How to enable or disable fast boot in UEFI firmware settings for Windows

[JamieKavanagh]

Fast boot is a way for Microsoft to sidestep the complaints millions of users had about boot waiting times in Windows. Rather than having to wait ages for the OS, then the desktop and then your apps, Windows 10 tries a different approach. It uses a hybrid hibernation mode to take a snapshot of your system which it loads at boot. This drastically reduces boot time for compatible computers.

To get it to work, you have to enable or disable fast boot in UEFI firmware settings for Windows. Here’s how.

Enable or disable fast boot in UEFI firmware settings for Windows
You can reboot your computer and access your UEFI settings directly using the delete key or whatever key your motherboard recognizes but you can also do it from within Windows.

1. Navigate to Settings, Update and Security and Recovery.
2. Select Restart now under Advanced start-up. This is a command not a setting so your computer will immediately reboot.
3. Once your system reboots into Advanced startup, select Troubleshoot.
4. Select Advanced options and then UEFI Firmware Settings.
5. Select Restart to boot into the UEFI firmware settings.

Only fully compatible computers will see the UEFI Firmware Settings, so if you don’t see it, your system is not configured or not compatible. You will need to check your motherboard settings to enable UEFI or to see if it is compatible. If you want to know before rebooting, try this:

Type or paste ‘msinfo32’ into the Search Windows box and look for BIOS Mode. If it says Legacy, UEFI is not enabled. If it says UEFI, you’re golden.

We have plenty of Windows 10 tutorials here at Toms Hardware. Try these:
How to get out of Windows 10 repair loop
How to get into advanced startup options in Windows 10
How to run the SFC Command at boot in Windows 10