An infinite restart loop on Windows, where the PC reboots before showing the login screen, is most commonly caused by a failed Windows update, a corrupted driver loaded early in boot, a dying SSD, or a BIOS setting change that the OS cannot reconcile. Force-booting to Windows Recovery and using Startup Repair plus Uninstall Updates fixes about 75% of cases.
🔄 Break the loop with three forced shutdowns
Hold the power button for 10 seconds while the Windows logo appears, twice in a row. On the third restart, Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) opens automatically. Choose Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Repair. Let it run (5-10 minutes). If that does not fix it, go back into Advanced options and choose Uninstall Updates → Uninstall latest quality update first. If that fails, try Uninstall latest feature update. This reverses the Windows change that caused the loop. Keep drivers for your graphics card and chipset current to avoid conflicts during future updates.
💾 Check and repair the boot drive
In WinRE Command Prompt, run chkdsk C: /f /r. This scans for bad sectors and repairs filesystem errors. On an SSD, "bad sectors" means the drive's internal spare pool is depleted and the drive is near end-of-life; clone it to a fresh NVMe SSD before data loss becomes permanent. After chkdsk completes, run bootrec /fixmbr, bootrec /fixboot, bootrec /scanos, and bootrec /rebuildbcd in sequence. These rebuild the Windows boot configuration.
If you changed anything in BIOS before the loop started (enabled XMP, swapped SATA mode, turned off CSM), reverse that change first. BIOS settings that worked at install time may stop working after Windows feature updates change boot driver expectations. Load optimised defaults, then re-enable only essentials. {{/TipBox}}
🧹 Boot to Safe Mode and isolate drivers
From WinRE, choose Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart → press 4 (Safe Mode). If Windows reaches desktop in Safe Mode, a third-party driver loaded at normal boot is the culprit. Open Device Manager and uninstall recent GPU, network, or storage drivers (right-click → Uninstall, tick "delete driver software" for the bad one). Reboot normally. Windows loads generic drivers, and you can then install the latest stable version from the vendor. On modern gaming PCs, GPU drivers from beta branches are the most common loop trigger.
🛠️ Last resort: clean Windows install
If nothing else works, boot from a Windows 11 USB installer (make one on another PC using Microsoft's Media Creation Tool). Choose Custom install, format the old Windows partition, and install fresh. Back up user data first using the WinRE Command Prompt's copy commands to an external USB drive. A clean reinstall completes in 30-45 minutes and resolves every software-side cause. If a fresh install also loops, the hardware is at fault: motherboard, PSU, or RAM need bench testing.
{{CALLTOACTION}}
