Below are some ways to restart your Windows 10 device. 

1. Shut down or restart Windows 10 using the Start Menu

The simplest and most basic method of closing down Windows 10 is by using the Start Menu, which is the default option in the latest Microsoft operating system. To do this, first open the Start Menu by clicking or tapping the Windows button on the bottom left corner of the screen. Then, click or tap the Power button. From the options that appear choose Restart to reboot the device or Shut down to shut it down completely.

Shut down or restart Windows 10 from the Start Menu

If the Start Menu is set to fullscreen mode, or if you're using Windows 10 in tablet mode, things look a bit different, but you still need to tap the same Start button to access the Start Menu and open its Power sub-menu.

Shut down or restart Windows 10 from the Start screen

2. Shut down or restart Windows 10 using the WinX menu

You can also access the power user menu, also known as the WinX menu, by pressing the Windows + X keys on your keyboard, or by right-clicking (long pressing) on the Windows button from the bottom-left corner of your desktop. On the WinX menu, press "Shut down or sign out" to access Shut down or Restart.

Shut down or restart Windows 10 from the WinX Menu

3. Shut down or restart Windows using "Alt + F4"

Whenever the focus in Windows 10 is on the desktop, you can press the Alt + F4 keys on your keyboard to open the shutdown menu. In the Shut Down Windows dialog window, you can open the drop-down list to choose whether to shut down, restart or put the device to sleep.

You can also log out from your user profile or switch to a different one. Select the option you want, and click or tap OK to confirm it.

Shut down or restart Windows 10 from the Shut Down Windows dialog window

4. Shut down or restart Windows 10 using the "shutdown" command

If you like using command line interfaces for everything you do, you can also use Command Prompt or PowerShell to close Windows 10. You can execute the same command from a Run window. Open a Command Prompt, PowerShell or Run window, and type the command "shutdown /s" (without quotation marks) and press Enter on your keyboard to shut down your device.

Shut down Windows 10 using shutdown command

In a few seconds, Windows 10 shuts down, and it is displaying a window that tells you that it is going to "shut down in less than a minute." Please note that closing this window does not stop the shutdown process.

Shut down warning for shutdown command

Change the parameter of the command from /s to /r ("shutdown /r"), and the Windows 10 device restarts instead of just shutting down. The command displays the same warning window as above ("You're about to be signed out").

Restart Windows 10 using the shutdown command

5. Shut down or restart Windows using the PowerShell "Stop-Computer" and "Restart-Computer" commands

PowerShell has its commands, also known as cmdlets, to shut down or restart a Windows 10 device. "Stop-Computer" shuts down the Windows 10 system.

Shut down Windows 10 using Stop-Computer cmdlet in PowerShell

The command "Restart-Computer" executes a restart.

Restart Windows 10 using Restart-Computer cmdlet in PowerShell

6. Shut down or restart Windows 10 from the lock screen

You can also shut down your device from the lock screen: you can see this screen before logging into Windows 10, or if you sign out or lock your device.

On it, press the I/O icon from the bottom-right corner to access the shut down, restart and sleep options.

Shut down or restart Windows 10 from the lock screen

7. Shut down or restart Windows 10 from the "Control + Alt + Delete" screen

If you use a Windows 10 PC with a keyboard, you can use the "Control + Alt + Delete" screen to access the power options. Simultaneously press the Control, Alt and Delete keys on your keyboard and then click or tap on the I/O button from the bottom-right corner of the screen.

Shut down or restart Windows 10 from the Control + Alt + Delete screen

The usual menu opens with options for Sleep, Shut down and Restart. Click or tap the one you want.