How to Restart Windows 11 Immediately

This practical guide explains how to restart Windows 11 immediately. Follow the steps in order, review the requirements first, and use the troubleshooting notes when a setting or option does not work as expected.

Start Windows 11 instantly via Settings

Step 1:

Press Windows + I to open Settings , then select Windows Update .

Step 2:

Switch to the new interface, we select the Restart now button to restart the computer immediately.

In case this button is not there, select Advanced options at the bottom of the interface.

Step 3:

Switching to the new interface, we activate Get me up to date to restart the computer as soon as the important update is ready and the computer gives a 15-minute warning to save work.

If you need to cancel, use the shutdown /a command in Command Prompt.

How to Force Restart Windows via Command Prompt or PowerShell

Windows Update may not show the Restart now option then you can try to trigger a restart via Command Prompt or PowerShell.

Step 1:

You choose to open Command Prompt or PowerShell as administrator . The steps Here are the same.

Step 2:

Enter the following command to force the computer to restart immediately.

shutdown /r /t 0

After running the command, Windows will close all programs and restart to complete the update process.