How to Boot Windows PC in Safe Mode?

Windows 10 has a really amazing feature called as ‘Safe Mode’. Microsoft calls this as safe mode because when something is messed up in your windows, this feature allows you to recover your Windows as it was before.

Why do we Boot Windows in Safe Mode?

Safe Mode is sort of a diagnostic tool of Windows. When you have a lot of buggy drivers and malware on your PC, Windows starts giving you BSOD errors (Blue Screen of Death Errors). This happens when your PC is running with some malware or with some unsupported drivers. Safe Mode is an essential tool and it may be the only way for you to start things right in Windows.

In Safe Mode, your PC will be running with a very low set of drivers and no other third-party software will load up. It starts up with drivers which are necessary. Safe Mode makes an environment which allows you to roll back to the drivers which you have recent updates and not compatible with your PC.

3 Ways of Boot Windows PC in Safe Mode

There are several ways of booting windows in Safe Mode and depends on PC-to-PC. You can try out these 3 ways and check which one is suitable for your PC. Most of them are suitable for every PC but it depends upon what configuration of your PC has.

• Use System Configuration Tool
• Combination of Shift + Restart to Start Recovery Mode
• Using Shift + F8 key before Booting Windows

Method 1: Use System Configuration Tool

This method is all about using system inbuilt tool with the help of which you can be able to boot Windows in ‘Safe Mode’ easily.

Step 1: Press ‘Windows + R’ shortcut keys simultaneously to open ‘Run’ dialog box. Type ‘msconfig’ and click ‘OK’.

Step 2: When you’re inside of System Configuration dialog box:

1. Go to ‘Boot’ tab.
2. Then visit ‘Boot options’ at the bottom and turn on or check the ‘Safe boot’ option.
3. Click on ‘Apply’ button.
4. Last step is to click ‘OK’.

Step 3: In the end, it will ask you to Restart Now. Hit on Restart Now and you’re done. Next, your PC will load up or restart in Safe Mode.

To restart normally again, just uncheck the safe boot option in step 2 and restart your PC, Windows will now load up in a normal format.

Method 2: Shift + Restart Shortcut

This method allows you to boot your Windows PC in safe mode using ‘Shift + Restart’ shortcut keys. Follow the steps given below:

Step 1: The first thing you need to do is:

1. Click on Windows ‘Start’ button.
2. Click on the ‘Power’ button.
3. Then press and hold one of the Shift keys and click on Restart option.

Now, your PC will open up recovery mode for you.

Step 2: Next thing you’ll see is Windows asking you to choose an option between given below. You need to select troubleshoot option.

Step 3: In troubleshoot options, choose advanced options.

Step 4: In ‘Advanced options’, choose ‘Startup settings’.

Step 5: Windows will show you the list of settings that can be changed during startup. Now, you need to click on ‘Restart’ button.

Step 6: In startup settings, you’ll see many options in which there will be 3 options that say, Enable Safe Mode, Enable safe mode with networking and Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

4. Enable Safe Mode: It allows you to simply boot in Safe mode with a basic low set of drivers.

5. Enable Safe Mode with Networking: It allows you to boo in safe mode with networking subsystem through with you can be able to access the internet.

6. Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt: It allows you to boot in safe mode with no desktop, no internet and many drivers will not be loaded. You will see only command prompt.

In order to boot Windows PC in safe mode, you need to choose between these three options. Select according to your need and in our case, we will choose the option 4 “Enable safe mode”. For that, we need to press “F4” key on the keyboard. Similarly, for others, you will press “F5” and “F6” keys. Instead of function keys you can also simply use number keys 4, 5 or 6 to choose the needed option.

Now, your PC will start in Safe Mode.

Method 3: Using Shift + F8 while Booting

This method is not widely used because it works on some PC’s and sometimes not depending on the manufacturer. Most people usually avoid this method. It might not also work when you have UEFI Bios and SSD’s laptops. Follow the steps given below:

• Just before windows starts loading icon appears, you need to press Shift + F8 key or in some laptops just F8 key.
• Next thing, it will allow you to start recovery mode, from where you can boot your pc in safe mode as explained in the previous step.

Conclusion

In above guide, we have learned 3 ways to boot up Windows in safe mode. All the ways are effective except the last one sometimes won’t work. First two steps are most effective and used widely by the people. Make sure your PC is plugged-in and having power supply while booting in safe mode.