Three Ways to Access the Windows 8 or 10 Boot Options Menu

 

Option One: Hold Down Shift While Clicking Restart

If your PC can start Windows normally, you can get to the “Advanced Options” menu quickly by just holding down the Shift key while clicking the “Restart” option. You can do this either on the sign in screen (shown above) or on the Start menu (shown below).

When you do this, your PC doesn’t immediately restart. Instead, it shows you a menu that lets you continue in your Windows session, access troubleshooting tools, or turn off your PC. Click the “Troubleshoot” button.

On the “Troubleshoot” screen, click the “Advanced Options” button.

And, finally, you’ll arrive at the “Advanced Options” menu.

Note that if your PC can’t start Windows normally twice in a row, it should show you the “Advanced Options” menu automatically. If it doesn’t, you can try booting your PC with a USB recovery drive.

Option Two: Use the Settings App

If you’d like to jump through a few extra hoops rather than just hitting Shift+Restart, you can also launch the “Advanced Options” menu through the settings app. Press Windows+I to open the Settings app, and then

Click the “Update & Security” option.

In the left pane, switch to the “Recovery” tab. In the right pane, scroll down a bit, and then click the “Restart Now” button in the “Advanced Startup” section.

If you’re using Windows 8, you’ll switch to the “General” tab instead, and then click the “Restart” button in the “Advanced Startup” section.

Option Three: Issue a Command with PowerShell (or the Command Prompt)

You can also reach the “Advanced Options” menu by issuing a simple command using PowerShell or the Command Prompt. We’re going to use PowerShell here, but it’s the exact same command either way. You could also create a batch script with this command, so that you could access the “Advanced Options” menu in the future more easily.

Start PowerShell as administrator by hitting Windows+X, and then clicking the “Windows PowerShell (Admin)” option on the Power User menu.

At the prompt, type (or copy and paste) the following command, and then hit Enter:

shutdown.exe /r /o

A message pops up, warning you that you are about to be signed off.

Windows then restarts automatically about a minute later, and delivers you to the “Advanced Options” menu.