Fast startup is a feature in Windows 11 that helps your computer boot up faster after being shut down. It's a useful capability that's been around for some time in previous versions of Windows, but it does come with downsides. Most notably, since it causes the computer to boot up much faster, it can make it harder to access boot options, such as using a secondary OS in a dual-boot setup or entering the BIOS.

Since fast startup is turned on by default, if you don't want it, you have to disable it yourself. We're here to show you how.

What is fast startup in Windows 11?

Fast startup strikes the perfect balance between hibernation and shutdown to help your PC start up as soon as you push that power button by not quite shutting down fully. Yes, the computer will physically be off, but fast startup saves the state of your hard drive at the moment of shutdown and brings it back to where you left it the next time you log in. That way, it doesn't have to restart the services it needs for File Explorer, Taskbar, and other system areas.

To turn off fast startup, you need to either use the classic Control Panel or Windows Terminal (Command Prompt), since it hasn't been added to the new Settings app yet.

It's worth noting that fast startup doesn't apply to restarts. If you use the restart option in Windows 11, it will boot as if fast startup were disabled.

Disable fast startup using Control Panel

To disable fast startup in Windows 11, you need to visit the classic Control Panel:

1. Open the Start Menu and search for Control Panel. Choose the top result.
2. You should see the view below. If not, use the View by option near the top of the window and choose Category. Alternatively, if you're using the Small icons or Large icons views, you can click Power options and skip to step 5.
3. Choose Hardware and Sound.
4. Select Power Options.
5. Click on Choose what the power buttons do.
6. Uncheck the box at the bottom for Turn on fast startup (recommended).

If the box is grayed out, you'll need to click the text at the top that says Change settings that are currently unavailable. This requires administrator permissions.

Disable fast startup using Command Prompt

If you prefer using Command Prompt, you can also disable fast startup this way.

1. Press the Windows key, search for Command Prompt, and run it as administrator.
2. Type the command below and hit enter.

   Powercfg -h off

   ​​​​

This should turn off hibernate as well as fast startup on your device.

Fast startup isn't always ideal

These two methods are the easiest options to turn off fast startup, so you don't need to look any further, though tools like the Group Policy Editor and Registry Editor can also do the same thing. There's just no reason to dive much deeper into it. Though it's still strange that all these years later, the Settings app doesn't offer this capability.