Locked in "Something didn't go as planned" error during restart

ss tang 0 Reputation points
2026-10-09T19:29:15.49+00:00

Laptop with Windows 11 crashed and restarted unexpectedly. It's now been showing a black screen with "Something didn't go as planned. Retrying a few things. Please keep your computer on." for an hour and a half. I've seen people say to press Win+R to fix it but when I do that, nothing happens.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures
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  1. AI answer

    2026-10-09T19:29:32.35+00:00

    That screen indicates Windows is trying to recover from a startup problem. If it has been stuck for 90 minutes, try recovery steps instead of Win+R.

    1. Force a shutdown Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds to turn the laptop off, then turn it back on.
    2. If it returns to the same screen, enter recovery Start the PC and, just as Windows begins to load, press and hold the power button for 5 to 10 seconds to force it off. Repeat this twice. On the third start, Windows should enter the Recovery Environment.
    3. In Recovery, try these in order
      • Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Repair
      • If available, Uninstall latest update
      • System Restore if a restore point exists
      • Startup Settings > Enable safe mode
    4. If Safe Mode opens Try the basic black-screen steps:
      • Press Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B to reset the graphics driver.
      • Open Device Manager from the Start button and check for devices with an exclamation mark. Update, disable, or uninstall the affected device if needed.
      • Install the latest Windows updates from Start > Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates.
    5. If the screen is blank after sign-in with only a cursor Press Ctrl + Alt + Del. If the security screen appears, try opening Task Manager and restarting Windows Explorer.
    6. If recovery options fail Use Reset this PC or other recovery options from Windows Recovery. This can affect installed apps and settings, so use it only after the repair options above.

    If the device asks for a BitLocker recovery key while entering recovery or safe mode, that key is required before continuing.

    References:

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  2. Vikki-T 12,080 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-10-10T09:21:38.6933333+00:00

    Hello ss tang,

    I understand that the laptop has been stuck on the “Something didn’t go as planned” screen for quite some time. Windows + R will not respond at this stage because Windows has not yet finished loading the desktop.

    Before suggesting the appropriate recovery steps, could you please confirm the following?

    • Is the laptop still displaying the same message, or has it restarted or moved to another screen?
    • Did this happen while Windows was installing an update?
    • Do you see any error code, progress percentage, or an Automatic Repair/Advanced options screen?
    • Have you already forced the laptop to shut down or restarted it since the issue began?

    For now, please avoid repeatedly forcing the laptop to shut down, as the next step will depend on what is currently displayed. If possible, you may also share a photo of the current screen, but please make sure that no personal information or BitLocker recovery key is visible.

    Reference: Windows Recovery Environment Thank you so much for your understanding. 

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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