do this by checking the "Turn on fast startup (recommended)" option.
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