The menu with the advanced boot options is a fundamental function to be known by those who use a Windows 10 or Windows 8 PC because it allows access to the diagnostic and repair tools needed to fix computer startup errors. These tools are part of the Windows 10 Recovery Console or Windows RE (Recovery Environment), which is loaded into a separate partition with respect to the actual system. The recovery console is different from the start menu that allows you to choose the boot disk and it is also different than the safe mode, the one that loads Windows with only the essential services. The recovery console can then be the only way to start the computer when it no longer starts and when Windows loops, continuously restarting.In the Windows 10 Recovery console there are vital and automatic tools like the one for repair the boot, for restore the system configuration, for reset the PC (which means zeroing it from programs while still maintaining personal files), per return to a previous version of Windows 10 (if there are problems after an update), enter Safe mode and, above all, for enter the Command Prompt from which it becomes possible to correct practically every type of error and also to save the files in an external drive.
Knowing how to enter the recovery console is therefore essential to be able to repair the PC when the system fails to load and everything seems lost.
The Windows 10 recovery console menu should appear automatically after two consecutive boot failures. The first way, therefore, to make it appear, is to press the reset button or the shutdown button (on laptops you have to hold it down) to restart it two or three times before the login screen or desktop appears.
The cleanest ways to access the recovery console are the following and we divide them into two groups: the first three to use if Windows 10 starts normally or if at least it loads correctly up to the login screen. The second three, instead, are to be used to open the console with the boot options in case the PC does not start and crashes immediately during the initial upload.
How to open the recovery console if Windows 10 loads, from the desktop or from the login screen.
Method 1: SHIFT + REBOOT
This is the easiest way to open the recovery console: hold the Shift key while pressing the Restart button on the lock screen. This method does not work, however, if you use an on-screen keyboard.
Method 2: Settings Menu
In Windows 10, press the Start button and then the button settings, go to Update and Security, then go to Restoration and press the button Restart now in the section of Advanced Startup on the right.
Method 3: stop command
Right-click on the Start button, then on Run and run the cmd command to open the Command Prompt.
At the prompt, execute the command
shutdown / r / o
To cancel the shutdown command once executed (as if you forgot to save your work!) Run in the same window shutdown / a.
After a few seconds, during which nothing seems to happen, Windows 10 will close and upon restart, the menu of advanced boot options will appear.
If the PC no longer starts how to enter the recovery console (if it does not appear by itself)
Method 4: Start from the Windows 10/8 installation media
Insert a DVD or USB stick with the Windows 10 installation files into the computer and start the PC from the DVD or USB (see how to change the PC boot order)
Go ahead to the first Windows installation screen, then to the second press on Repair your computer at the bottom of the window.
It should be noted, however, that in this case, the recovery console is more limited than the one that loads from Windows 10, but you can use the command prompt to do any data recovery or repair.
Method 5: Boot from a Windows 10/8 recovery drive
If a Windows 10 recovery drive was created, insert it into the free USB port. If it had never been created, you can use any other computer with Windows 10 to create a recovery USB stick that will also work with our computer (as long as it’s the same version).
By loading the PC from the USB recovery pen, choose the keyboard layout and then wait for the recovery options to appear.
Method 6: Start directly to advanced boot options
Only on some computers, it is possible that pressing a key on the keyboard the restoration console appears, for example pressing the F11 key as soon as the computer is turned on.
What to do if the recovery console does not have the repair tools
The recovery console, as mentioned above, is loaded from a different partition than the one where Windows 10 is installed. If this partition had been deleted, when you open the advanced boot options menu, it will be almost empty, with just the button to restart Windows 10 and nothing more.
Fortunately, it is possible to re-create the Windows RE recovery console as seen in another article.
Important recovery console options
In the Advanced Start options, the first thing to do is to press the square of the troubleshooting and then go in Advanced options. Here you can proceed in the following order to solve the startup problem.
Use the option to repair the computer startup
- Enter Windows 10 safe mode and see if the PC starts up without problems. To do this, press Startup settings and then on Restart
- If it doesn’t work, try the option to repair your computer’s boot
- If it doesn’t work and nothing has changed, try the system restore option
- If there were any errors after installing a new version of Windows 10, use the button to return to the previous version.
- If you have the backup image, try a restore from the backup disk.
- If the PC still cannot be started, before using the button Reset PC that does a complete reset (while still keeping personal files intact), it is convenient to open the command prompt. From the Prompt, following specific guides, it is possible to launch the commands to recover access to the PC.
Once you have finished using the advanced boot options menu, you can close the recovery console by pressing the key to restart the computer.
READ ALSO: How to reset Windows 10 and what it means