23 October 2023John Weaver Senior Program Developer
Summary Learn how to disable the fast startup function in Windows 10 with easy-to-follow methods, ensuring smooth computer usage without any system problems.
Microsoft has introduced Fast Startup (also known as Hybrid Startup) since Windows 8. Similar to the sleep and hibernation functions of the old version of Windows, it can make the system restart quickly. However, there are obvious differences among these three functions.
●Sleep mode
After entering sleep mode, the computer will still supply power to the memory, but will stop supplying power to other devices. The system saves the data being processed in memory. Users can use mouse or keyboard to wake up the system. After waking up, the system returns to the operating state before sleep. During this period, the computer must not be powered off, otherwise all data on the internal memory will be lost and a reboot will be required.
●Sleep mode
After the hibernation mode is turned on, all the data in the memory will be saved in a specific location in the hard disk. After pressing the power button to turn on the computer, the system will return to the running state before hibernation, and the memory data temporarily stored in the hard disk will also be restored to the memory. During this time, the computer can be powered off.
●Quick start mode
Fastboot mode, equivalent to hibernation after logoff, combines cold shutdown and hibernation. When the computer is turned off when this mode is enabled, the system will close all applications and log off all users, and then the system kernel will enter the hibernation state and save the system data to the hibernation file. When starting the computer again, the system does not need to reload the kernel, drivers and system status, as long as the image is loaded from the hibernation file and the RAM is refreshed, the system can be entered. This technology dramatically reduces boot time.
II. Why do I need to turn off fast startup?
Fast startup can indeed shorten the boot time, but the computer cannot perform the normal shutdown process. This may cause problems or errors that prevent normal use of the computer. Here are a few reasons why you need to turn off Fast Startup:
1. The update of the Windows system requires a complete shutdown. A computer using fast startup will not restart the kernel after shutdown. After updating the system or patch, the system needs to restart automatically to make the patch take effect. Therefore, it is recommended to turn off fast startup to complete the Windows system update process. It should be noted that if you choose to restart manually, the restart time may be as long as several hours.
2. For dual-system computers, it may not be possible to access the Windows system hard disk from other systems. For computers with Fast Startup enabled, the Windows system will lock the Windows system hard disk after shutdown. At this time, if you start another system on the computer and access or modify the data on the hard disk of the system with fast startup turned on, it may cause data corruption. Therefore, for dual-system computers, it is best not to use the fast boot mode.
3. Some devices do not support sleep mode. Some devices may not function properly after entering hibernation mode. In this regard, it is not recommended to enable the fast startup function.
4. Affect the life of the solid state drive. The service life of a solid-state drive depends on the number of reads and writes. If the number of reads and writes is exhausted, it means that the solid-state drive can no longer be used. Since the computer is not completely shut down, there will still be data written to the hard disk, which will also have a certain loss on the life of the solid-state hard disk.
If you encounter the above problems or other usage errors, it is recommended to turn off fast startup on your Windows 10 computer. So how to quickly determine whether your computer has fast startup enabled? You can right-click on the taskbar, select (Task Manager), and you can see the uptime in the (Performance)>(CPU) column. If the displayed time is obviously longer than the usage time after booting, it is likely that the fast startup mode is turned on, which will make the CPU still run after shutdown.
III. How to turn off fast startup simply?
1. Before closing the fast startup, back up the disk data
Whether it is to turn off fast startup or modify other settings of the system, it is recommended that you perform data backup before operation to avoid data loss. Use Renee Becca when you’re backing up your data.
Renee Beccais a tool specially used for system/hard disk data backup and restoration. It can help you back up and restore important data in your computer, such as programs, system configuration, emails, photos, videos, documents, bookmarks, etc. It adopts the leading incremental/differential backup technology, which can save you more time and disk space. In addition to supporting system backup, it also supports partition backup, hard disk backup, file backup, and disk cloning to meet your different needs.
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Highly compatible Supports various files and storage devices.
Step 1: Download, install and run Renee Becca on the computer, select the (Disk/partition backup) option in the main interface (Backup) column, this option can back up the data of the entire hard disk or partition. If you only need to back up individual important data, you can also use the (File backup) function.
Step 2: Next, select the disk to be backed up in source, and select the hard disk partition to store the backup data in destination. If you need to back up the partition, you can select the (Partition Backup) option in the upper right corner.
Step 3: If you need to back up data regularly, you can set the daily/weekly/monthly backup and the time to automatically start the backup in (Schedule).
Step 4: Then in (Backup Scheme) – (Scheme Type), select a suitable backup scheme mode according to individual needs. Renee Becca has 5 backup schemes to choose from, namely version chain mode, single version mode, full mode, incremental mode and differential mode.
Renee Becca has 5 backup plans to choose from:
Version chain mode: Only the latest 5 versions are kept, and useless old versions are automatically deleted after the backup is completed.
Single version mode: Only the latest version is kept, and the previous version is automatically deleted after the backup is completed.
Full mode: Creates a full backup.
Incremental mode: After the initial full backup, only incremental backups are created.
Differential mode: After the initial full backup, only differential backups are created.
Step 5: Finally, click the (Backup Now) button to start executing the disk backup command according to your settings.
2. Four ways to turn off fast startup
Method 1: Temporarily disable Fast Startup
When you need to completely shut down the computer once, you can do the following to temporarily disable fast startup.
Step 1: Click the Windows icon in the lower left corner of the desktop. Then, hold down the Shift key and click the (restart) button. The computer will then restart and enter advanced boot mode.
Step 2: Click (Turn off your PC) to disable fast startup and shut down the computer once.
Method two: Modify the power settings to turn off fast startup
Step 1: Click the search button in the bottom menu bar, then search (control panel), and then click to enter.
Step 2: Click (Hardware and Sound) > (Power Options) under (Change the function of the power button).
Step 3: Click (Change settings that are currently unavailable).
Next, uncheck (Turn on fast startup (recommended)). Finally click (Save Changes).
Method 3: Modify the BIOS settings to disable fast startup
Step 1: Click the Windows icon in the lower left corner of the desktop. Then, hold down the Shift key and click the (restart) button. The computer will then restart and enter advanced boot mode.
Step 2: Click (Troubleshooting)>(Advanced Options)>(UEFI Firmware Settings) in turn.
Step 3: Then click the (Restart) button to enter the UEFI BIOS interface. Then find the boot (Startup) item and turn off fast startup.
Method 4: Use the CMD command to turn off fast startup
Step 1: In the search box in the lower left corner of the desktop, search for (cmd), and select (run as administrator) to open the command prompt tool.
Step 2: Enter (powercfg /h off) to turn off fast startup. (If you need to enable fast boot, enter (powercfg /h on).)
Kind tips If you need to use the fast boot mode, but do not use the hibernation option, you can consider compressing the size of the hibernation file to save storage space. By default, this file will take up about 75% of RAM space. As long as the storage space of the hard disk is large enough, the file will not affect the operation of the computer. However, for disks with limited storage space, such as solid-state drives, compressing the hibernation file is undoubtedly a good way to save space. The specific operation is as follows: After opening the command prompt, enter (powercfg /h /type reduced) to compress the hibernation file. If you want to use a full hibernation file, enter (powercfg /h /type full).