Similar to Fast Startup in Windows 11 or Windows 10, but slightly different in functionality, Fast Boot is a feature in UEFI/BIOS that reduces your computer boot time with initialization of a minimal set of devices required to launch the active boot option. In this post, we will show you how to enable or disable Fast Boot in UEFI/BIOS in Windows 11/10.
Enable or Disable Fast Boot in UEFI/BIOS in Windows 11/10
The BIOS (basic input/output system) firmware is being replaced by the UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) standard interface for PCs – designed to improve software interoperability and address limitations of BIOS.
When Fast Boot is enabled, you may not be able to boot from a USB flash drive unless you boot from the USB within Windows. To enable or disable Fast Boot in UEFI/BIOS in Windows 11/10, do the following:
Note: Depending on the PC or motherboard manufacturer, the steps, available Fast Boot settings, and interface may vary. Also, the steps is the same as in UEFI mode for your PC, but in BIOS – Legacy mode, you only can select items by using Arrow Keys and Enter Key.
- If powered on, shut down your PC.
- Boot into UEFI/BIOS firmware settings.
- On the screen that appears, press the F7 hotkey on the keyboard, or use the cursor to click Advanced Mode on the bottom-right of the screen.
- On the next screen, go to Boot tab.
- Select Fast Boot.
- Now, enable or disable Fast Boot per your requirement.
- Next, press F10 to Save & Exit Setup.
- Finally, select OK. The computer will now restart and enable or disable Fast Boot per your selection.
That’s it on how to enable or disable Fast Boot in UEFI/BIOS in Windows 11/10!
Should I enable fast boot in UEFI?
Leaving fast startup enabled shouldn’t harm anything on your PC — it’s a feature built into Windows — but there are a few reasons why you might want to nevertheless disable it. One of the major reasons is if you’re using Wake-on-LAN, which will likely have problems when your PC is shut down with fast startup enabled.
Can fast boot cause problems?
Instead of loading all drivers and files from scratch, the fast startup will keep some of those in memory in order to make the computer boot faster. The problem is that this can cause not only Windows but also various other software (especially antiviruses) not to work properly. In some cases, Windows Updates may fail if Fast startup is enabled.
Does fast startup affect SSD?
There’s no point in having fast startup enabled for SSDs. You can also save space by disabling hibernation – which must be enabled for fast startup. Fast startup is a feature that is significant for HDDs.
Is it safe to disable UEFI boot?
From a PC security point of view, it’s probably best not to disable Secure Boot. Secure boot is an attempt by Microsoft and BIOS vendors to ensure drivers loaded at boot time have not been tampered with or replaced by “malware” or bad software. With secure boot enabled only drivers signed with a Microsoft certificate will load.
