64 13 - 26 November 2019
on whatever you had open when you
finished last time. Resuming from
Hibernate is still faster than a cold start.
Open the Control Panel and click
Power Options, then ‘Choose what the
power buttons do’. Click the link labelled
‘Change settings that are currently
unavailable’. Enable the Hibernate
option, then restart Windows. Now
when you click Start, Power, you’ll
see a new Hibernate option on the
menu. Use this instead of shutting
down your PC or using Sleep mode.Stop background apps
If you have a lot of programs
running in the background,
they may start when Windows
starts, which can use up
valuable resources and
cause bottlenecks on your
PC. Open Settings, Privacy,
‘Background apps’ and use the
switches to disable any you
don’t need. Also check the
settings or preferences for
all the software on your
computer and make sure
none of it is set to start
automatically with Windows.Install an SSD
One of the most effective ways to
make Windows start up faster is to
use a solid-state drive (SSD) instead
of a mechanical hard drive. If you’re
planning to treat yourself to a new
computer, make sure it comes with an
SSD installed, because it makes a
huge difference. An SSD enables a PC
to start up in around a tenth of the
time it takes with a hard drive.T
he most obvious way to reduce the
time spent waiting for your PC to
start up is to avoid shutting it down
in the first place. Instead, put it into Sleep
mode. Windows resumes from sleep in a
fraction of the time it takes to start from
cold. To enter Sleep mode, click Start,
Power, Sleep.
That’s all very simple but it could be
even simpler. Open the Control Panel and
click Power Options followed by ‘Choose
what the power buttons do’. The options
may vary depending on whether you have
a desktop or laptop PC, because desktops
don’t have a lid you can close to shut them
down. Set all options to Sleep. Now you
can press the power button to send your
PC to sleep. It’s like putting your TV into
standby and uses very little power. Tap a
key, the mouse or the trackpad and the PC
starts up in seconds instead of minutes.Use Windows’ Sleep mode to wake your PC faster
Hibernate for fast startup
Computers use a small amount of power
while in Sleep mode, which means a
laptop’s battery will eventually run out if
left in that state for a long time. It may
take a week or more, and the battery
will lose only a few per cent of power
overnight, but you may not want even
this tiny amount of drain. If that’s the
case, use Hibernate instead of Sleep.
Many computers support Hibernate,
which is very similar to Sleep mode but
without the power drain. In Hibernate
mode, Windows saves a snapshot of the
current state of the computer to the
hard drive before powering off. When
you power the PC back on, it loads the
snapshot and you can continue working
Start your PC quickly by choosing Sleep mode instead of shutting downSet Windows to enter hibernate mode if you worry
that sleep mode might drain your batteryIf you see words that look like
they’ve been typed in a
typewriter, follow the instructions
and type them exactly as they
appear, paying close attention to
spaces and punctuation.Web User Masterclass
Speed up Windows startup
to get your PC working faster