How to disable Fast Startup on Windows 11, 10

To disable Fast Startup on Windows 11, open Control Panel System > Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Choose what the power button does, click on “Change settings that are currently unavailable,” turn off “Fast Startup,” and click “Save.”
Alternatively, open Command Prompt (admin) and run the “powercfg /h off” command to turn off Fast Startup.
It’s also possible to disable the power feature with the Registry or Group Policy Editor.

UPDATED 2/28/2025: On Windows 11 (and 10), you can disable “Fast Startup” in at least four ways through the Control Panel, Command Prompt (and PowerShell), Group Policy, or Registry since the feature isn’t available through the Settings app.

What’s Fast Startup?

Fast Startup is a feature in Windows 11 and Windows 10 designed to speed up the boot process by combining elements of hibernation and standard shutdown. When enabled, it saves the kernel, drivers, and system state to the hibernation file (hiberfil.sys) upon shutdown, allowing for a quicker startup as the system resumes from this saved state.

Why disable Fast Startup?

However, while Fast Startup can improve boot times, it may also lead to certain issues. For instance, it can interfere with the installation of updates, complicate the management of encrypted storage devices, and pose challenges in dual-boot configurations by restricting access to drives from other operating systems. Additionally, on some systems, enabling Fast Startup might prevent access to the motherboard’s UEFI (BIOS) settings.

In this guide, I will teach you how to turn off the Fast Startup feature on Windows 11 (and even Windows 10).

Disable Fast Startup on Windows 11 from Control Panel

To disable the Windows 11 Fast Startup feature, use these steps:

Open Start on Windows 11.
Search for Control Panel and click the top result to open the app.
Click on Hardware and Sound (in the “Category” view).
Click on Power Options.
Click the “Choose what the power button does” option from the left pane.
Click the “Change settings that are currently unavailable” option.
Clear the “Turn on fast startup” option to disable the feature.

Once you complete the steps, the feature that allows the operating system to boot faster will be disabled.

If you want to enable the feature again, you can use the same instructions, but in step 7, check the “Turn on fast startup” option.

Disable Fast Startup on Windows 11 from Command Prompt

To disable Fast Startup from Command Prompt (or PowerShell) on Windows 11, use these steps:

Open Start.
Search for Command Prompt (or PowerShell), right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
Type the following command to disable Fast Startup on Windows 11 and press Enter:
```
powercfg /h off
```

After you complete the steps, the command will instruct the system to disable Fast Startup on Windows 11 (or 10).

If you change your mind, you can enable the feature again with the same instructions, but in step 3, run the powercfg /h on command.

It’s important to note that this command will work in Command Prompt as well as in PowerShell since this command shell doesn’t include a specific command to turn Fast Startup on or off.

Disable Fast Startup on Windows 11 from Group Policy

To disable Fast Startup from Group Policy, use these steps:

Open Start.
Search for gpedit.msc, and click the top result to open the Local Group Policy Editor.

Browse the following path:

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Shutdown

Double-click the “Require use of fast startup” policy.
Select the Disabled option.
Click the Apply button.
Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, the operating system will no longer use Faster Startup.

If you want to undo the changes, follow the same instructions outlined above, but in step 5, choose the “Not configured” option.

Disable Fast Startup on Windows 11 from Registry

To turn off Fast Startup from Registry on Windows 11, use these steps:

Open Start.
Search for regedit and click the top result to open the Registry.

Navigate to the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Power

Right-click the HiberbootEnabled key and select the Modify option.
Change the value from 1 to 0 to disable Fast Startup.
Click the OK button.
Restart the computer.

After you complete the steps, the Fast Start feature will be disabled on the computer.

If you want to roll back the previous configuration, you can use the same instructions outlined above but change the value from 1 to 0 in step 5.

It’s important to know that you should only disable Fast Start on Windows 10 or 11 when it is causing problems with updates or conflicting with apps or when you plan to set up a dual-boot system. Otherwise, you should keep the feature enabled.

Update February 28, 2025: This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect new details.

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