Negative effects of fast startup in Windows: everything you need to know

Have you ever noticed that your Windows PC boots up in the blink of an eye, but suddenly you start noticing small glitches, freezes, or strange hardware issues? It could be the Negative effects of Windows fast startup, which we are going to analyze in this article.

La "quick start" function It's been present in Microsoft's operating system since Windows 8. It was designed to speed up startup, which is a great advantage. However, while the idea was good, it also became a source of problems. So many that many experts advise disabling it.

What exactly is Windows Fast Startup?

The quick start, also known as Fast Startup, is a feature designed to significantly reduce the time it takes for your computer to be ready after a shutdown. It was incorporated starting with Windows 8 and is enabled by default in Windows 10 and Windows 11 on most teams.

How does he do it? When you turn off your computer, instead of performing a complete shutdown, Windows saves part of the operating system state and essential drivers in a special hibernation file. This way, when you turn it back on, the system recovers that information instead of restarting from scratch.

Windows introduced this feature to reduce waiting times and improve user experience, especially on computers with mechanical hard drives (HDD), which greatly noticed the difference compared to traditional startup. Microsoft therefore recommends having it activated. However, there are negative effects of Windows Fast Startup that suggest just the opposite.

How does Quick Start work? Shut down, suspend, hibernate… Are they the same thing?

Quick Start isn't the same as Hibernate or Sleep. It's more of a hybrid, which can be confusing. Here are the differences:

• Suspend: Programs and sessions remain open. The computer enters low-power mode, but continues to use some power to keep RAM active.
• Hibernate: The contents of the RAM are saved to disk (hyberfil.sys file), and the computer shuts down completely. When you turn it back on, everything is back to where you left it.
• Shutdown with Quick Start: Programs and sessions are closed, but the essential state of the operating system and drivers is partially saved in the hibernation file. This means that booting is much faster upon startup.
• Shutdown without quick start: Complete shutdown. Everything shuts down, and when you turn it on, Windows boots from scratch.
• Reboot: This is equivalent to a complete shutdown and restart from scratch. Quick Start does not come into play here.

The key is that Fast startup only works when you shut down (not when you restart), and does not recover open programs or the exact session state, unlike full hibernation.

Negative effects and real problems of rapid start

What are the negative effects of fast startup in Windows? This is a compilation of the most common and worrying problems:

Difficulties installing updates

One of the most common effects of fast startup is that it prevents or delays the correct application of Windows and driver updates. Many updates only complete after a complete shutdown, but Fast Start prevents that “cold start.” If the user turns the power off and on thinking everything is correct, but does not reboot, the changes may not be applied and may cause instability.

Reducing the lifespan of SSD drives

On computers with SSDs, using fast startup can have negative consequences: every time you shut down, important information is written to the hibernation file. This, over time, increases the number of write cycles on the drive and may (slightly) affect the lifespan of the disk.

Stability problems and abnormal startups

When the operating system or a driver stops working properly, fast startup can perpetuate that faulty state. Because corrupted system information can be saved and recovered repeatedly, the problem “drags” from one ignition to the next.

Difficulties with dual-boot (multiboot) systems

If your computer has more than one operating system (for example, Windows and Linux), Fast startup may block access to the other OS because the disk drive is “locked” by Windows. This not only prevents the second system from booting, but can also cause data corruption if access is forced.

Problems accessing the BIOS or UEFI

One of the most puzzling effects that has been reported is the Inability to access the computer's BIOS/UEFI upon startup When fast startup is enabled, the computer may completely skip the setup menu or render keyboards and USB ports inoperable during startup.

Bugs with disk encryption and security programs

Users of disk encryption applications (such as TrueCrypt) have pointed out that The interaction between fast boot and encrypted disks can cause access failures and even data corruption.

How to disable or enable quick startup step by step

To avoid the negative effects of Windows Fast Startup, the remedy is simple: disable this feature. The process is simple and does not require advanced knowledge:

1. Open the Control Panel from Windows by typing it into the start menu.
2. Enter System and security and choose Energy options.
3. Search and click on Change the action of the power buttons.
4. Click on Changing settings is currently unavailable (may require you to be an administrator).
5. Scroll down to the section Shutdown settings and uncheck the box Enable fast startup (recommended).
6. Click on Save changes and close the window.

The change will take effect the next time you power cycle. If you see improvements, you can leave them as they are; if you don't notice a difference or your computer is very slow, you can reverse the setting at any time.

Quick Start is one of those add-ons that, while intended to improve our experience, can actually complicate our lives. Knowing its pros and cons, you can now decide whether to leave it activated or not.