Windows 11 won’t shut down (or restarts instead): how to fix it

You click Shut down and Windows 11 restarts, hangs on “Shutting down”, or the screen goes dark while the lights and fan keep running? Follow the steps in order.

Step 1: finish updates

When an update is pending, the button shows Update and shut down — and Windows may restart once or more to finish. Open Settings › Windows Update, install anything pending, restart and then try shutting down.

Step 2: test a full shutdown

In PowerShell or Command Prompt, run:

shutdown /s /f /t 0

/f forces open programs to close. If the computer shuts down normally with this command, a program was blocking shutdown — note which one appears on the “This app is preventing shutdown” screen.

Step 3: turn off fast startup

Fast startup makes Windows hibernate part of the system instead of shutting down completely, and on some computers it causes hangs and restarts.

1. Press Windows + R, run powercfg.cpl and click Choose what the power buttons do.
2. Click Change settings that are currently unavailable.
3. Uncheck Turn on fast startup (recommended) and click Save changes.

Step 4: restarts instead of shutting down

If Windows restarts on its own when shutting down, an error may be happening at shutdown. To see the error instead of restarting:

1. Press Windows + R and run sysdm.cpl.
2. On the Advanced tab, under Startup and Recovery, click Settings.
3. Uncheck Automatically restart and click OK.

If a blue screen appears when shutting down, note the code and see blue screen on Windows 11.

Step 5: USB devices and drivers

• Unplug docks, hubs and USB peripherals and test — some “wake” the computer right after shutdown.
• Update the chipset and Intel Management Engine (or AMD equivalent) drivers from your computer maker’s website.

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