UPDATE: This tutorial will also work in Windows 8.1.
There are many Windows 8 users who are complaining about various restart and shutdown issues. Many times their Windows 8 computers restart themselves as soon as the login screen appears. Sometimes their computer systems hang while rebooting or shutting down the system.
Most of the times these kind of issues are related with the new "Hybrid Shutdown" feature introduced in Windows 8. Hybrid shutdown feature of Windows 8 decreases the total startup time by hibernating the kernel session instead of closing it which reduces the overall Windows loading time because resuming from hibernated system session is very less work compared to a full system initialization.
But this new feature is causing problems to some computer systems and if you are also facing reboot or shutdown problems in Windows 8, you can fix it by disabling this new hybrid shutdown feature and doing a complete shutdown.
Just follow these simple steps:
1. If you are on new Start Screen, type power and Windows will automatically search for the term and will show you the results.
If you are on Desktop, move your cursor to top-right corner of screen to access new Charms Bar. Now click on Search option and type power in search box.
2. Now click on Settings link given in right-sidebar of search results page and then click on "Change what the power buttons do" link given in the search results as shown in following screenshot:

3. It'll open Power Options window. You can alternatively open the same window by typing powercfg.cpl in RUN dialog box and press Enter and then click on the "Choose what the power buttons do" link given in left sidebar.
Now scroll down to bottom and you'll see "Turn on fast startup (recommended)" option given in Shutdown settings section as shown in following screenshot:

4. Disable the option by unchecking the checkbox and then click on "Save Changes" button.
PS: If the option is not shown or greyed out, scroll up and click on "Change settings that are currently unavailable" link.
5. That's it. Restart your system and your reboot or shutdown problems should get fixed in Windows 8.
NOTE: If the above solution doesn't fix your problem, you can try to execute following command in Command Prompt. Open Command Prompt as Administrator by right-click on the bottom-left corner and select the same option from the Win+X menu:
bcdedit /set disabledynamictick yes
The above mentioned command used to fix a very annoying freezing issue found in Windows 8 Release Preview build. According to Microsoft the issue was fixed in Windows 8 RTM but if you are still facing the issue, you can try the command.
Share this article: Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Reddit | Tell a friend
Posted in: Troubleshooting, Windows 8 / 8.1
Other similar articles that may interest you
- Download Windows 8 Metro UI Inspired Dark and Light Themes for Steam
- Try Again Extension for Mozilla Firefox: Keeps Loading the Page When Server Not Found
- How to Move / Show Command Bar at Bottom in Windows 7 Explorer?
- [Tip] How to Disable All WIN+ Keyboard Shortcuts (Hotkeys) in Windows?
- Get Windows 7 Volume Control Box in Windows XP
- [Guide] How to Take Ownership (Permission) of a Registry Key in Windows?
Asrin475
I Experienced this Problem many times
Thanks for the Solution VG~
Great Job.
liak
Thank you very much. Your article made me realize that my problem, where startup programs wouldn't start when I would log into Windows after a shut-down, was because of "hybrid shutdown".
Jeff
Thank you very much for this. Solved my startup problem with my Toshiba NB250 netbook. Would switch itself off at the beginning of startup every second time I used the power switch. Also lost access to the bios. Both problems now fixed.
Francesca
Bought a brand new computer with Windows 8 only to start experiencing this problem a few days later. Thanks for the solution! Seems to have done the job!
Jordan
Thank you very much! This solved the issue for me. Start times really don't even appear affected.
DavidB
Disabling 'Hybrid Shutdown' worked for me. After 6 months of this technical advance with the installation of Windows 8 Download and my laptop refusing to shut down thereafter,it took me only 2 minutes to untick the box and shut down my laptop. Eureka!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Others have ideas which did not work for me but I am most grateful your instructions solved my long lasting problem.
JJ
This was so easy. The problem was driving my husband nuts. SO very glad that it worked.
sebaz_ri
You could also disable this by running "powercfg -h off" in cmd as administrator but this will disable hibernate feature as well
Razib
bro, thnx a lot...... you made my day..... great great job...... thnx thnx thnx :)
work perfectly in acer aspire 5820TG..........
