Technology Tips – Published July 2020 in the Guide and Digest
by Don Trauger – Kennett
Windows 10 has been available to us for over 5 years. We’ve seen a number of problems in that time period. One of the major problems is Microsoft itself not fully testing their updates. We end up being their guinea pigs. For more information on the subject please read my article on Microsoft Updates in the Nov. 2019 issue or click the following link to read it at our HM web site. https://hersheysmill.org/?s=advanced+options
Another area that has issues is the way Windows 10 boots up. Microsoft has a fast startup feature that does improve boot up speed but it can also introduce startup problems. Type Control Panel in the “Type here to search field” on your Desktop screen then click “Open”. Click Power Options. If you don’t see it, look at the upper right, click Click “Category” and choose “Large icons” then click “Power Options”. This fast startup feature can be turned off by clicking on “Choose what the power buttons do”. In the next window click “Change settings that are currently unavailable” that is near the top of the window. Now remove the check next to “Turn on fast startup (recommended)” and click “Save changes” at the bottom and close any open windows.
The fast startup feature captures all the information from memory and saves it in one file when you shut down the computer. Upon turning it back on it only has to read this one file to get the computer started and running. The problem that can arise is that it captures bad memory bits along with good memory bits. These bad bits can invoke all kinds of startup problems on the next power up start. This does not frequently happen but it’s not uncommon either. Yes, there is a downside to turning this feature off, in that the next time you restart the computer it will take twice as long to come up to the Desktop screen. In other words it starts the same way older versions of Windows started.
Remember to do your regular monthly maintenance to keep your Windows problems at a minimum. This is required and not an option or something like “I didn’t know you had to do anything”, Read about here: https://hersheysmill.org/resources/technology/computer-performance-maintenance-tips/wise-disk-cleaner-and-registry-cleaner-mar-2020/