How to Fix Windows 11 Stuck on the Loading Screen

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My Technician
Windows 11BootTroubleshootingFix

The Problem

Windows 11 reaches the logo and spinning dots, then never gets to the sign-in screen—it spins for 10, 20, 30+ minutes. Unlike a black screen on boot, you can see the logo; the OS just can't finish loading. Usual causes: a stuck update, a bad driver, fast startup corruption, or a peripheral confusing the boot.

Looping through "Automatic Repair" instead? Use fix the Automatic Repair loop. "No bootable device" message? See no bootable device errors.

Quick Fixes (Try These First)

Give It One Real Chance

If a feature update was installing, the spinner can sit for 20-30 minutes legitimately. Leave it for 30 minutes once before forcing anything—pulling power mid-update causes worse damage.

Unplug Every Non-Essential Peripheral

  1. Remove USB drives, external HDDs, dongles, printers, controllers, and extra monitors.
  2. Leave only keyboard and mouse.
  3. Hold the power button 10 seconds to shut down, then power on. A USB drive set as a boot device is a very common cause.

The Fix: Step-by-Step

Step 1: Force a Clean Power Cycle

  1. Hold the power button for 10 seconds until the PC is fully off.
  2. Unplug power (and remove the laptop battery if it's removable) for 30 seconds to drain residual power.
  3. Reconnect and boot.

Step 2: Boot into Safe Mode

  1. Force-shutdown during boot three times (power off as soon as the logo appears). On the third try Windows opens Automatic Repair.
  2. Advanced options → Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart → press 5 for Safe Mode with Networking.
  3. If it boots in Safe Mode, the OS is intact—continue below. Full walkthrough: how to enter Safe Mode.

Step 3: Disable Fast Startup

A corrupt fast-startup hibernation file commonly causes endless spinning.

  1. In Safe Mode: Control Panel → Power Options → Choose what the power buttons do.
  2. Click Change settings that are currently unavailable.
  3. Untick Turn on fast startup → Save changes → reboot normally.

Step 4: Undo the Recent Change

Step 5: Run Startup Repair and System Checks

From the recovery menu (Troubleshoot → Advanced options):

  1. Run Startup Repair and let it finish.
  2. If that fails, open Command Prompt and run: 
    sfc /scannow /offbootdir=C:\ /offwindir=C:\Windows
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

What Not to Do

  • Don't repeatedly hard-power-off during an active update—each interruption increases the chance of an unbootable system.

Still Spinning?