Is Windows 10's 'Fast Startup' Feature Slowing Your Computer Down?

Windows 10 recently introduced a new feature called "Fast Startup." The purpose of this feature is to allow your computer to turn on a bit faster after you have shut down. Windows performs this by overriding the shutdown command and never fully turning off; instead it goes into a sleep-like hibernation. When you turn the computer back on, it resumes right where it left off.

As a result, the sub-processes and programs never get the fresh start they need. This can cause your computer to do all kinds of odd things: slow down, fail to print, load web pages incorrectly, and more.

How do you know if your computer is being affected by Fast Startup?

Fortunately, Windows keeps track of this with a clock called "Uptime."

• Press [Ctrl], [Alt] and [Delete] on your keyboard at the same time, and open Task Manager.
• When the Task Manager opens, click on "More Details" at the bottom of the window to show more details (if you see "Fewer Details," you don't need to click this).
• Along the top of Task Manager, click on "Performance."
• Click on "CPU" to the left.
• Towards the bottom, look for a timer labeled "Uptime."

When reading the Uptime, it will be in the format D:HH:MM:SS for days, hours, minutes, and seconds since the last complete restart. It is recommended that this stays below four days to maintain best performance. If your Uptime is higher than four days, you can simply restart the computer. Remember that you have to specifically perform a restart — not a shut down — in order to reset your uptime.