With Windows 10 Microsoft has improved a feature originally introduced with Windows 8.x: quick Launch. The same system tool then remained unchanged also in Windows 11. In this article we aim to explain in detail what it is for and when it is appropriate to deactivate it.
The functionality Windows fast startup it behaves a bit like hibernation: it allows you to completely shut down the system while still having the possibility to resume work where you left it. L’hibernationin fact, stores it on disk – in a special file (it’s called Hiberfil.sys) – the contents of RAM memory. Data that would be lost when the system is turned off (RAM is a volatile memory) is saved so that it can be automatically recovered the next time it is turned on. In another article we saw how to add the hibernation functionality in Windows 10 and 11, since by default it is disappeared (unlike what happened in Windows 7).
Windows Fast Startup, if enabled (and it is by default), takes care of this close running applications and to log out all users when the system is turned off. The functionality, however, makes akernel hibernationother basic components of the operating system and drivers and then actually turning off the device.
The next time the machine is started, Windows does not have to reload the kernel, drivers and other software components: with fast startup active, it is sufficient to copy the previously saved information into RAM and then propose the logon screen to the user. In short, it is a technique that allows you to save precious time duringWindows startup usually helping to speed up the boot process.
Windows 10 and 11 Quick Startup: Doesn’t always work perfectly
When theWindows fast startup is activated, the operating system does not perform a traditional shutdown of the device. Since, for example, installing updates usually requires a restart of the device, if fast startup is enabled, in some circumstances the update may not be completely completed (for example by turning the PC off and on again… ). In another study we saw that turning off Windows 10 and 11 is not the same as restarting the system.
Try pressing CTRL+MAIUSC+ESC to open the Task Manager, click on More details then on the card Performance. Write down the Uptime below then try turning off Windows. With the fast boot feature enabled, the “counter” representing days, hours, minutes and seconds since the last reboot will not reset; vice versa, with a restart, the count will start again from zero.
Turning off Windows 10 and Windows 11 with “fast boot” mode activated, the operating system “locks” the hard disk. It will therefore not be possible to access its contents, for example, from another operating system installed in the configuration dual boot.
If you booted your computer from another operating system and changed the contents of your Windows drive with “fast startup” enabled, you could cause a data corruption preserved there. In the case of configurations dual o multi bootTherefore, it is always a good idea to keep the Windows fast startup feature deactivated.
Keeping Fast Startup enabled may cause it to fail “wake up” the device Windows with Wake-on-LAN (WOL) functionality.
Systems that do not support hibernation do not even allow the use of the Windows Fast Startup feature. This depends on the supported Windows energy saving features and in particular the so-called states of suspension. To check the supported ones just open the command prompt (cmd) and type the following:
powercfg /availablesleepstates
Turn Fast Startup on or off in Windows 10 and Windows 11
If Windows, after the first shutdown, does not start up properly quickly or if in any case you find yourself in one of the cases illustrated in the previous point, you can disable fast startup.
The procedure to follow is very simple: just press the key combination Windows+Rwrite powercfg.cpl then select Specifies what happens when you press the power button.
On the next screen, you need to click Change settings that are currently unavailable then deactivate the box Quick Launch.
Windows 10 and 11, you can continue to use hibernation
Windows 10 and 11 were born as operating systems that were not very inclined to a traditional startup. For this reason, to reduce boot times, Microsoft has preferred to keep the fast startup functionality and activate it by default.
Where possible, we recommend use hibernation even with Windows 10 and 11. In this way, after “turning the system back on”, everything will be found exactly where you left it.
We therefore recommend checking the box Hibernation immediately below Enable fast startup in the window Energy saving options seen previously. This way you will find the entry Hibernation directly in the Windows shutdown menu or, alternatively, in the one that appears when you press ALT+F4 when only the operating system desktop is displayed.
Just in case the option Hibernation is absent, we suggest pressing the key combination Windows+Xchoose Command Prompt (Admin) then type the following:
Assign hibernation to the various actions that can be performed on the system in use
As a next step, we recommend associating hibernation with pressing a button or “closing the lid” in the case of notebooks.
The items that appear in the window Energy saving options They are the following:
- When the power button is pressed
- When the sleep button is pressed
- When the lid is closed
You can freely choose which event(s) to associate the hibernation request for the entire system with.
Returning to the main window with the list of “energy combinations”, you need to click Change combination settings corresponding to the chosen profile then select Change advanced power settings.
In the screen that appears, you must then click on Change settings that are currently unavailable.
To make Windows ask for the password every time you log on to the system after hibernation, you must set Yes the entries below Password required for reactivation.
By using hibernation in Windows you can benefit from a very quick system startup with the “bonus” of finding the same applications and documents open that you were working on during the previous session. Furthermore, being one deeper state of suspensionthe system will not consume energy as happens with other energy profiles (S0, S1, S2, S3).