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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 Last Updated: May 16, 2026 Fact Checked This article was reviewed by Stan Kats and by wikiHow staff writer, Megaera Lorenz, PhD . Stan Kats is a Professional Technologist and the COO and Chief Technologist for The STG IT Consulting Group in West Hollywood, California. Stan provides comprehensive technology solutions to businesses through managed IT services, and for individuals through his consumer service business, Stan's Tech Garage. Stan holds a BA in International Relations from The University of Southern California. He began his career working in the Fortune 500 IT world. Stan founded his companies to offer an enterprise-level of expertise for small businesses and individuals. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. 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 1,057,148 times. If you're not able to use the mouse or trackpad on your computer, you can still reboot using just your keyboard. In this article, we’ll teach you the best keyboard shortcuts, hotkeys, and workarounds to restart your Windows, Mac, Chromebook, or Linux computer when you can’t use the trackpad or mouse. Shortcut Key for Restarting a Computer In Windows, you can quickly reboot by pressing Windows key + X > U > R . For most newer Macs, you can use Ctrl + Fn + F2 to select the Apple menu, then use the arrow keys and Return to select Restart . Restart your Chromebook by pressing and holding the Refresh key, then tapping the Power button. In Linux, use Ctrl + Alt + Del to immediately reboot your computer. 1 Use the Alt + F4 method if your mouse isn’t working. If your computer is basically functioning normally, but you can’t access your mouse or trackpad, this method will allow you to navigate to the power menu with your keyboard. Here’s how to do it: [1] X Research source Press Windows key + D to instantly hide all open windows and show the desktop. Press Alt + F4 . Once you’ve closed all your open windows, this keyboard combo will launch the Shut Down Windows dialog. If Alt + F4 doesn’t work, try Alt + Fn + F4 . You must be focused on the desktop for this to work. If you still have any active apps or windows open, Alt + F4 will close the active window instead of opening the Shut Down Windows dialog. Select Restart from the dropdown menu using the arrow keys, then press Enter . Press Windows key + D to instantly hide all open windows and show the desktop. Press Alt + F4 . Once you’ve closed all your open windows, this keyboard combo will launch the Shut Down Windows dialog. If Alt + F4 doesn’t work, try Alt + Fn + F4 . You must be focused on the desktop for this to work. If you still have any active apps or windows open, Alt + F4 will close the active window instead of opening the Shut Down Windows dialog. If Alt + F4 doesn’t work, try Alt + Fn + F4 . You must be focused on the desktop for this to work. If you still have any active apps or windows open, Alt + F4 will close the active window instead of opening the Shut Down Windows dialog. Select Restart from the dropdown menu using the arrow keys, then press Enter . 2 Use ⊞ Win + X , then U , then R if you need to restart quickly. This option is a little quicker, but it could cause you to lose unsaved data. [2] X Research source Press Windows key + X to open the Power User menu. Press U . This will expand the Shut down or sign out option in the menu. Press R . This will select the Restart option and restart your computer. Advertisement Press Windows key + X to open the Power User menu. Press U . This will expand the Shut down or sign out option in the menu. Press R . This will select the Restart option and restart your computer. 3 Shut down from the Ctrl + Alt + Del menu if your system is partially frozen. This option often works if you need to force a restart because your computer isn’t responding to standard commands. To restart this way: [3] X Research source Press Ctrl + Alt + Del to open the Windows Security Screen . Press Tab as many times as you need to navigate to the power icon on the bottom right side of the screen. Use the arrow keys to select Restart from the menu, then press Enter . Press Ctrl + Alt + Del to open the Windows Security Screen . Press Tab as many times as you need to navigate to the power icon on the bottom right side of the screen. Use the arrow keys to select Restart from the menu, then press Enter . 4 Use the Run dialog to enter a restart command. This option gives you a little more control over how your computer restarts. You might want to use this method if you want to initiate a restart after a brief delay, for example. [4] X Research source Press Windows key + R to launch the Run dialog. Type shutdown /r /t 0 and press Enter to immediately restart your computer. If you want to restart after a certain period of time, replace “0” with the number of seconds you want the delay to last. For example, to restart after a minute, enter the command shutdown /r /t 60 . Press Windows key + R to launch the Run dialog. Type shutdown /r /t 0 and press Enter to immediately restart your computer. If you want to restart after a certain period of time, replace “0” with the number of seconds you want the delay to last. For example, to restart after a minute, enter the command shutdown /r /t 60 . If you want to restart after a certain period of time, replace “0” with the number of seconds you want the delay to last. For example, to restart after a minute, enter the command shutdown /r /t 60 . 