Windows 10 introduced a new feature called “Fast Startup.” The purpose of this feature is to allow your computer to turn on a bit faster after you have shut down. Windows performs this by overriding the Shutdown command and never fully turning off; instead it goes into a sleep-like hibernation. When you turn the computer back on, it resumes right where it left off. As a result, the sub-processes and programs never get the fresh-start they need. This can cause your computer to do all kinds of odd things: slow down, fail to print, load web pages incorrectly, and more.
How do you know if your computer is being affected by Fast Startup?
- Fortunately, Windows keeps track of this with a clock called “Uptime.”
- Press [Ctrl], [Alt] and [Delete] on your keyboard at the same time, and open Task Manager.
- When the Task Manager opens, click on “More Details” at the bottom of the window to show more details (If you see “Fewer Details,” you don’t need to click this).
- Along the top of Task Manager, click on “Performance.”
- Click on “CPU” to the left.
- Towards the bottom, look for a timer labeled “Uptime.”
When reading the Uptime, it will be in the format D:HH:MM:SS for Days, Hours, Minutes, and Seconds since the last complete restart. It is recommended that this stays below four days to maintain best performance. If your Uptime is higher than four days, you can simply Restart the computer. Remember that you have to specifically perform a Restart — not a Shut Down — in order to reset your Uptime.
How to ‘turn off’ Fast Startup
If you would like to disable Fast Startup (to avoid the performance issues it can cause), follow these steps:
- Click on the Start button in the bottom-left corner of your screen to open the Start menu.
- Begin typing “Power” and the “Search the Web and Windows” box should pop-up.
- In the search results, click on “Power Options”.
- Once the Power Options window opens, look on the left side for “Choose what the power buttons do”. Click on this.
- Look in the top-center area of the window for “Change settings that are currently unavailable”.
— If you see this, click it. (If you are on a secure network, you will need the Network Administrator’s User ID and Password to make any changes going forward).
— If you do not see it, you can skip this step.
In the bottom section, you will see the option to “Turn on Fast Startup (recommended)”. Remove the check from the checkbox to disable Fast Startup.
Click “Save Changes” at the bottom-right.
If you have any questions, or need assistance, please contact Tech Helpline, and we’ll be glad to assist you.
Contributions to this article were made by Charley Englert, Tech Helpline Team.
