I had two problems with my Windows Me 8. At least two which were clearly bugs in operating system and not a usual Dell hardware failure. And seems like both of these problems had the same solution, which potentially should be able to fix some other issues with Windows 8.
Problem Nr.1 – Wi-Fi performance in Windows 8
Whenever I shutdown my computer, next time it starts there is an 80% chance that Wi-Fi connection will be limited. That is – no internet. Which means, that I have to start machine, wait to see that Wi-Fi connection is limited, then restart machine and hope it would be ok now.
Drivers are current, no issues with other system components. Restarting usually fixes the problem.
Problem Nr. 2 – Seagate Momentus XT hybrid hard drive in Windows 8
After I “upgraded” my hard drive to Seagate Momentus XT 750Gb hybrid hard drive, which has 32Gb SSD cache for better performance, sometimes Windows 8 just refused to boot. I’ve seen Windows 8 logo, but that’s it – no progress and registered hard drive activity. I had to switch off the computer and start it over, sometimes leading to the same issue.
Twice it led to automatic repair procedure, which, although relatively painless, took 40 minutes each time.
Cause
It’s easy to understand the problem once you learn how Windows 8 boots and how it shuts down. Which, by default, is not the same as before.
Windows 8 has a new feature called Fast Startup. When you issue a standard power down command, like shutting down from Windows 8 user interface or pressing the hardware power button, the Windows 8 terminates user sessions, and then hibernates the rest, i.e. it’s kernel.
This also includes all drivers and sometimes the state of services, and that’s what causes real problems with this new feature.
Solution
I had to switch off the Fast Startup feature of Windows 8 to force it to really shut down and start, instead of hibernating. Surprisingly, it didn’t really affect the boot performance of my notebook, perhaps because of the hybrid hard drive – I would say that boot speed didn’t change.
To switch off the Fast Startup feature, you need to go to your Control Panel, go to Power Options (quick way – paste “Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Power Options” to your Explorer window path).
Then click the “Choose what the power buttons do” and you’ll see the dialog like the one on the left. Look for the option called “Turn on fast startup”. If it is grayed out, just click the “Change settings that are currently unavailable” at the top of the dialog.
So, this is it. Now, instead of hibernating the kernel, Windows 8 will properly shut down, to properly start next time you start your machine.
Extra Advantages
If you think about it, the default new shutdown method of Windows 8 poses some potential security issues. When it doesn’t really clear your memory, but dumps it to hard drive instead, there is a chance for that data to be recovered. It’s ok if you are not too concerned about data protection.
Resume
Each time Microsoft introduces new feature in their operating system, it’s a good idea to note the way to switch that feature off, to ensure a better compatibility with older hardware, like my one year old laptop.