Windows 11 Cannot Restart

[mstove]

Upgraded system from Win 10 Pro to Win 11 Pro and ever since the upgrade it cannot restart. It worked prior to upgrade. Now it sits on the "Restarting" screen indefinitely. The only way to work around it is to hit the reset button or power it off, then it boots fine.
SFC /scannow reports Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
DISM /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth completes successfully but does not fix the problem.
BIOS updated.
Graphics driver updated.

Any suggestions?

 

[xilolee]

Hi!

Yup.
Try to disable fast startup.
Or hibernation altogether.

 

[mstove]

Hi!

Yup.
Try to disable fast startup.
Or hibernation altogether.

Thanks, but it turns out that both fast startup and hibernation were already disabled.

 

[xilolee]

Try the clean boot: How to perform a clean boot in Windows

Remember: DON'T disable Windows services!

 

[mstove]

It seems to be related to a WD MyBook external HDD I have connected. Without it connected the restart is delayed but does eventually work. I also tried performing an ejection from the safely remove hardware and eject media applet, but it still hangs. The external drive must be unplugged completely from the USB port for the restart to succeed. I also have an ioSafe connected but it does not have this problem.

 

[Corday]

You no longer need to use the safely eject feature. Just unplug USB devices.

 

[mstove]

You no longer need to use the safely eject feature. Just unplug USB devices.

When dealing with a remotely accessible system, one cannot simply "unplug USB devices" if they are not physically in front of the computer. If I am in front of the computer I would obviously unplug the external drive causing the issue, but when the computer needs to reboot remotely this is not a solution. Unless you have an Exocomp I can borrow?