How to access Advanced startup options on Windows 11

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On Windows 11, there are multiple ways to access the Advanced startup options, including through Settings, Quick Link, Command Prompt, using a USB media, or Automatic Repair, and in this guide, you will learn how.

It’s only a matter of time until you have to troubleshoot a problem or configure a specific setting you won’t able to do when Windows 11 is running, and this is when “Windows Start Settings” or “Advanced startup options” comes in handy. The “Advanced startup options” is a recovery environment (WinRE or Windows RE) that allows you to troubleshoot, diagnose, and fix most problems while the OS is not running.

The feature provides many tools to troubleshoot and fix a computer, and since issues can occur in many different ways, Windows 11, like in previous versions, has multiple ways to access these recovery features.

In this guide, you will learn several ways to access the Windows 11 Advanced startup options.

Get to Advanced startup via Settings on Windows 11

To access the Advanced startup with Settings, use these steps:

1. Open Settings on Windows 11.

2. Click on System.

3. Click the Recovery page on the right side.

4. Under the “Recovery options” section, in the Advanced startup setting, click the Restart now button.

   

   Settings Advanced startup

   Quick note: The Advanced startup option in the Settings app isn’t available through a Remote Desktop Connection.

5. Click the Restart now button again.

Once you complete the steps, you will be logged out immediately from the current session to access the startup experience.

Get to Advanced startup via Quick Link on Windows 11

You can also use the power menu in the Start menu, Task Manager, and Lock screen to quickly access the Advanced startup options.

Start menu

To use the power menu in the Start menu to access the advanced settings on Windows 10, use these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Click the Power button.

3. Press and hold the Shift key and click the Restart button.

   

   Start menu power options

After you complete the steps, the action will allow Windows 11 to access the Advanced startup menu.

You can also use this method in the power menu available in the “Quick Link” menu (Windows key + X).

Task Manager

To use Task Manager to boot into the Advanced startup environment, use these steps:

1. Use the Ctrl + Alt + Delete keyboard shortcut to bring up the Windows 11 menu.

2. Click the Power button in the bottom-right corner.

3. Press and hold the Shift key and click the Restart button.

   

   Ctrl Alt Del Shift Restart

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Once you complete the steps, you will be logged out, and Windows 11 will open the Advanced startup options.

Lock screen

To access the Advanced startup settings from the Lock screen, use these steps:

1. Open Lock screen (Windows key + L).

2. Access the Sign-in screen.

3. Click the Power button in the bottom-right corner.

4. Press and hold the Shift key and click the Restart button.

   

   Lock screen power options

Get to Advanced startup via Command Prompt on Windows 11

To enter the Advanced startup environment to access the troubleshooting and recovery options with Command Prompt, use these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, select the Run as administrator option.

3. Type the following command and press Enter:

   shutdown /r /o /f /t 00

   

   Command Prompt shutdown command

After you complete the steps, Windows 11 will access the recovery environment.

Get to Advanced startup via Windows 11 setup

If you cannot boot Windows 11, you can use a USB media to access the Windows Startup Settings.

You will need to create a bootable installation media and then use these steps:

1. Start the device with the USB media.

2. Click the Next button.

3. Click the Repair your computer option in the bottom-left corner.

   

   Repair your computer option

Once you complete the steps, the Windows 11 Setup will open the Advanced startup environment.

Get to Advanced startup via Automatic Repair on Windows 11

In the case that Windows 11 doesn’t start and don’t have the OS installation files, you can use these steps:

1. Press the power button.

2. Immediately after the Power-On Self-Test (POST), and you see the blue Windows logo, press the power button again to shut down.

3. Repeat steps No. 1 and No. 2 twice. In the third restart, Windows 11 should enter into the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE), where many diagnostics will be performed to try to fix any booting issues.

   

   Preparing automatic repair

4. Select your Windows 11 account.

5. Confirm the account password.

6. Click the Continue button.

7. Click the Advanced startup button to continue. 

   

   Advanced options automatic repair

After you complete the steps, Windows 11 will open the Advanced startup environment.

Get started with Advanced startup on Windows 11

On the first “Advanced startup” screen, select the Troubleshoot option. On the “Troubleshoot” page, you will find access to the Reset this PC feature to reinstall Windows 11 without losing your files, settings, and apps, or clean install of the operating system.

Advanced Startup Troubleshoot

In the Advanced options screen, you can access several troubleshooting features, including “System Restore,” to restore the computer to a previous good working condition.

You can also access the “System Image Recovery” tool to recover Windows 11 with settings and programs from a previous system backup. In addition, you can use “Startup Repair” to fix common problems like bootloader issues.

Advanced options

While in the Advanced startup options, you can open Command Prompt to troubleshoot different problems. 

The “Startup Settings” option allows you to boot in “Safe Mode” to repair bad drivers or problems with specific applications.

Finally, there’s the option to uninstall quality or feature updates if you installed one of them recently and they are causing problems. And the UEFI Firmware Settings option lets you access the motherboard firmware settings.

If you use BitLocker, you will need to disable the feature before accessing the Advanced startup options