J.Lynch
I finally Googled the correct string of words that brought me here. My issues wasn't a big deal, would hang on a lit display after restart, but would load fine if shut down. Issue fixed! :) It worked! Just wanted to say thanks!
Thanks again!
Valkryne
Oh my.... This actually fixed my problem. Thank you very much!
ahbees
thank you..it really help my friend....it worked!! :)
Mike
Thanks! This seems to have worked for me, running Windows 8.1 Preview on an old Lenovo ThinkPad T60P... it shuts down normally now.
behzad
Thenks. I had the problem on an Acer aspire one AO576 netbook and this solution worked!
Mohammad
Hello
here a short solution :)
run CMD as administrator and then type
powercfg /h off
THANK YOU
THANK YOU SO MUCH I KEPT HAVING TO USE THE BUTTON THANKS THANKS THANKS I WOULD GIVE YOU 100000000000£ THANK YOU!!!!!
Nick yeoh
Very Thank! I Work on : > bcdedit /set disabledynamictick yes
Bala
Hi,
It worked!!..Thanks a lot.!!
mohammad
Hi
tnx very much!
dina
Hai,
Thank you so much for for your advice.
ivan
thanks a lot!!! This solve m problem :)
FPB
PB solved
THX very much !
This problem was driving me crazy
swat
wow, so happy it worked.................
Whitbread_PC
i never noticed this in windows 8 but since i updated to windows 8.1 i suffered from this problem thank you for helping me fix this problem.
Thank You
Katerina
Thank you very much! Even pc experts didn't think that! Thank you a lot again!
KBC
Thank you so much for these instructions! I've been battling this problem for 3 days including spending 3 hours on the phone with Dell's technical support team who were not able to solve the problem! I was getting a little impatient since it's a brand new PC so quite cheesed off that it wasn't functioning properly.
Again thank you for these instructions.
Daniel
Thank you very much! I solved this problem in my laptop following your useful tip.
Asker Antony
Thank you very much its worked fro me
Rob
I love you old person. You are my God really. Great thanks for the help. It helped me and now my laptop is switching off normally. Thanks!
koedil
Thank you very much.....its work!!! windows 8.1 asus N550JV..
Lhaydii
finally I think I found something that would really work , I hope it will work ( keeping my fingers cross) but after reading your positive comment I know it would.
so thank you in advance :)
James
Great solution. It worked for me. Thanks!
Dirk
Been looking for a fix for over a year, drove me up a wall this solved my problem.. all what I can say is Thank You.. Thank you..
Sean
Thank you.... seriously. This was driving me insane.
Venkatesh R
I made the changes as specified and it's working fine now.
Thank you so much.
- Venkatesh R
Gerry
Thank you so much!
Armin
It works for me - THANKS!
Harry
My computer just won't restart. It still shuts down completely. I tried all the buttons for restart that I could find but nothing. This after I installed Windows 8.1 this morning. Any help will be greatly appreciated!
kemboi evans
thanks a lot bro , i like your post it solved my problem.
khairul
Appreciate thay you share with us the know how..really help and saving my time...waiting for my pc to shutdown
Jasmin
Oh my god thank you! I am a writer and my computer just shuts down while I am writing! It doesn't save my writing! Thank you, it hasn't shut down yet!
Bhavya
I have a problem with my notebook. It was restarting and switched it off, as i wanted to shut down so I pressed power on button for some time when it was restarting at that time it switched off and afterwards it is not starting. Please help if any body understand my situation.
Thank you
Xeb
Dear Concern,
when I shut down my system, screen gets black but laptop lights remains on means system is still running, I have to shut down by pressing button of laptop.
kindly suggest me a way?
VG
^^ Did you try to disable Hybrid shutdown "Turn on fast startup " option as mentioned above? Also have you installed latest drivers for your graphics card?
Anil Gogate
Unfortunately this has not worked for me and my pc which has windows 8.1 keeps on getting rebooted.
palanivel
my laptap also shutdown proplem
DuffyDuck
Tank's . It work's.
appaji
thank u for giving valuble information
Falalu
thanks very much, your method is by far better than Microsoft Care-Center. Saved me time and money. Kudos
Rafael Becker
Thanks a lot friend! You've saved my laptop :P
Derek
Still not shutting down...did both options...screen turns off but that is all
Pen
Thanks a lot, good solution.....
