Lorene Melone
How To Fix Windows 11 Restart Loop After Reboot
So, you’re trying to install Windows 11, and instead of a smooth setup, your PC just keeps rebooting over and over. Yeah, it’s frustrating when the system gets stuck on that loop, especially when you’re eager to get everything up and running. Usually, it’s because the system isn’t fully transitioning from the installation media to the actual OS on your drive. It can be caused by a range of issues—boot order problems, leftover USB drives, or partitions acting up. This walkthrough should help untangle it all, so you can finally get past the reboot madness.
How to Fix Windows 11 Installation Stuck in Reboot Loop
Remove the Bootable USB Drive
This is the classic one, but kind of obvious. If you’re installing from a USB, Windows sometimes keeps looking back at it, which creates a loop. When the installer reboots after copying files, yank out that USB stick. Doing this often tricks Windows into continuing the setup on its own. Sometimes it fails the first time, then works after a reboot—don’t ask me why, but it’s worth a shot. After the initial reboot, go quick and remove the drive before the system jumps back into the installer.
Change the Boot Order in BIOS
If removing the USB didn’t solve it, maybe the BIOS settings are still set to boot from that USB or the wrong drive. Restart your PC, then poke around in the BIOS/UEFI. Usually, you press F1, F2, Delete, or some other key right after powering on. Once inside, find the Boot menu, and set your main hard drive or SSD as the first device. That way, it’ll skip trying to boot from the USB again. Save the changes and restart. This can sometimes fix the looping because Windows will now prioritize booting from the internal drive where it’s supposed to finish installing.
Run Startup Repair from Recovery Options
Sometimes, Windows gets itself in a weird state, and a quick Startup Repair can fix it. To do this, hold down Shift and click Restart from the power options. That gets you into the recovery environment. Pick Troubleshoot, then Advanced Options, and finally Startup Repair. Let it do its thing; it might find and fix startup problems that cause the reboot loop. On some setups, this seems to work better after several attempts, so don’t give up too fast.
Delete Existing Partitions and Reinstall Windows
If nothing else works, deleting all partitions and starting fresh can do the trick. Insert your Windows installation media (USB or DVD), boot into it, and proceed until you get to the drive selection. Choose Custom: Install Windows only. You’ll see a list of current partitions—select each one and hit Delete. You’ll end up with unallocated space. Now, click New, then proceed to install on that clean drive. It’s ruthless but often necessary to break the cycle of failed installs.
Use DiskPart to Clean the Drive
As a last-resort tactic, especially if the above fails, you can scrub the drive using DiskPart commands during the setup. When on the installation screen, press Shift + F10 to open a command prompt. Type these commands one after another:
diskpart
list disk
select disk XReplace X with the number of your target disk (usually 0 or 1). Then, type:
clean
convert gpt
exitThis erases everything on the drive, partitions, data, the whole shebang. After that, just restart the installation, and Windows should see a blank drive ready to go. Be aware—this deletes all data, so if anything’s important, make sure to back it up first.
Extra Tips & Common Pitfalls
Other quick tips? Double-check your installation media because corrupt files can cause all sorts of weird errors. Re-create it using the official Media Creation Tool from Microsoft if needed. Also, make sure your PC meets all the minimum system requirements for Windows 11—especially TPM and Secure Boot, which are big names in the game nowadays. Sometimes, hardware conflicts can cause the loop too, so update your firmware or BIOS to the latest version if you can.
Wrap-up
Getting past the Windows 11 install loop isn’t always straightforward, but usually, the culprit is something simple like boot order or leftover partitions. By yanking out USB drives, fixing BIOS settings, or wiping the drive, you can often break the cycle. Sometimes, patience and a few retries are needed, but a clean start tends to fix most problems. If the issue persists even after these steps, looking into hardware issues or reaching out for professional help might be next.
Summary
- Remove USB drives after initial restart
- Check and set correct boot priority in BIOS
- Try Startup Repair from recovery options
- Delete or wipe partitions if needed
- Use DiskPart as a last resort — beware, it deletes everything
- Double-check system requirements and BIOS updates
Fingers crossed this helps
This kind of thing is annoying, but usually a few tweaks get Windows 11 installed without much fuss. Sometimes it’s just a matter of trying different things until one clicks. Good luck—hopefully, this shaves off a few hours for someone out there.