Turn off Fast Startup (get a real cold boot on Shut down)

Turn off Fast Startup (get a real cold boot on Shut down) — via Microsoft Learn

Registrylow riskNeeds adminWindows 11Windows 10

Fast Startup makes "Shut down" actually hibernate the Windows kernel, which is why uptime in Task Manager can be days old and why dual-boot setups and some drivers misbehave. Turning it off makes every shutdown a full one. Boots may be a little slower; Restart is never affected.

Takes effect right away

The easy way

The easy way: Control Panel → Power Options → Choose what the power buttons do → Change settings that are currently unavailable → untick Turn on fast startup (recommended) → Save changes.
Or apply the registry change below. It takes effect at the next shutdown.
One-off alternative: shutdown /s /t 0 always performs a full shutdown, even with Fast Startup on.

Registry change

Download apply .reg Download undo .reg

Double-click a .reg file and confirm to merge it. Right-click → Edit first if you want to read it, which is always a good idea with any .reg file from the internet.

Apply

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; Oddbyte.Me: Turn off Fast Startup (get a real cold boot on Shut down)

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Power]
"HiberbootEnabled"=dword:00000000

Undo

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; Oddbyte.Me: undo Turn off Fast Startup (get a real cold boot on Shut down)

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Power]
"HiberbootEnabled"=dword:00000001

Same thing from a command prompt

Run in an administrator Command Prompt or Terminal.

reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Power" /v "HiberbootEnabled" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Undo:

reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Power" /v "HiberbootEnabled" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Fast Startup is on by default and Microsoft doesn't recommend disabling it in general, but it's a common fix for dual-boot drive corruption, Wake-on-LAN problems and devices that only work after a restart. If hibernation is turned off, Fast Startup is unavailable anyway. Admins can force it on with the policy Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Shutdown > Require use of fast startup.

Sources

Hibernate Once/Resume Many (HORM) — How to disable fast startup — by Microsoft Learn
Fast startup causes hibernation or shutdown to fail — by Microsoft Learn

Source reviewed: 2026-11-02
Link checked: 2026-11-02
Tested hands-on: Not by Oddbyte.Me

Oddbyte.Me hasn't tried this on every Windows build, so keep the undo handy.

fast startuphiberbootshutdowndual bootuptime

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