Nuribat
Thank you very much for the solution.
It's work for me on Windows 8.1 by disabling Turn on fast startup
Sanjeewa
Thank You very much.
najmeh
Thanks a lot , you rescued me !!!!
faisal
i am still facing problem i am using win 8.1
Avner Falk
The above instructions are missing a crucial step. In the System Settings window you first have to click on the blue "Change settings that are currently available" link near the top of the window in order to be able to uncheck the "Turn on fast startup (recommended)" option. Hope this helps.
VG
^^ Its mentioned in PS given between point 4 and 5. :)
Testing
I disabled the fast boot and then it froze and I started it up and it randomly restarted again after 5 minutes of use, but I booted it again and used the command in CMD and it's been running for 20 or 30 minutes without crashing so far but I'll come back either tomorrow or whenever it might randomly restart or freeze. Thanks so far
karlocustodio
Great! Thank you AskVG! It helps a lot
Ana
This is great for those that are able to access the settings; but I am having an issue with the message 'pc ran into a problem, restarting'. It does Preparing auto repair and diagnostics. Than nothing.
Mike
It worked, Thanks
Ajay
Thank you for this.
Its been driving me crazy for the last couple of weeks.
raviraj
Thank u so much
Tali
Thank you! You solved my problem! Drove me mad!!!
hosein
hello i have windows 8 but now i turn on my notebook but windows dont start and modern app screen of windows 8 dont appears and just a black screen appears immediately next to turn on my notebook please help me as soon as possible.thank you
VG
^^ You should try following:
http://www.askvg.com/tip-reinstall-or-repair-windows-8-computer-using-reset-pc-and-refresh-pc-options/
Peterpan
It's work!.
Thanks.
raj
same problem but I cant access my pc it stuck on diagonosic your pc and my compuer does not show bios option how can disable this when computer stuck on automatic repair
Amir
Thanks worked
awsome
Parag Dhande
I have lenovo G50 laptop.with windows 8.1 suturing restart prob. Notification shows problem in OS to fix this some info is necessary to send it to Microsoft. And it is automatically get restart
. Please help
VG
^^ Did you Reset or Refresh PC options?
George
I tried it; did not work! That procedure actually caused my Acer V3 laptop computer to get back to a state that caused it to completely boot on the second start up! Then I went back to the original configuration; "Turn of fast start-up (recommended)". However, as that original configuration went back and worked, it did not solve the problem of Restart; which still does not work! Just less than a half hour ago there was a Windows Update, and my Acer V3 laptop could not restart! What the hell is wrong with most of those people at Microsoft? Although I am not absolutely sure, this Restart problem began with a Windows Update! How ridiculous and frustrating! I've studied Windows and used this operating system on my own, and for over 11 years I've mostly trouble! I think that eventually I shall go back to a Macintosh computer, latest Mac operating system. I've gone wacky with Windows, so I'm going back to Mac! I made that phrase up.
George
I meant to say "Turn on fast start-up (recommended)". Not "of".
George
Sorry, there I go with another solecism; I meant that for over 11 years I had mostly trouble. I occasionally make grammatical mistakes because I want to get my point across as soon as possible. Anyway, it is ridiculous, and frustration. However, it is also aggravating and ironic, because this Restart problem happened close to a month ago by actually downloading a Windows Update! How ridiculous and ironic is that situation. My Acer V3 laptop was bought in 2013, and now I have Windows 8.1, the latest and greatest version that cannot take on a task to Restart a laptop computer! One day Microsoft Windows 8.1 which eventually change and progress to an operating system of 128 bits! What the hell is with the functioning Microsoft Windows? I've had less trouble, far less Restarting on my Sony VAIO desktop computer (2003), operating on Windows XP; and that smoother operation was before I installed Service Pack 3! How ridiculous. If anybody from Microsoft is listening, get back to where you once belonged, because Macintosh is going strong.
deo
Press Win (Key) and type
shutdown -s -t 0 -f
Press Enter to shutdown.
