Restart Windows using keyboard keys

All users are faced with the fact that the computer is restarting Windows, caused by one reason or another. This may be a planned process for making changes to the computer software or a way to solve problems caused by system crashes and failures.

In the first case, a reboot is required after updating the Windows operating system or the installed program. This is necessary to apply changes to the computer software.

Many users have encountered situations where programs freeze on the computer, the mouse or touchpad does not respond, the system has stopped responding to user actions.

As a result, the device cannot be used, and attempts to get out of this situation have not been successful. What to do?

A forced restart of the computer will help solve the problem of unresponsive OS. There are several ways to reboot, in which all processes are completely terminated, and the Windows operating system resumes its work after a reset.

Types of reboot in Windows

The occurrence of problems in the operation of a PC occurs for various reasons: failure of computer hardware, system failures and malfunctions, program errors, conflicts between drivers, etc.

The restart process on the computer is performed in different ways, depending on the situation and current conditions. Rebooting the system is of the following types:

• Hardware reboot.
• Software reboot.
• Automatic reboot.

Hard reboot, or otherwise “Hard reboot” – a “hard” reboot, without the initial preparation of the OS to turn off the computer. This is the most undesirable method due to the fact that after the restart operation, errors may occur in the file system and in the software.

This type of reboot is performed by the user independently, by mechanically pressing a special button located on the computer case. On stationary PCs, the reset button “Reset” is used for this.

On laptops, there is usually no special button for resetting the system, so this procedure is performed using the power button. In essence, this is turning off and then turning on the computer, and not restarting the laptop.

You need to press and hold the power button located on the laptop case for about 5 seconds. After the laptop turns off, it will need to be turned on again using the power button to continue working.

A soft reboot is a restart of the system under the control of the software. Therefore, this method is called “Soft reboot” – “soft” reboot.

Automatic restart of Windows, otherwise a sudden restart of the system for no apparent reason. This type of reboot occurs due to hardware or software failures. Instead of displaying STOP errors on the Blue Screen of Death (BSoD), the operating system itself automatically restarts the computer to return the computer to a healthy state.

Windows 10 has a feature enabled by default to perform an automatic restart in case of a problem.

Emergency restart of a laptop or a stationary PC – an attempt to restart under the control of the system, in case of software freezes and failures in the operation of manipulators: mouse or touchpad. Emergency reboot is a type of soft reboot. It is performed using keyboard keys and computer software.

It should be borne in mind that in some cases, when the keyboard keys do not respond to pressing, the software method of restarting the operating system cannot be applied.

Starting a reboot from a Windows operating system running in normal mode is not difficult, which cannot be said about the computer freezing state. Therefore, this article focuses on the possibility of restarting Windows in more serious cases.

The instructions in this guide use various methods to initiate an emergency restart of a computer in Windows, performed using keyboard keys, without using a mouse. Rebooting with the keyboard is the last chance to avoid a hardware restart of Windows.

How to Restart from the Start Menu – 1 Way

First, we will try to restart the system from the Windows 10 start button menu using the keyboard keys, without using the mouse pointer.

Do the following:

1. Press the “Win” + “X” keys.
2. The right-click menu from the Start menu will open on the desktop.
3. Press the arrow key “↓”, move the focus to the item “Shut down or log out”.
4. Press the “→” key.
5. In the submenu that opens, use the “↓” key to move to the “Reboot” item.
6. Press the “Enter” key.

After that, the computer restarts.

Restarting Windows from the Start Menu Button – Method 2

The second option is to restart a laptop or desktop PC from the keyboard. Restarting the computer with the keys comes from the menu of the left mouse button “Start”. First you will need to minimize the windows of open programs.

Do the following:

1. You need to press the “Win” + “M” keys.
2. The desktop will open without open program windows, press the “Win” key.
3. In the open menu of the right button of the Start menu, you need to press the Tab key once or twice, depending on the OS interface.
4. By pressing the “↓” key, reach the button to turn off the PC.
5. Click on the “Enter” key.
6. Using the “↓” key, go to the “Reboot” item.
7. Press the “Enter” key.

The PC is restarting.

How to reboot with the keys “Alt” + “F4” – 3 way

This universal method for different versions of the Windows operating system works on an open desktop. As a result, all applications are closed, the computer is turned off, and then turned on again. To use this method, you will need to remove all windows of open applications from the Desktop.

Go through the following steps:

1. To minimize all windows on the desktop, press the “Win” + “D” keys.
2. Then press the keys “Alt” + “F4”.
3. The Shut Down Windows window will open on your desktop.
4. In the field “What should the computer do?” there is a list of possible actions:

• Completion of work.
• Reboot.
• User change.
• Output.
• Sleep mode.

5. Press the “↓” key to go to the “Reboot” item.
6. Press “Enter”.

The computer starts rebooting.

Emergency restart Windows 10 – 4 way

The Windows 10 operating system has a built-in “Emergency Restart” function, with the help of which, in some cases, the system is restarted.

You will need to do the following:

1. Press the keys “Ctrl” + “Alt” + “Del”.
2. In the security settings, a window will open prompting you to select one of the options:

• Block.
• Change user.
• Go out.
• Change Password.
• Task Manager.
• Cancel.

3. Press the “Tab” key until you reach the power key, located in the lower right corner of the screen.
4. Press the “Enter” key.
5. Use the “↓” key to navigate to the “Reboot” item.
6. You must click on the “Enter” key

The PC will restart Windows 10.

Reboot via command line – method 5

Another way: reboot from the Windows command line, a built-in tool in the operating system.

Rebooting via CMD proceeds in the following way:

1. You need to press the “Win” + “R” keys.
2. In the “Run” window, enter the command “cmd” (without quotes).
3. To execute this command, you must press the “Enter” key.
4. In the command line interpreter window that opens, enter the command:

shutdown /r

5. After the reboot command is typed, press the “Enter” key.

The PC starts rebooting Windows, launched from the command line.

Restarting the system from Windows PowerShell – Method 6

In the Windows 10 operating system, with default settings, PowerShell has taken the place of the command prompt in the Start button menu.

When using the PowerShell system tool, proceed as follows:

1. Press the keyboard keys “Win” + “X”.
2. By clicking on the “↓” key, go to the item “Windows PowerShell” or “Windows PowerShell (administrator)”.
3. Press the “Enter” key.
4. The Student Records Control (UAC) window opens with the No button active.
5. Press the ← key to move the focus to the Yes button, and then press Enter.
6. In the Windows PowerShell tool window, enter the command:

restart-computer

7. Execute the command with the “Enter” key.

Restarting the computer through the “Run” window – method 7

Now let’s look at a method similar to running a command on the command line. The reboot command can be run directly from the Run system window.

Go through the following steps:

1. Press the “Win” + “R” keys.
2. In the Run dialog box, in the Open: field, enter the command (reload command on the command line):

shutdown /r

3. Press the “Enter” key.

After a minute, the system reboots.

Article Conclusions

Your computer may experience software problems. Not always the methods of solving the problem that has arisen end with a positive result. The user is left with one way out of this situation: it is necessary to restart the computer.

A hard reboot of the PC, performed using the button on the device case, is undesirable, and it is impossible to use the usual method due to frozen programs that do not respond to the mouse cursor. In this case, restarting the computer using the keyboard can help the user.