How to access Advanced startup (WinRE) on Windows 10

Here are five ways to access the Advanced startup options on Windows 10 to boot in Safe Mode, change UEFI settings, use System Restore or System Recovery image to get your PC working again.

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Advanced startup options on Windows 10
  • To access Advanced startup (WinRE) on Windows 10, open Settings > Updated & Security > Recovery and click on “Restart.”
  • From the Windows 10 desktop, you can also access the recovery tools from the Quick Link menu and Command Prompt.
  • To enter Advanced startup from boot, start the computer from USB, click on “Next,” and click on “Repair your computer.”
  • If you don’t have a USB bootable media, you can use the Automatic Repair feature to access the Advanced startup settings.

On Windows 10, eventually, you will need to troubleshoot or configure specific system settings that you won’t be able to change when the operating system is running. In these scenarios, you can use the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) – also referred to as “Advanced startup options” or “Windows Start Settings” – to troubleshoot, diagnose, and fix virtually any problem on the device.

WinRE offers many different ways to troubleshoot and fix a computer. Also, because problems can strike from many directions, Windows 10 provides several ways to access these tools.

This guide will teach you five ways to access the Advanced startup options, either when you are still running the operating system or the computer is not starting correctly, to resolve the issue.

Enter Advanced startup (WinRE) from Settings

To access the Advanced startup options (or Windows Recovery Environment) from Settings, use these steps:

  1. Open Settings on Windows 10.

  2. Click on Update & Security.

  3. Click on Recovery.

  4. Under the “Advanced startup” section, click the Restart button.

    Advanced Startup button

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

Once you complete the steps, this action will log you out immediately of your current session to access the startup experience.

Enter Advanced startup (WinRE) from Quick Link menu

You can also use the power menu in the Start menu, Task Manager, and Lock screen to enter the Windows Recovery Environment quickly.

Start menu

To use the power menu in the Start menu to access the advanced boot 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.

    Power menu options

After you complete the steps, the action will trigger Windows 10 to access the Advanced startup menu. You can also use this method in the power menu available in the “Power User” menu (Windows key + X).

Task Manager

To use Task Manager to access the Windows Recovery Environment, use these steps:

  1. Use the “Ctrl + Alt + Delete” keyboard shortcut to bring up the 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 power menu

Once you complete the steps, the computer will log you out from the current session, and Windows 10 will open the Advanced startup options.

Lock screen

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

  1. Open Lock screen.

  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

Enter Advanced startup (WinRE) from Command Prompt

To access the Windows Recovery Environment from Command Prompt on Windows 10, use these steps:

  1. Open Start.

  2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and 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 10 will access the recovery environment.

Enter Advanced startup (WinRE) from Windows 10 setup

If you can’t boot Windows 10, you can use a USB flash drive to access the Windows Startup Settings.

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

  1. Start the device with the USB bootable 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 Setup will open the Advanced startup settings.

Enter Advanced startup (WinRE) from Automatic Repair

If Windows 10 doesn’t start on your device, and you don’t have the operating system installation files, then use the 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 1 and 2 twice. In the third restart, the operating system should enter into the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE), where many diagnostic tests will be performed to fix any booting issues. However, you will also get an option to access the Windows Startup Settings.

    Preparing automatic repair screen - Windows 10

  4. Select your account, and confirm the password.

  5. Click the Continue button.

  6. Click the Advanced startup button to continue. 

    Advanced options automatic repair

After you complete the steps, Windows 10 will open the Advanced startup environment.

While on the first “Advanced startup” screen, click the Troubleshoot option. From the “Troubleshoot” page, you will be able to access the Reset this PC feature, which will help you reinstall Windows 10 without losing your files, settings, and apps, or you can also perform a clean install of the operating system.

Advanced Startup, Troubleshoot option
Advanced Startup, Troubleshoot option

You can access several troubleshooting options in the Advanced options screen, such as “System Restore,” to restore your PC to a previously good working condition. You can also access the “System Image Recovery” tool, which lets you recover Windows 10 settings and programs from a specific full system backup. And you can fix various problems, like bootloader issues that stop the operating system from loading using “Startup Repair.”

Advanced options
Advanced options

In addition, you can also launch the “Command Prompt” to perform advanced troubleshooting. The “Startup Settings” option lets you boot in Safe Mode to repair your device from bad drivers or problems with specific applications. Lastly, you will see an option to uninstall quality or feature updates when they’re causing problems, and depending on your device, you’ll see an option to access the UEFI firmware settings.

While the different methods to access the troubleshooting tools aim to fix Windows 10, you can also use the same instructions to troubleshoot and repair Windows 8.1 problems.

If you use BitLocker, you must turn the security feature off before accessing the Advanced startup options.