Ever since Windows Vista, there’s been an emergency reboot button lurking in the bowels of successive operating systems. And it can be very practical in the event of a serious breakdown. We explain how to activate it.
The keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Alt-Delete provides access to various menus including the task manager. Which is particularly useful for ending a program that is acting up. It also contains another feature that will be useful in the event of a serious operating system failure. This is a hidden emergency restart button that can be used if the classic restart does not work.
This has existed since Windows Vista, an older iteration launched in 2007. But Microsoft has never been very talkative about it, avoiding documenting this technique which it presents as a last resort. If this is not accessible, users only have to go to the hard way by pressing the physical power button; or by simply cutting off the power to start again on a good footing.
To activate it, you still need Windows 11 to work in one way or another. At least enough to access the Ctrl-Alt-Delete menu. If everything is stuck and even your keyboard becomes unresponsive, you won’t be able to activate the emergency reboot. Here are the steps to follow :
- Type the shortcut Ctrl-Alt-Delete on your keyboard.
- In the lower right corner of the window, you will see dedicated icons for network and accessibility options as well as a power button.
- In the event of a serious breakdown, hold the Ctrl key button and at the same time press the power button.
- You will then be faced with the emergency reboot screen which will address you a warning : “Click OK to reboot immediately. All unsaved data will be lost. Do it only as a last resort”.
You will also find this option in other iterations such as Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10. To continue reading, do not hesitate to consult our tutorials dedicated to Microsoft OS:
