Fixing the “There are currently no power options available” error in Windows 10 and 11
Here’s where I finally got stuck—found myself staring at that frustrating message: “There are currently no power options available.” Honestly, it feels like Windows just decided to hide the power menu for no good reason. It’s a headache because, well, those options (shutdown, restart, sleep, hibernate) are kinda essential, right? Turns out, a few things can cause this glitch. Sometimes it’s a policy setting that’s gone rogue, other times corrupted system files, or even a messed-up power scheme.
Resetting Group Policy Settings
If your power options are just missing, one of the common culprits is a policy that disables or hides shutdown commands. This might’ve happened after an update, or maybe some tweak you or software did. The usual fix is to get into the Group Policy Editor—yeah, that thing that’s not exactly easy to access on Win Home, but there are workarounds.
To open it, right-click on the Start button, choose Run (or just press Win + R), then type gpedit.msc. If you’re on Windows Home, you’ll probably need to install it first because it’s not built-in. There are guides online on how to do that (like I had to on my older ASUS). Once you’re in, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar. Then look for the setting called “Remove and prevent access to the Shutdown, Sleep, and Hibernate commands.”
This setting tends to be the big culprit. If it’s enabled or set to prompt, your power options will be hidden or disabled. Double-click it and check the status. If it’s Enabled, switch it to Not Configured or Disabled. Hit Apply and OK. Sometimes this needed a couple of tries for the new policy to take effect—group policy caching can be slow.
After that, I gave the machine a quick restart (a few taps on Ctrl + Alt + Del then hit the Power icon and choose Restart) and checked if the power menu reappeared. And yeah, that finally did the trick for me. If not, don’t worry—there are other things to try.
Restoring Power Settings using Command Prompt
This one’s simple but effective. Open an elevated Command Prompt—search for cmd, right-click, and select Run as administrator. Honestly, if you skip this step, the command won’t work properly—no shortcuts here.
Type this in and hit Enter:
powercfg -restoredefaultschemesThis resets all your existing power plans to Windows defaults, which can crack the case if some custom scheme or corruption is messing with the options. Sometimes, I’ve seen this fix the missing power menu stuff instantly.
Close the Command Prompt, and then check your power options again. It’s a quick hitter—it might just be enough.
Running System File Checker (SFC) Scan
If the problem still persists, corrupted system files could be sneaky culprits. Windows relies on its core files, and if some are corrupted, weird issues pop up—like your power options disappearing. Running an SFC scan is a good way to find and fix those errors.
Open the same elevated Command Prompt and type:
sfc /scannowPress Enter and let it run. It can take a while—sometimes longer if your system is heavily fragmented or slow—but it’s worth the wait. Windows will automatically repair any corrupted files it finds.
After it finishes, restart your PC and see if the power options are back. If not, I’ve been there—at this point, a system restore is probably the next best thing.
Using System Restore to Roll Back to a Working State
Sometimes, the issue is recent and your best bet is to undo recent changes. System Restore can help—if you’ve set it up before or if Windows created a restore point automatically before major updates. It’s kind of a pain to set up in the first place, but it saved me more than once.
Hit the Start menu, type ‘Control Panel’, then go to Recovery. There, select Open System Restore or type rstrui.exe into the Run dialog (Win + R). Pick a restore point from before the problem started—ideally, at least a week or two before—and follow the prompts. It’ll restart your PC during the process. Fingers crossed this gets your power options back, because it definitely fixed the issue for me after multiple failed attempts.
Honestly, I know this stuff can be annoying. Sometimes it’s a policy setting, other times corrupted files or something wonky with power schemes. The key is patience, and trying these methods step by step. If none work, more drastic options like resetting Windows or clean installing might be needed, but hopefully one of these tips helps you avoid that.
Hope this helped — it took me way too long to figure out. Anyway, good luck, and I hope your power menu is back and working like it should be!