Windows 11 Keeps Restarting on Its Own How to Fix It

Windows 11 Keeps Restarting on Its Own How to Fix It

A PC that restarts by itself is annoying and can cost you unsaved work. The good news is that Windows usually leaves clues. This guide starts with the harmless causes and moves toward hardware, so you only go as deep as you need.

Back up first: if the restarts are frequent, copy your important files to an external drive or cloud storage now, before trying anything else.

Step 1: Is It Windows Update?

If the PC restarts at night or while you're away, and you see "Updates were installed" afterwards, it's scheduled update restarts, not a fault.

1. Open Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options.
2. Set Active hours to match when you use the PC, or choose Automatically so Windows learns them.
3. Turn on Notify me when a restart is required to finish updating to get a warning first.

You can also pause updates for a short time from the Windows Update page, but install them afterwards; they fix security problems. If updates fail and keep retrying, see Windows Update stuck or failing.

Step 2: Stop Windows From Hiding Crashes

By default, when Windows crashes with a blue screen it restarts straight away, so you may never see the error. Turn that off:

1. Press Windows + R, type sysdm.cpl and press Enter.
2. Open the Advanced tab and, under Startup and Recovery, click Settings.
3. Under System failure, untick Automatically restart and click OK.

Next time it happens, the blue screen stays up. Write down the stop code (for example DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE) and search for it. We cover the common ones in Windows blue screen of death: frequent crashes and DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE fix guide.

If the screen just goes black and the PC restarts with no blue screen at all, that points more to power or heat (Steps 5 and 6).

Step 3: Read What Windows Recorded

Reliability Monitor gives the clearest overview:

1. Click Start, type reliability and open View reliability history.
2. Look for red circles on the days of the restarts. Click one to see what failed, such as "Windows was not properly shut down" or a hardware error.

For more detail, use Event Viewer:

1. Right-click Start and choose Event Viewer.
2. Go to Windows Logs > System and click Filter Current Log.
3. Tick Critical and Error and click OK.

An entry from Kernel-Power with Event ID 41 means Windows restarted without a clean shutdown. It confirms the restart but doesn't give the cause, so look at the errors just before it: disk, display driver or WHEA (hardware) errors are useful leads. An entry from BugCheck means there was a blue screen, and it includes the stop code.

Step 4: Update Drivers and Windows

Outdated or broken drivers, especially graphics, chipset and storage drivers, are a frequent cause of crashes.

1. Install everything under Settings > Windows Update, including Advanced options > Optional updates (driver updates appear there).
2. Get graphics drivers from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel, or your laptop maker's support page.
3. If the restarts began right after a driver or update, open Device Manager, right-click the device, choose Properties > Driver > Roll Back Driver.

Avoid "driver updater" programs; get drivers only from Windows Update or the hardware maker.

Then repair system files. Open Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt as administrator and run:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
sfc /scannow

Each can take several minutes. Restart when both finish.

Step 5: Check for Overheating

A PC shuts down or restarts to protect itself when the processor or graphics card gets too hot. Signs: restarts during games, video calls or heavy work, a loud fan, a hot base.

• Keep laptop vents clear; don't use it on a bed or sofa.
• Clean dust from vents and fans (power off and unplug first).
• Check that all fans spin on a desktop PC.

Our guide to laptop overheating and a loud fan goes through this in detail.

Step 6: Check Power

• Plug the PC directly into a wall socket instead of a power strip, and try another socket.
• Check that the power cable is firmly seated at both ends.
• For laptops, try the original charger; check the battery health with powercfg /batteryreport.
• On desktops, a failing or too-small power supply often causes restarts under load. If the restarts happen mainly while gaming, suspect the power supply or graphics card.

Also check the power plan isn't the problem: Settings > System > Power & battery, and set Power mode to Balanced while testing.

Step 7: Test the Memory (RAM)

Faulty RAM causes random crashes and restarts that seem to have no pattern. Windows has a free test built in:

1. Save your work, press Windows + R, type mdsched.exe and press Enter.
2. Choose Restart now and check for problems.
3. After the test, Windows restarts and shows the result. You can also find it in Event Viewer under Windows Logs > System from the source MemoryDiagnostics-Results.

If errors are found, the RAM or its seating is the likely cause.

Step 8: Rule Out Software and Malware

• Uninstall anything you installed just before the restarts started (Settings > Apps > Installed apps).
• Try a clean boot: press Windows + R, type msconfig, open Services, tick Hide all Microsoft services, click Disable all, then disable startup apps in Task Manager. If the restarts stop, turn items back on in small groups to find the culprit. Undo it afterwards by enabling everything again.
• Run a full scan with Microsoft Defender. See how to remove malware from Windows.

Step 9: Last Resort

If nothing above helps and Windows is the cause, Settings > System > Recovery > Fix problems using Windows Update > Reinstall now (on recent Windows 11 versions) reinstalls Windows while keeping your files and apps. Back up first anyway. After that, Reset this PC is the final software option, and it removes apps.

Still Restarting?

If the PC restarts even at the BIOS/UEFI screen or during Windows setup, the cause is hardware: power supply, RAM, motherboard or overheating. At that point, a repair shop or our remote support team can help you decide what to replace.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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