5 Restart your computer from PowerShell. Again, this method allows you to execute some more advanced restart commands: [5] X Research source Press Windows key + X to open the Power User menu. Select the Windows PowerShell or Windows Terminal option. If you can’t use your mouse, you can open this option by pressing I (or A , to launch with administrative privileges). Type the command Restart-Computer and press Enter to restart your computer. If you want to bypass any warnings and force your computer to immediately restart, use the command Restart-Computer -Force . To make your system go idle for a set period of time before restarting, use the command Start-Sleep -Seconds [number]; Restart-Computer . Replace “[number]” with the number of seconds you want the delay to last, without brackets (e.g., Start-Sleep -Seconds 120; Restart-Computer ). Press Windows key + X to open the Power User menu. Select the Windows PowerShell or Windows Terminal option. If you can’t use your mouse, you can open this option by pressing I (or A , to launch with administrative privileges). Type the command Restart-Computer and press Enter to restart your computer. If you want to bypass any warnings and force your computer to immediately restart, use the command Restart-Computer -Force . To make your system go idle for a set period of time before restarting, use the command Start-Sleep -Seconds [number]; Restart-Computer . Replace “[number]” with the number of seconds you want the delay to last, without brackets (e.g., Start-Sleep -Seconds 120; Restart-Computer ). If you want to bypass any warnings and force your computer to immediately restart, use the command Restart-Computer -Force . To make your system go idle for a set period of time before restarting, use the command Start-Sleep -Seconds [number]; Restart-Computer . Replace “[number]” with the number of seconds you want the delay to last, without brackets (e.g., Start-Sleep -Seconds 120; Restart-Computer ). 6 Try restarting your graphics card driver if your screen is frozen. Sometimes rebooting your graphics card driver will resolve freezing issues without the need to restart your entire system. If your screen is frozen, blank, or unresponsive, try this keyboard shortcut: [6] X Research source Press Windows key + Ctrl + Shift + B . Wait for your graphics card driver to reset. You might hear a beep and see your screen turn black for a few seconds. Press Windows key + Ctrl + Shift + B . Wait for your graphics card driver to reset. You might hear a beep and see your screen turn black for a few seconds. 7 Create a custom restart shortcut. If you don’t like any of the built-in methods for restarting with your keyboard, you can make your own shortcut. Here’s how to do it: [7] X Research source Right-click your desktop and select New > Shortcut . Enter the restart command shutdown /r /t/ 0 . Give your shortcut a name (such as “Restart”). Right-click your shortcut and select Properties . Click the Shortcut tab and select the Shortcut key text field. Select a key combination that you’re not using for anything else, such as Ctrl + Alt + R . Right-click your desktop and select New > Shortcut . Enter the restart command shutdown /r /t/ 0 . Give your shortcut a name (such as “Restart”). Right-click your shortcut and select Properties . Click the Shortcut tab and select the Shortcut key text field. Select a key combination that you’re not using for anything else, such as Ctrl + Alt + R .

1 Use Ctrl + Power button to bring up a shutdown menu. To open your Mac’s shutdown menu with your keyboard, press Ctrl + the Power button or the Eject button ( ) on your keyboard. From here, you can select the Restart option. If you can’t use your mouse or trackpad, press Ctrl + Fn + F7 to toggle on keyboard access, then use Tab and/or the arrow keys to navigate to the Restart option. Press Return to initiate restart. Note: This method will not work on Macs with a built-in Touch ID key instead of a Power/Eject button. If you can’t use your mouse or trackpad, press Ctrl + Fn + F7 to toggle on keyboard access, then use Tab and/or the arrow keys to navigate to the Restart option. Press Return to initiate restart. Note: This method will not work on Macs with a built-in Touch ID key instead of a Power/Eject button. 2 Press Ctrl + ⌘ Cmd + Power button to force restart your Mac. Use this method to restart your computer immediately and bypass any warnings about unsaved work. Press Ctrl + Command + the Power button (or the Eject button). This method won’t work on Macs with a built-in Touch ID key. 3 Use the Terminal to restart your Mac. If you can’t use one of the keyboard shortcuts above, another option is to restart using the command line. [8] X Research source Launch the Terminal app from Apps > Utilities . If you can’t use your mouse to navigate, press Command + Spacebar to launch the Spotlight search, then type in terminal and press Return . Enter the command sudo shutdown -r now to immediately restart your Mac. You might be prompted to enter your administrator password. Launch the Terminal app from Apps > Utilities . If you can’t use your mouse to navigate, press Command + Spacebar to launch the Spotlight search, then type in terminal and press Return . Enter the command sudo shutdown -r now to immediately restart your Mac. You might be prompted to enter your administrator password. 