Pressing Shut Down on Windows doesn't actually shut down your PC—and its breaking things

Pressing Shut Down on Windows doesn't actually shut down your PC—and its breaking things Credit: Jason Montoya / How-To Geek By  Nick Lewis Published May 30, 2026, 7:00 AM EDT Nick Lewis is an editor at How-To Geek. He has been using computers for 20 years --- tinkering with everything from the UI to the Windows registry to device firmware. Before How-To Geek, he used Python and C++ as a freelance programmer. In college, Nick made extensive use of Fortran while pursuing a physics degree. Nick's love of tinkering with computers extends beyond work. He has been running video game servers from home for more than 10 years using Windows, Ubuntu, or Raspberry Pi OS. He also uses Proxmox to self-host a variety of services, including a Jellyfin Media Server, an Airsonic music server, a handful of game servers, NextCloud, and two Windows virtual machines. He enjoys DIY projects, especially if they involve technology. He regularly repairs and repurposes old computers and hardware for whatever new project is at hand. He has designed crossovers for homemade speakers all the way from the basic design to the PCB. Nick enjoys the outdoors. When he isn't working on a computer or DIY project, he is most likely to be found camping, backpacking, or canoeing. Sign in to your How-To Geek account Add Us On follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap When you click "Shut Down," your screen goes black, and you assume your PC has actually "shut down" in the original sense of the phrase. However, on most modern Windows PCs, that isn't the case. Since Windows 8, Microsoft has used a feature called Fast Startup that saves some parts of a session to the disk instead of closing it, then reloads that information the next time you boot up. It made sense originally; today it is mostly just a source of problems. What actually happens