How to enter Safe Mode Windows 10 on startup

Safe Mode is a built-in Windows troubleshooting feature that disables unnecessary drivers and programs during startup. It allows you to isolate problems and fix them without messing with unnecessary applications. Let's take a quick look at how to boot into Safe Mode with Windows 10 and what to do if you can't boot into Safe Mode!

• Instructions for entering BIOS on different computer lines
• How to enter BIOS (UEFI) on Windows 10

Table of Contents

• Method 1: System Configuration
• Method 2: Advanced Startup
• Method 3: Press F8 on startup
• Method 4: Enter Safe Mode from Windows Recovery
• Method 5: Enter Safe Mode with Windows 10 recovery drive
• How do I exit Safe Mode?

Method 1: System Configuration

To open the System Configuration screen, type msconfig in the Start menu search bar and select the best match. Open the Boot tab and note the Boot Options . Selecting the Safe Boot option will force your system to boot into Safe Mode after the next reboot.

You can choose from additional options. Here's what they do:

• Minimal : Starts Safe Mode with the absolute minimum number of drivers and services but with the standard Windows GUI (Graphical User Interface). This is the standard Safe Mode option.
• Alternate Shell : Boots into Safe Mode using Command Prompt, without the Windows GUI. Requires knowledge of advanced text commands as well as navigating the operating system without a mouse.
• Active Directory Repair : Starts Safe Mode with access to machine-specific information, such as hardware models. If you install new hardware that fails and corrupts Active Directory, Safe Mode can be used to restore system stability by repairing corrupted data or adding new data to the directory. Active Directory is used in enterprise settings, so you may not need this on your personal machine.
• Network : Starts Safe Mode with the services and drivers needed to connect to a network using the standard Windows GUI. Select this option if you need to be online while troubleshooting.

Select Minimal > Apply > OK . System Configuration will now ask if you want to restart your system. Selecting Restart will immediately begin the reboot process, so be sure to save any active documents or projects.

Method 2: Advanced Startup

Your next option is Windows 10 Advanced Startup. Type advanced startup into the Start menu search bar and select the best match.

1. In the resulting menu, under Advanced start-up , select Restart Now .
2. This will reboot your system into recovery mode, where you will be presented with three options: Continue , Troubleshoot , or Turn Off Your PC .
3. Select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options . Now, you have a new set of options to choose from.
4. Select Start-up Settings > Restart . Your system will restart. The Startup Settings screen will load after you restart. From here, select the options you need for Safe Mode.

Advanced Startup Shortcut

You can skip this somewhat lengthy clicking process by holding down the Shift key and clicking Restart under Power, found in the Windows 10 Start menu. This reboot will take you straight to the Recovery options , where you can select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings .

Method 3: Press F8 on startup

Until the release of Windows 8, the most common method of entering Safe Mode was to press F8 on the keyboard during startup. Pressing F8 will bring up the Safe Mode options screen, which lists the options found in method 1 (above) and some alternatives.

To improve boot times, Windows 10 (and Windows 11) disables F8 Safe Mode access by default. However, you can sacrifice a few seconds of boot time by enabling the F8 menu using Command Prompt:

1. Start by opening Command Prompt with admin rights . Select Yes in the User Account Control dialog box if it appears. Command Prompt will now open.
2. Type (or copy/paste) the following command:

   bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy

3. To undo this old command at any time, open Command Prompt again with admin rights as instructed above and type:

   bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy standard

The reverse command returns the boot process to its original state. So to access Safe Mode, you will have to use one of the alternative options discussed.

Note : The above steps also work on Windows 11!

• How to check if Windows boots in UEFI or Legacy BIOS mode?

Method 4: Enter Safe Mode from Windows Recovery

Some computers that cannot boot get stuck on the Windows startup screen.

However, you can force your computer into Safe Mode by interrupting the boot process three times in a row by holding down the power button, which automatically launches Windows Recovery. When the Windows Recovery menu appears, do the following:

From the Choose an option recovery window , select Troubleshoot, Advanced options and Startup Settings .

From Startup Settings , you can restart your computer into Safe Mode, with the Internet enabled or disabled. Both options should work.

Method 5: Enter Safe Mode with Windows 10 recovery drive

If you can't get into Safe Mode, you'll need to create a Windows 10 USB recovery drive. The recovery drive contains the Windows 10 recovery environment - previously accessible by pressing F8 while booting. Unfortunately, Microsoft has decided to remove this feature.

To create a recovery drive, you'll need another Windows 10 or 11 computer and a USB drive with at least 1GB of storage. If you want to create a system backup (you'll see the option to back up your system files to the recovery drive), you'll need at least 16GB of storage.

Launch Control Panel > Create a recovery drive .

Then follow the instructions.

After you create a recovery drive, you can only boot from it if you have enabled the USB drive to boot from the POST environment, also known as UEFI or BIOS. After enabling the USB drive to boot, insert it into your computer and restart (you may need to press the reset button or hold the power button for a few seconds).

It's also worth mentioning that a full installable copy of Windows 11 or 10 created using the Windows Media Creation Tool offers the same features as a recovery drive.

How do I exit Safe Mode?

After troubleshooting Windows 10, you can leave Safe Mode. But how do you leave Safe Mode once you're in it?

There are two options, depending on how you boot into Safe Mode:

• If you entered Safe Mode using method 1 (via System Configuration), you must disable the Safe Mode option in the same configuration window. Otherwise, Windows 10 will reboot into Safe Mode after every restart.
• If you entered Safe Mode using method 2 (via Advanced Startup) or method 3 (via keyboard presses), shut down or restart your system to leave Safe Mode.

Don't forget to check the System Configuration menu if something goes wrong.

Now you know the 3 easiest methods to access Safe Mode on Windows 10. Make sure to note the last part about System Image Recovery and System Repair Discs. Remember that the former only works if you have set the restore location before you plunged into the BSOD-induced nightmare.

Good luck!

You can refer to some articles below:

• How to view saved Wifi passwords on Windows 7/8/10
• How to use Sysprep on Microsoft Windows 7/8/10
• How to prevent Windows 7, 8 from automatically upgrading to Windows 10?
• 4 ways to reset Windows computer to its original state