I have a ViprTech prebuilt PC that I was given as a gift. I started Windows 11's "Reset this PC" process, and it appeared to complete its initial work before restarting. Now the computer has been sitting on the ViprTech splash screen with a spinning circle. I'm unsure whether I should continue waiting or force it to shut down, since this happened immediately after resetting Windows. It has currently been stuck for almost two hours.
2 Answers
Forcing the PC off is not ideal because the operating system may be in the middle of changing files. Still, after sitting at the same splash screen for roughly two hours, a forced shutdown is reasonable as a last resort. Turn it back on and see whether Windows resumes the reset or opens its automatic repair and recovery options.
A Windows reset can take a while and may restart the computer several times, so avoid interrupting it during the first 20–30 minutes. However, nearly two hours with no visible progress is much less normal. At this point, you can hold the power button to shut it down, though doing so may leave the reset incomplete and require Windows recovery or another reinstall attempt.
There usually isn’t any useful progress indicator on the manufacturer logo, so it’s hard to know whether it’s still working or has frozen. Waiting indefinitely isn’t necessary once it has remained unchanged for that long.