Troubleshooting Common Laptop Issues: How to Restart After Accidentally Closing the Lid During Windows 11 Update

When you accidentally close your laptop lid during a Windows 11 update, restarting your device might be more complex than a simple reboot. This guide will walk you through various scenarios and potential solutions to help you restart your laptop without the need for professional repair or data loss.

Laptop Sleeping vs. Battery Drain

When the lid of a laptop is shut, it can be configured to go into sleep mode or hibernate mode, depending on your system's settings and the battery status.

Sleep Mode keeps the RAM active and puts the CPU into a low power state while the screen turns off. This is designed to resume quickly. If the battery was drained during sleep, it may appear as if the laptop won't turn on. In this case, simply charging your laptop can often resolve the issue:

Plug in your charger. Let the battery charge for a few minutes before trying to turn the laptop on. Press the power button, and the laptop should start up.

Force Shutdown and Hibernate Mode

Another common issue arises when the laptop is stuck in hibernate mode. You can force a shutdown by following these steps:

Plug in the charger. After two minutes, hold the power button down for 10 seconds. Release the button and press the power button to turn the laptop on.

This should force a shutdown and allow the system to restart correctly.

Disk Corruption or Windows 11 Corruption

If the issue persists, your laptop may be experiencing a more severe problem such as disk corruption or the Windows 11 operating system becoming corrupted. Here are more steps to take:

Black Screen and Task Manager

If your screen turns black with backlight but is still on, follow these steps to attempt a restart:

Press and hold Ctrl Shift Esc to open the Task Manager if it doesn't automatically open. Look for the option to run a new task. In the Run command, type explorer.exe and press Enter.

This might fix the black screen issue and allow you to regain control of the system.

Recovering via USB Boot

If the Task Manager steps don't work, you will need to perform a more advanced recovery:

Go to a friend's PC and download the Windows 11 ISO file from the Microsoft Store. Download and install Power ISO on that PC. Plug in an 8 GB or larger USB drive. Open Power ISO, select Create Bootable USB Drive, and grant administrative permissions. Browse for and select the downloaded Windows 11 ISO file. Once the process is completed, shut down the PC. Plug the USB drive into your laptop and open the Boot Sequence Setup. Set the USB drive to first priority. Boot from the USB drive and follow the Windows installation setup to reinstall Windows.

Note: If you have an NVMe SSD on an Intel 11th, 12th, or 13th gen platform, you may need the Intel Rapid Storage Technology Drivers INF file and a second USB drive to load the driver manually during the installation process.

Physical Issues

If all else fails, consider the physical components that may be causing issues:

Press and hold the power button for 20 to 30 seconds to see if this resolves the problem. Check if you have a bad AC adapter, bad power connector, or a bad logic board.

If you encounter any of these issues, it may be time to seek professional help or consider a hardware repair.