Easy Ways to Turn Off Fast Startup (and How It Can Help)

PDF download Download Article
Learn to turn off Fast Startup to fix issues with Windows
PDF download Download Article

Is Fast Startup causing problems with your Windows 10 or 11 computer? Fast Startup is a feature that allows your computer to boot up more quickly, but some users don't like it since it can keep your computer from fully shutting down and has caused issues with Windows updates. In this article, we go over how to disable Fast Startup, as well as why you should or should not disable this feature.

Disabling Fast Startup

The best way to disable Fast Startup is in the Control Panel. Click Hardware and Sound , and then click Change what the power buttons do . Uncheck Turn on fast startup (recommended) to disable Fast Startup. You can also disable Fast Startup in an elevated Terminal with the command "powercfg /h off."

Section 1 of 3:

Disabling via Control Panel

PDF download Download Article
  1. 1
    Open Control Panel. The easiest way to do this is to type "Control Panel" into the taskbar search bar, then click Control Panel in the menu that pops up.
  2. 2
    Choose Hardware and Sound . If you don't see the Hardware and Sound button, you can switch your Control Panel to Category view by choosing Category in the drop-down next to "View by."
    Advertisement
  3. 3
    Click Change what the power buttons do . It's under the "Power Options" header at the bottom of the list.
  4. 4
    Click Change settings that are currently unavailable . It's at the top of the screen. If you see that some of your settings are grayed out, you'll need to click this button. Otherwise, skip to the next step.
  5. 5
    Click the checkbox next to Turn on fast startup (recommended) . If the box is already unchecked, however, leave it unchecked. That means that Fast Startup is already disabled.
  6. 6
    Click Save changes at the bottom of the window. Fast Startup is now disabled on your system. If you want to enable it again, go back to this menu and check the box next to Turn on fast startup (recommended) . [1]
    7. Advertisement
Section 2 of 3:

Disabling via Terminal

PDF download Download Article
  1. 1
    Right-click the Windows button and click Windows Terminal (Admin) . This will open up a Terminal window with elevated administrator privileges.
    • This method may only work if you have Windows 11. If you're still using Windows 10, you'll need to disable Fast Startup in the Control Panel .
  2. 2
    Type powercfg /h off and press ↵ Enter . This will disable Fast Startup on your system. [2]
    • If you disable Fast Startup with the Terminal, you may not be able to see the Fast Startup setting via the Control Panel anymore.
    • If this is the case and you want to enable Fast Startup in the future, you'll need to open Terminal again and run powercfg /h on .
    3. Advertisement
Section 3 of 3:

Should you disable Fast Startup?

PDF download Download Article
  1. 1
    If you notice that your computer isn't shutting down fully, try disabling Fast Startup. Some Windows users have found that their computer won't shut off all the way unless they disable Fast Startup. However, this is not the case for all users. If your computer shuts down fully when you tell it to turn off (the monitors go completely dark, the fans stop running, and any lights on the inside or outside of your PC turn off), you likely don't need to worry about disabling Fast Startup. [3]
  2. 2
    If you notice your computer slowing down or acting weird, disable Fast Startup. Other Windows users have found that their computer simply runs better and/or faster with Fast Startup disabled. Once again, however, this isn't the same for all Windows users. If you don't have any problems with your computer, you are more than likely okay to leave Fast Startup enabled.
  3. 3
    If you have a hard disk drive (HDD), do not disable Fast Startup. There are two types of storage drives commonly used in computers: HDDs and SSDs (solid state drives). HDDs are bigger and store your data on platters, while SSDs are smaller. Most modern computers boot from an SSD, but if your computer still boots from an HDD, you should not disable Fast Startup. Disabling Fast Startup will make your computer boot extremely slowly. [4]
  4. 4
    If you use OneDrive, disabling Fast Startup may slow your computer down a lot. One Redditor warned that disabling Fast Startup when you use OneDrive caused their computer's boot time to grow exponentially, and also broke a lot of the services on their computer. While this doesn't seem to be a widespread issue, you may want to keep Fast Startup on if you use OneDrive. [5]
  5. 5
    Try disabling Fast Startup, and turn it back on if you don't notice any changes. Enabling or disabling Fast Startup won't permanently damage your computer. If you disable Fast Startup and your computer starts running worse or you don't notice a difference, you can easily turn Fast Startup back on. Try both and see which settings work better for you.
    6. Advertisement

Expert Q&A

Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
      Advertisement

      Video

      Tips

      Submit a Tip
      All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
      Name
      Please provide your name and last initial
      Submit
      Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

      You Might Also Like

      How to
      Take a Screenshot on a Windows PC: 8 Simple Tricks
      How to
      Find Your Windows Product Key
      How to
      Start Windows in Safe Mode: 6 Easy Options
      Easily Download and Install FFmpeg on a Windows PC
      11 Tips & Tricks to Fix a Missing Windows Laptop Mouse Cursor
      4 Easy Ways to Access the Boot Options Menu in Windows
      How to
      Check Your Windows Version
      How to
      Automatically Shut Down Your Computer at a Specified Time
      How to
      Fix PC Sound Not Working: 8 Quick Solutions
      How to
      Stop Windows from Freezing: Easy Troubleshooting Guide
      How to
      Disable BitLocker Encryption in Windows 10 and 11
      How to
      Access the BIOS on Any PC: Guide + Troubleshooting
      Get Rid of the "Activate Windows" Watermark in 3 Ways
      4 Easy Ways to Manually Reset the Wi-Fi Adapter in Windows
      Advertisement

      References

      1. ↑ https://www.asus.com/us/support/faq/1045548/
      2. ↑ https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht513773-how-to-enable-or-disable-fast-startup-on-windows-11
      3. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/8ooid8/windows_10_should_i_have_fast_bootfast_startup_on/
      4. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows11/comments/uovyrb/is_fast_startup_bad_or_good/
      5. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows10/comments/ux0r02/disabling_fast_startup_in_windows_made_my/

      About This Article

      Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 3 times.

      Is this article up to date?

      Advertisement