Solved Is there any way to make desktops and layouts remember their contents despite reboots?

I've just been taking a fresh look at desktops and layouts in Windows 11 and they seem like they might be useful on occasion, particularly if they remembered what apps were running in each layout and desktop even after a reboot. I decided to give that a try and set up a second desktop which I renamed Games where two different games were launched. After my reboot, I was pleased to see that it remembered the existence of the second desktop but very disappointed that neither desktop had any apps running on them. I think that proves conclusively that it *doesn't* remember what was running in the desktops after a reboot.

Is there a trick I haven't learned yet that would make Windows 11 remember what was running in each desktop despite a reboot?

There isn't anything native to Windows that will do this. I had at one point started building an app to do this but never finished it. I just used powertoys fancy zones to quickly snap all my work apps to the part of each screen I was accustomed to having them

I get the impression that there is considerable demand for the ability to save layouts and desktops across reboots and it shouldn't be terribly difficult to add that feature so I'm puzzled why Microsoft hasn't done that. Maybe they're saving it for Windows 12?

If you mean to restore the running apps when restarting, like on a smartphone, then don't do a complete shutdown. Use hibernation instead. This saves the RAM contents in the disk before turning off the computer and loads them again when loading Windows. It is like you never restarted. If you want to close it for a few minutes, you can also use the sleep function (aka standby), but if you remove the battery or power supply the contents of RAM will be wiped, unlike hibernation.

spapakons said:

If you mean to restore the running apps when restarting, like on a smartphone, then don't do a complete shutdown. Use hibernation instead.

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That is what I use. Unless I am installing an update, I don't reboot. My laptop is set up so that, when I am done working, I just close the lid. When I ready to go again, I just open the lid and press the start button. Everything is returned to the screen, just like it was, before I closed the lid.

K7MEM said:

That is what I use. Unless I am installing an update, I don't reboot. My laptop is set up so that, when I am done working, I just close the lid. When I ready to go again, I just open the lid and press the start button. Everything is returned to the screen, just like it was, before I closed the lid.

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Me too. I have all my laptops set to sleep when I close the lid then, if I don't return to it, hibernate after 20 minutes.

If you have a Modern Standby device you may have to jump through a few hoops first. By default 'Hibernate after' is not in Power Options when Windows 11 is installed on a Modern Standby device. How I got round that is here:

How to disable Modern Standby? I want regular Sleep again! - post #9

@RhinoCan's HP Elitebook 665 G11 is a Modern Standby device.

HP said:

Take on your work with an efficient and reliable AMD Ryzen™ 7000 Series processor that provides a highly responsive experience with connected modern standby.

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hp.com | HP EliteBook 665 G11 16” Business Laptop - Ryzen™ 7