How to access Advanced startup options on Windows 10

On Windows 10, eventually, you will need to troubleshoot or configure certain system settings that you won’t be able to change when the operating system is running. In these scenarios, you can use the “Windows Start Settings” or “Advanced startup options” to troubleshoot, diagnose, and fix virtually any problem with your PC.

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

In this guide, you will learn 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.

• Access Advanced startup from Settings
• Access Advanced startup from Quick Link menu
• Access Advanced startup from Command Prompt
• Access Advanced startup from Windows 10 setup
• Access Advanced startup from Automatic Repair
• How to use Advanced startup options on Windows 10

Access Advanced startup from Settings

To access the Advanced startup with 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.

   

   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.

Access Advanced startup from Quick Link menu

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.

   

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 advanced startup menu, 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.

   

Once you complete the steps, you’ll be logged out from your current session, and Windows 10 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.

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.

   

Access Advanced startup from Command Prompt

To access the troubleshooting and recovery options using 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

   

After you complete the steps, Windows 10 will access the recovery environment.

Access Advanced startup 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.

   

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

Access Advanced startup from Automatic Repair

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

   

4. Select your account, and confirm the password.

5. Click the Continue button.

6. Click the Advanced startup button to continue. 

   

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

How to use Advanced startup options on Windows 10

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.

In the Advanced options screen, you can access several troubleshooting options, such as “System Restore,” to restore your PC to a previous 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 common problems, like bootloader issues that stop the operating system from loading using “Startup Repair.”

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 certain 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’re using BitLocker, you will need to turn the security feature off before accessing the Advanced startup options.

Update May 10, 2021: Originally published in January 2016, and it’s been revised to reflect the new changes.