4 Navigate with Ctrl + Fn + F2 . This option lets you navigate to the restart menu using your keyboard. Press Ctrl + F2 (or Ctrl + Fn + F2 ) to set your focus to the menu bar at the top of your screen. By default, this should select the Apple menu . From there: Press Return to open the menu. Use the down arrow to select Restart . Press Return to execute the Restart command, then press Return again to confirm. Press Return to open the menu. Use the down arrow to select Restart . Press Return to execute the Restart command, then press Return again to confirm. Press and hold the Refresh key and tap the Power button. This key combo will immediately restart your Chromebook. [9] X Research source The Refresh key is typically located along the top of the keyboard. It has a symbol that looks like a circular arrow ( ). The Refresh key is typically located along the top of the keyboard. It has a symbol that looks like a circular arrow ( ). 1 Reboot with Ctrl + Alt + Del . Unlike in Windows, the key combo Ctrl + Alt + Delete will either prompt you to reboot your computer or do an immediate restart, depending on your configuration. In some distributions, pressing this combination will immediately reboot the machine, while in others, you'll be prompted to restart or log out. You can control the function of Ctrl + Alt + Delete in Linux in /etc/rc.local . [10] X Research source You can control the function of Ctrl + Alt + Delete in Linux in /etc/rc.local . [10] X Research source 2 Do a safe restart with SysRq + R + E + I + S + U + B . This is a relatively safe way to reboot your system if it’s laggy or frozen. To use this method, hold down the SysRq key (often the same as PrintScreen ), then press R , E , I , S , U , and B in sequence. [11] X Research source If your computer doesn’t have a dedicated SysRq key, you might need to hold a key combination like Alt + PrintScreen , Fn + PrintScreen , or Alt + Fn + PrintScreen instead. If your computer doesn’t have a dedicated SysRq key, you might need to hold a key combination like Alt + PrintScreen , Fn + PrintScreen , or Alt + Fn + PrintScreen instead. 3 Quickly force a restart with Alt + ⎙ PrtScr + B . Depending on your computer, the PrintScreen key might be the same as the SysRq key. The combination Alt + PrintScreen + B should immediately reboot your computer, bypassing any warnings. This is a good option in an emergency, but be aware that you might lose unsaved data. [12] X Research source 4 Use the sudo reboot command in Terminal. There are a few variants on this command that you can use, depending on what you’re trying to do: [13] X Research source sudo reboot will immediately reboot your computer. You can also use sudo systemctl reboot to do the same thing. sudo shutdown -r now allows you to reboot your system immediately. However, you can replace “now” with other time commands: For example, enter a specific time (like 23:00 ) to reboot the system at that time. To set a delay for a certain amount of time, use the format “+time”. For example, sudo shutdown -r +5 would tell your computer to restart after a 5-minute delay. sudo reboot will immediately reboot your computer. You can also use sudo systemctl reboot to do the same thing. sudo shutdown -r now allows you to reboot your system immediately. However, you can replace “now” with other time commands: For example, enter a specific time (like 23:00 ) to reboot the system at that time. To set a delay for a certain amount of time, use the format “+time”. For example, sudo shutdown -r +5 would tell your computer to restart after a 5-minute delay. For example, enter a specific time (like 23:00 ) to reboot the system at that time. To set a delay for a certain amount of time, use the format “+time”. For example, sudo shutdown -r +5 would tell your computer to restart after a 5-minute delay. Question How can you restart a Windows 11? Bhoimus Top Answerer The method shown above for Windows 10 also works for Windows 11! If you have access to a mouse, you can go to the Start Menu > Power > Restart. 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 7 You Might Also Like ↑ https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/how-to-restart-pc-with-keyboard ↑ https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/how-to-restart-pc-with-keyboard ↑ https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/how-to-restart-pc-with-keyboard ↑ https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/how-to-restart-pc-with-keyboard ↑ https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/how-to-restart-pc-with-keyboard ↑ https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000140044/restarting-the-video-driver-to-solve-black-screen-issues ↑ https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/how-to-restart-pc-with-keyboard ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/terminal/restart-computers-apd7d247a89-3560-4c3b-a471-3e66ff607040/mac ↑ https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/glossary/restart-chromebook/ ↑ https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man8/ctrlaltdel.8.html ↑ https://askubuntu.com/questions/995286/restart-ubuntu-via-keyboard ↑ https://gist.github.com/przemarbor/3751cba7a967808bece30a8bba39dc71 ↑ https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/linux-boot-shutdown-systemd About This Article 1. Press and hold the Alt key (Windows). 2. Press and hold the F4 key (Windows). 3. Select "Restart" and press Enter (Windows). 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. Face the Truth. 🔥 Are You More... 🤔 Featured Videos Hot Takes Only 🔥 Your Daily Dose of Fun 🎉 Computers and Electronics Do Not Sell or Share My Info Not Selling Info Keep up with the latest tech with wikiHow's free Tech Help Newsletter