How to use Emergency Restart in Windows 11
Did you know that there is an Emergency Restart in Windows 11? The option is kind of hidden, so it's possible you may have not been aware of it.
Have you ever run into a situation where your game or applications stopped responding? It is not a common issue these days as it used to be on older versions of Windows, where you may be stuck, and are unable to access anything else. That's not to say crashes and freezes never happen in Windows 11. One thing that you may want to try if you find yourself stuck with an unresponsive program, is to open the Task Manager (using Ctrl + Shift + Esc) to end the process that is causing the problem. But what if the built-in utility is not opening?
In that case, the only option is to perform a hard reset, some desktop towers have a reset button that you can press to force a reboot. Most modern computers don't have that, so you will have to hold the power button to turn the computer off, and press the button again to boot it up.
If your PC hasn't frozen up completely, an alternative is to try accessing the Power Options from the Ctrl + Alt + Del screen, which sends a system interrupt signal. This screen displays various options including the ability to Shut Down or Restart the computer. A normal shut down or restart of Windows may take longer as the operating system goes into the "Restarting" screen and all that. It may not work at all, if the system has frozen. Windows 11's Emergency Restart option makes this task easier and faster, and it just takes a couple of clicks. It might come in handy when your programs are acting up.
How to use Emergency Restart in Windows 11
1. Press the Ctrl + Alt + Del keys together.
2. Windows will display a black screen with the following options: Lock Windows, Switch User, Task Manager.
3. Don't click on any of these options. Instead, hold down the Control key and click on the Power button in the bottom right corner of the screen.
4. This will display the Emergency Restart screen.
5. Click on OK to restart your computer.
Warning: You should only use this option as a last resort. Why is that? Because, Emergency Restart option forcibly reboots the PC without any warnings whatsoever, so any documents or files that you were working on will not be saved. But if your computer wasn't responding in the first place, you don't really have a choice, do you?
If you cannot use the mouse on the screen, you can use the Tab key to jump between the options i.e. to select the Power button. Once it has been highlighted, hold the Ctrl key down and hit Enter (Return key) to confirm your selection. Hit Enter once again to initiate the Emergency Restart.
The Emergency Restart option isn't exclusive to Windows 11, it is also available on Windows 10 and prior versions of the operating system including Windows 8, 7, Vista, it was even available on XP. (via Betanews)
There is not still W11 23H2 and these instructions are nonsense by now. :[
It worked for me just fine. You’re probably not following the instructions clearly.
Just tried the password option and the OOBE option and didnt work.
Worked perfectly. Thank OP.
Worked perfectly for me just now. Specifically, the regedit option.
Is this cut and paste from a Microsoft PR paper, because it 1000% BS:
“By listening to user insights, Microsoft has demonstrated its commitment to refining the Windows experience based on real-world needs.”
Windows 11 is proof they don’t give a s*it.
Worked for me just now
I agree! Windows 11 was a downgrade to me and I kept all 8 computers in our family on Windows 10 as a result. They didn’t listen to any customers. The taskbar was THE main reason I stayed away from Windows 11. With 6 monitors, it is impossible to navigate so many browser tabs, without the feature. I will try the new version in the virtual box to see if it is worth it yet.
Microsoft did a terrible job with this implementation.
They simply need to employ the creator of StartAllBack to fix Windows. He is smarter and more talented than the entire campus of Microsoft employees.
lol
Thank you so much! I work in IT and this is extremely useful information!
Thanks man. The second method worked great!
I used the second method, and i got exactly what i expected.
Using the Bypass 2: Use a banned email address email worked fantastically as I had gone to far to use the bypass 1.
I will be back when I next have a problem.
Keep you the great work
W11 File Explorer is the worst crap ever done. W11 is the biggest shame ever.
Just one more reason for me to go to Linux when Windows 10 ages out.
@ MarineRecon,
Be careful which Linux distro you choose. Some of them don’t include the Wayland protocol which is a security issue i.e. apps can copy, paste and inject data without user interaction.
It’s included in Fedora: https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora/latest/system-administrators-guide/Wayland/
How about a DARK MODE for your website? That would be oh so nice.
Something like this : [https://img.justpaste.me/image/8617] maybe?
Done with ‘Dark Reader Extension for ? Firefox’ [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/darkreader/]
This comment was written on [https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-installation-has-failed-how-to-fix-this-upgrade-error/#comment-4573155}
Definitely NOT! Once you get older and your eyesight starts to fail you’ll positively loathe dark mode.
Not sure what eye problems *you’re* having, but for me the exact opposite is true. Dark Mode is MUCH easier on my Eyes.
BTW- I’m 52, and have worked in IT all my life. Been staring at monitors for hours each day, most days of the week since the late 1980’s.
Microsoft completely ruined File Explorer by converting to XAML/WinUI/whatever new bloated modern garbage. Its worse than it ever was.
i tested it on win10 current edition. speeds up explorer like a charm
SO what is the priority numbers to give preference to ethernet over wireless?
Worked very well happy to have Windows Photo Viewer back in action in Windows-11
Worked for me (registry option) thank god, I can use the search option to find things on my computer again. Thank you so much!
Install Everything Search and dispense with Microsoft’s crappy search tool. https://www.voidtools.com/
Martin wrote an article on it: https://www.ghacks.net/2020/10/09/add-everything-search-to-the-windows-taskbar-for-even-faster-searches/
I presume the text “WindowsCopilot,,” is a typographical error (2023/09/17/how-to-disable-windows-copilot-in-windows/). The broken comment system unfortunately looks like it is populating itself via AI autopilot.
Hopefully, this Windows Copilot nonsense fails even more spectacularly than Cortana. Who requested this? We want all of the UX features removed back in 11, not this copilot nonsense.
I really don’t mind all of these Windows enhancement but Microsoft get one thing very wrong. ‘Opt in’, is far better than seek information and work to disable.
Turn off Windows Copilot entirely is not good enough.
How to uninstall Copilot entirely ?
@ ilev,
Use Gpedit or the registry. Explained in this article: https://www.ghacks.net/2023/09/17/how-to-disable-windows-copilot-in-windows/
With that snake oil salesman Panos gone, hopefully Windows can return to a normal desktop operating system without all the insanity it has right now in Windows 11.
Can we please stop being ‘politically correct’ (lying) and call them ads again instead of ‘suggestions’?
@ Martin,
Does your gpedit hack also turn off all the other “subscribed content” shown in the registry screenshot? Do you happen to know what all those are?