How to restart Windows in Safe Mode

Posted on June 10, 2008 at 5:30 am

Looking for a way to get into Safe Mode for Windows? If you’re not able to boot your computer normally, you have to enter safe mode, a diagnostic mode for Windows where you can troubleshoot problems that prevent normal booting.

In Safe Mode, Windows only loads the most essential services and drivers in order for it to run. All other normal Windows settings and start up programs are stopped in order to allow the user to fix the problem with their computer.

In this guide, I am going to explain how you can get into Safe Mode in both Windows XP and Windows Vista. Note that if you installed a driver or just recently made a configuration change to your computer, you may want to try the “Last Known Good Configuration” before going into safe mode.

Last Known Good Configuration loads the last working version of Windows. However, if it replaced each time you log into the computer, so if a problem has occurred, make sure to try this option BEFORE logging into the computer again.

Also note that there are 3 types of Safe Mode, so read the descriptions below to figure out which one is best for you.

Safe Mode - The basic option that loads Windows with a GUI interface and is usually what most people should choose when troubleshooting their computer.

Safe Mode with Networking - If you need access to the Internet or the network while in Safe mode, then this is the option to choose. This mode is useful when you need to fix a problem that requires an Internet connection so you can get updates, drivers, or other files to help fix your problem.

Safe Mode with Command Prompt - This mode will load with just the MS DOS command line prompt. Useful if you need to run a DOS command like fixboot or chkdsk.

How to get into Safe Mode in Windows 2000/XP/Vista

To get into the Safe Mode in Windows 2000 / XP / Vista, re-boot the computer and then press and hold the “F8 Key” which will then bring up the “Windows Advanced Options Menu“. Scroll down to “Safe Mode” using the arrow keys and press Enter.

Note that sometimes if you press and hold the F8 key, some computers will start to beep annoyingly, so in that case, simply tap the F8 continuously during the boot up period.

If you are still not able to get into Safe Mode, you can try to kill the power on the computer to turn it off and then turn it back on. If Windows shuts down unexpectedly, it will usually bring up the Advanced Boot Options menu automatically.

Now you can hopefully fix the problem with your computer! You can get out of safe mode by just restarting the computer. If you’re in the command prompt, you can exit safe mode by typing in Exit. Good luck!

Enjoyed this post? Subscribe to Online Tech Tips via RSS Feed or via Email and receive free daily productivity tips.

» Filed Under Computer Tips

Save this page	Stir it up on Mixx
Add to Reddit	Stumble this page

4 Responses to “How to restart Windows in Safe Mode”

pki said on : June 10th, 2008 at 6:53 am

you gave very good information about safe mode , safe mode is very important thing not everybody knows it , but after this post everybody will know about it.

Keith Dsouza said on : June 10th, 2008 at 12:17 pm

Quite a useful tip, many people may not even be aware of this even though they have used computers for quite some time.

Obi said on : February 11th, 2009 at 10:17 am

Thanks a load.i really needed this info.helped me remove an annoying virus

How to fix “Page fault in non paged area” error Says:

[...] first, I thought this was something to do with the application we just installed, so I decided to restart the computer in Safe Mode and uninstall the app. It seemed to have worked because the BSOD went away, but only for a short [...]
April 23rd, 2009 at 5:33 am