What to do and how to fix Windows 11 stuck on lock screen
If you can’t move from the lock screen of Windows 11, you may be able to deal with it by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete or restarting. If you can’t deal with it, start the PC with the recovery environment’s repair function and repair it. This page introduces what to do and how to fix the lock screen that is displayed before signing in Windows 11 does not work.
Fixed lock screen issue with reload
If you get stuck on the lock screen, try reloading the lock screen and graphics drivers, or restarting.
Reload sign screen on Windows 11 lock screen
In many cases when you are stuck on the lock screen of Windows 11, you can press “Ctrl + Alt + Delete” to display the sign-in screen and log in and use it.
Reload graphics driver on Windows 11 lock screen
Occasionally Windows 11 graphics driver stuck on lock screen. In that case, press “Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B” to display the sign-in screen and proceed.
Force restart Windows 11 PC to reload lock screen
Press the reset button on your computer. If you don’t have a reset button, press and hold the power button to force a shutdown, then press the power button again.
If the lock screen works normally after Windows 11 starts up, it’s just an intermittent issue.If reloading the lock screen doesn’t work, and it doesn’t work on the lock screen every time, go to Fix the lock screen stuck problem with the recovery environment repair feature .
If you experience the problem of getting stuck on the lock screen again
If it still hangs on the lock screen, use the command to check and repair system files. Run Command Prompt or Terminal as administrator, type sfc /scannow and press “Enter” to run System File Checker and automatically repair any problems it finds.
If sfc /scannow shows that repair is not possible, you need to repair the image using the Dism command. For details on how to operate, see the following page.
Fix Windows 11 lock screen stuck in recovery environment
The recovery environment repair feature allows you to boot into safe mode to check lock screen behavior and take appropriate repair actions. Alternatively, if you have System Restore enabled, you can also do it with Restore.
To start up the recovery environment, forcibly terminate the PC two or more times. It is also possible to use the recovery function from recovery drivers and installation media.
we explain how to start up the recovery environment by forcibly shutting down the PC.
- Turn on the computer’s power switch, and when the startup screen (spinning) is displayed, press and hold the power button until it shuts down to “force shutdown”.
* Forced termination must be performed twice or more in succession.The timing of pressing the power button for forced shutdown is to turn off the power by pressing and holding the power button when the startup screen or ” spinning ” screen is displayed.
* Depending on the computer, the Windows logo may not be displayed, and the manufacturer’s logo or nothing may be displayed.
* Even if the computer is running, but the Windows boot screen is not even displayed, try “Force Quit”.Forcibly terminate the computer two or more times in a row, and if “Preparing automatic repair” or “Please wait” is displayed, wait as it is. Depending on the version and environment, “Please wait” may be displayed, the automatic repair described below may not be executed, and the “Recovery” screen may be displayed immediately, but there is no problem.If Automatic Repair is launched, the startup screen will say “Preparing Automatic Repair” and then “Diagnosing your PC”. If “Recovery” is displayed, proceed to the next step (2).
It may take quite some time during the diagnosis, but just wait. - When the Automatic Repair screen appears, click Advanced Options.* Depending on the PC environment, the “Recovery” screen may appear, but click “Show advanced options”.
- Click “Troubleshoot” and then click “Advanced options” on the next screen.
If system restore is enabled, restore it
Depending on your environment, you may need to sign in with a user with administrator privileges.
- Select “Account”. If you have multiple users, select admin privileges.
- Enter your password and click Continue.
When the “Restore system files and settings” screen appears, click “Next”.
Please refer to the following page for details on how to restore the system.
Setting up and using Windows 11 System Restore If you don’t know if system restore is enabled, after starting the safe mode below, check the above page and if it is enabled, you can perform system restore even from safe mode.
Repair Lock Screen Issues in Safe Mode
Boot into Safe Mode
Click Startup Settings in Advanced Options.
When the startup settings are displayed, click “Restart”. When you reboot, you’ll see an option to boot into safe mode, so press the ” 5 ” key on your keyboard to boot into safe mode with internet enabled.
If the lock screen works in safe mode
As mentioned above, run System File Checker with command or Terminal to repair your system. Here’s how to fix it using Command Prompt.
- After pressing the “Windows” key on your keyboard, press ” cmd “.
- When the search screen appears, click “Run as administrator” in Command Prompt.
Type sfc /scannow and press “Enter” to run System File Checker and automatically fix any problems it finds. If sfc /scannow says that repair is not possible, you will need to repair the image with the Dism command.
For the recovery operation in safe mode, the Iga method of system restore and system file check is introduced on the following page, so please refer to it.
If the lock screen doesn’t work even in safe mode
If it freezes on the lock screen even in safe mode, launch Command Prompt in the recovery environment and run the repair command. Skip to the next section, Repair Lock Screen Issues with Command Prompt .
Repair Lock Screen Issues with Command Prompt
Since it cannot be repaired while Windows 11 is running, start the command prompt of the repair function and run the system file checker. Click “Command Prompt” in the repair option and run it.
Depending on your environment, you may need to sign in with a user with administrator privileges.
- Select “Account”. If you have multiple users, select admin privileges.
- Enter your password and click Continue.
If you run System File Checker at the command prompt before starting Windows 11, the contents of the command will differ from the starting situation as shown in the example below.
Example: sfc /scannow /offbootdir=C:\ /offwindir=D:\windowsWindows 11 repair function command prompt to repair systemIf you run the repair command and it does not move from the lock screen, you should also consider restoring Windows 11 with the following initialization or clean installation.
If you can’t move from the lock screen even after repairing
The initialization (reset PC) function allows you to choose between two options: suspending user information and files and data in user folders, and completely deleting and initializing. Depending on the condition of the computer, the initialization function may also fail and cannot be executed. In this case, it may be necessary to do a clean install using the installation media.
Difference between PC Reset and Clean Install
Windows 11 is officially called ” Reset this PC “, but if you do it from the recovery environment, it will be displayed as ” Reset this PC “.
This is a standard initialization function of Windows 11. Also, you can re-enter Windows 11 while keeping user data. In addition, the completely delete and initialize function allows you to reinstall Windows 11 in a state that cannot be restored even using the file restore app after deletion.
clean install
Boot your PC with the installation media. You can set partitions to divide the installation disk area (C: D:, etc.) that cannot be done by resetting the PC. A clean install can also be used to initialize Windows 11 in situations where the installed Windows 11 is completely broken and the initialization function fail