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Please log in with your username or email to continue. Facebook Google wikiHow Account No account yet? Create an account Browse Articles Quizzes & Games All Quizzes Hot Personality Quizzes Dating Simulator Learn Something New Support wikiHow Log in / Sign up Computers and Electronics Operating Systems Last Updated: February 19, 2026 Fact Checked Keyboard Shortcut (Alt+F4) Keyboard Shortcut (Ctrl+Alt+Del) Power User Menu This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Hannah Dillon . Hannah Dillon is a Technology Writer and Editor at wikiHow. She graduated with a B.A. in Journalism from North Dakota State University in 2013 and has since worked in the video game industry as well as a few newspapers. From a young age Hannah has cultivated a love for writing and technology, and hopes to use these passions in tandem to help others in the articles she writes for wikiHow. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 445,550 times. Learn more... Restarting/rebooting Windows closes all apps, shuts down Windows, and turns it back on. Sometimes, this can be very helpful in speeding up your device (especially after heavy use) since the memory (RAM) is cleared with every restart. This article explains all the ways you can restart a Windows 10 or 11 PC, including helpful shortcuts you can use without a mouse. Before you restart: Save any unsaved work in open apps. Rebooting your computer will close open apps, and any unsaved work since your last save will be discarded. Rebooting a PC With the Keyboard To restart your Windows computer with your keyboard, press Win+D to show the desktop, then press Alt+F4 to bring up the Windows shutdown menu. Choose Restart in the dropdown to restart your PC. You can also press Ctrl+Alt+Del and click the power button in the bottom-right corner to restart your PC. Using a Keyboard Shortcut (Alt+F4) 1 Navigate to the desktop. Press ⊞ Win + D simultaneously. There are other different ways of doing this: Close all open apps . Close each app individually by clicking the ✕ button in the upper-right corner of each window. Clicking the very bottom-right of the screen, on the taskbar. Close all open apps . Close each app individually by clicking the ✕ button in the upper-right corner of each window. Clicking the very bottom-right of the screen, on the taskbar. 2 Open the "Shut Down Windows" dialog box. Press Alt + F4 together. Using this shortcut while an app is open will only close that app window. To restart Windows with this shortcut, you must be on the desktop without open apps. Advertisement Using this shortcut while an app is open will only close that app window. To restart Windows with this shortcut, you must be on the desktop without open apps. 3 Click the dropdown menu and choose the Restart option. This dropdown is below the text that says "What do you want to do?" If your mouse doesn't work, you can press the Tab ↹ key until the menu is selected, press ↵ Enter to expand it, then use the arrow keys to select the Restart option. If your mouse doesn't work, you can press the Tab ↹ key until the menu is selected, press ↵ Enter to expand it, then use the arrow keys to select the Restart option. 4 Confirm the restart. Press OK or hit ↵ Enter to reboot your Windows computer. Using a Keyboard Shortcut (Ctrl+Alt+Del) 1 Press the Ctrl + Alt + Del keys together. This shortcut will open a blue screen containing many different links and icons. From here, you will be able to restart Windows. 2 Click the power icon. A context menu that provides multiple different power options will appear. The icon is at the bottom right. It appears as a circle with a vertical line towards the top of it. If your mouse isn't working, use the Tab ↹ key to select the Power icon, then press ↵ Enter to expand the menu. The icon is at the bottom right. It appears as a circle with a vertical line towards the top of it. If your mouse isn't working, use the Tab ↹ key to select the Power icon, then press ↵ Enter to expand the menu. 3 Click Restart . Your device will turn off and power back on. [1] X Research source If you aren't using a mouse, use the arrow keys to select the Restart option, then press ↵ Enter to confirm. If you aren't using a mouse, use the arrow keys to select the Restart option, then press ↵ Enter to confirm. Using the Start Menu 1 Launch the Start menu . Click the Start button located at the bottom-left corner of the screen. Alternatively, press the ⊞ Win keyboard key. Alternatively, press the ⊞ Win keyboard key. 2 Click the power icon. A context menu that provides multiple different power options will appear. The icon is right above the Start button. On Windows 11, it's across from your name. It has a circle with a vertical line towards the top of it.

The icon is right above the Start button. On Windows 11, it's across from your name. It has a circle with a vertical line towards the top of it. 3 Click Restart . Your device will turn off and power back on. [2] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source Using the Power User Menu 1 Launch the Power User menu. Press the ⊞ Win + X keys together. Alternatively, right-click the Start button. Touchscreen device users can hold down and release. Alternatively, right-click the Start button. Touchscreen device users can hold down and release. 2 Hover over/select Shut down or sign out . This option is located second from the bottom. Choosing this will prompt a submenu to appear to the right of the main context menu. You can also press the U keyboard key. You can also press the U keyboard key. 3 Click Restart . Pressing the R keyboard key will perform the same action as clicking Restart . Using Command Prompt 1 Open the Command Prompt. Press ⊞ Win + X and choose Command Prompt or Terminal (Windows 11). You can also press ⊞ Win + R , type cmd , and hit ↵ Enter or click OK . You can also press ⊞ Win + R , type cmd , and hit ↵ Enter or click OK . 2 Enter shutdown /r . Your computer will restart in about a minute. If you want your computer to restart immediately, type shutdown /r /t 0 . Abort the shutdown by using shutdown /a . Abort the shutdown by using shutdown /a . 3 Hit the ↵ Enter key. This will submit the command. 4 Dismiss the notification. You'll get a notification telling you that you'll be signed out in less than a minute, unless you did the immediate restart command. Question I tried the 3rd option but it isn't working and my laptop was still on. What can I do? Community Answer Try again and if it still doesn't work, try one of the other options. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 6 Helpful 12 Question My laptop is on but the screen is blank, what should I do? Rupert Top Answerer Try holding your power button for ten seconds or longer. This should force shut down your computer by effectively cutting its power, and will override any warnings about open programs or unsaved work. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 8 Helpful 11 Question If the PC is frozen, can you press and hold the Power button for 10 seconds to restart your PC? Cesar James F. Suico (Good Boy) Community Answer Yes, that will work. If the PC is frozen, press and hold the Power button for 10 seconds to force restart your PC. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 1 Helpful 1 You can restart in Safe Mode if you need to try and fix something on your computer. If you're on Windows 10, go to Settings > Update & security > Recovery > Advanced start-up > Restart now . If you're on Windows 11, go to Settings > System > Recovery > Advanced start-up > Restart now . Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0 To restart from the sign-in screen, click the Power icon (bottom-right) and choose Restart . Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0 If the computer is frozen, you'll need to do a hard reboot. You should only do this if the steps listed above didn’t work, since there's a risk of data corruption and loss, among other issues. Here's how: Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0 * Press and hold the power button on the computer until it turns off. This button is usually located on the side/top of your laptop, or on the front of the “tower” part of your desktop computer. * Press the power button once again to turn it back on. You Might Also Like ↑ https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht100210-microsoft-windows-7-windows-8-windows-10-restart-steps ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/restart-reboot-your-pc-110262aa-fc79-1c33-7b00-c140ae3a6dac About This Article 1. Click the Start button (bottom-left). More ↓ 2. Click the Power icon. ↓ 3. Click Restart . ↓ Did this summary help you? Yes No Send fan mail to authors Is this article up to date? Quizzes & Games You Might Also Like Trending Articles Trending Articles Take the Quiz. 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