Brillao
didn't help on my old pc with P35 chipset, turns off video, hangs forever
omegaman
I tried this procedure, and it did not work. In fact, it went back to having to press the Power Button longer, then starting it again. Therefore, I set it as it was, in its default setting. However, I still have this Restart command problem whereby my Acer V3 laptop computer, bought with Microsoft Windows 8 in late 2013, now upgraded to Windows 8.1, hangs at the Acer logo screen! I then need to hold down the Power Button down for 6 seconds for a forced Shut Down, wait for at least half a minute for the internal hard disk to stop and cool down, then press the Power Button, and my Acer V3 laptop starts up normally, but I think it is ridiculous! I also have a Sony VAIO desktop computer (2003) with Window XP, Service Pack 3, that I am going to upgrade tomorrow with Windows 7. With my Sony desktop I cannot remember experiencing these Restart problems with the older Windows XP OS; except for a faulty memory module, but that case is a different story. Certainly Microsoft can do better with this newer, premium operating system.
omegaman
Hold on, I didn't include a full explanation in my first sentence. I meant to say that with this configuration, it goes back to having to start my Acer V3 laptop computer operating with Windows 8.1 if it is Shut Down, twice before it fully starts up again. Therefore, I set it back to the original configuration, "Turn on fast start-up (recommended)". However, as I mentioned above, the Restart command is a mystery! It cannot fully start, except if a forced Shut Down, by holding down the Power Button, is initiated. As I said before Microsoft can do better with Windows 8.1!
george
Sorry, I forgot, to use my actual name, I am omegaman, that's me, George. I have written and posted problems with the Windows 8.1 operating system above. Please read my posts above. I'm sorry for the confusion. You see, I posted these Restart problems elsewhere, and I got mixed up. Anyway, I still have this Restart problem.
george
Okay, deo, I'll try this procedure, thank you.
Brillao
Hi, tried many workarounds with no luck; updated every driver and latest windows upgrades still windows 8.1 cannot restart.
too bad windows 7 was able to restart properly :(
Hassan
Listen guys!!!!! If this doesnt help then
1)Type power in new windows screen and go to settings
2)If you are using windows 8.1 then go to PC and devices and there you can change the sleep time and black screen time to "Never".
3)You are done now your computer will not restart or shutdown untill and unless you want to.
Maybe this can help or the above solution .Try both
Enjoy!!!!!
Dhiraj valekar
i have problem to restart my lapi . when i click on restart . system will hangs /black screen appears .the procedure will stops there....reply
Dhiraj valekar
i installed many softwares .but to start them 1st time pc should be restart
Ryan S
You rock! It worked-thanks!
Eileen
Thank you - this fix worked for me.
Raghava
Thanks a lot got fixed with this
Mollie
I have a Toshiba Satellite laptop, I only bought it in September and it was shutting down fine originally. I didn't change any settings, and the only software I have installed have been mcafee internet security and Microsoft office 365 yet now when I press "shut down" my laptop completely shuts down (the off switch button light goes off and everything", then within about 3 seconds, the light comes back on and the laptop restarts itself. The only way I can turn it off is by pressing and holding the off switch on the laptop but isn't it bad to repeatedly turn your laptop off that way? I have looked at all the forums and checked all the power settings etc but nothing seems to be working! I have also tried turning off with the power unplugged and with all USB devices removed which some forums suggested but no luck. Any ideas?
In my boot settings, what should my laptop be set to boot up through? It's currently set to HDD but other options include USB, LAN etc, I'm not very experienced with computers so wasn't sure if this had anything to do with it or not. Also built-in LAN is enabled, is that related in any way? All other settings like boot up when lid is open etc are disabled, and I have checked the power options and everything seems to be set how it should be
Help!!
Claudia
I have a Windows 8 lenovo. Two days ago I was having internet connection problems so I decided to restart my laptop. However my laptop has now been "restarting" for about 30 hours.I've tried to turn it off but when I press the power button to turn it on it is still restarting.
VG
^^ Press and hold the power button for a few seconds and it'll turn off the computer. Then again press the power button to start it normally.
smodi
Thanks so much!!! It wrked!!!
Eren
Didnt work for me ;c
i tried the all your instructions but still no good result.help please
windows8.1 pro 64
kez
tnx allot bro.it worked.i feel lyk kissing ya.