There are different reasons why the operating system may not boot. And, as a rule, in this case they give cardinal advice - to reinstall Windows. But when reinstalling, all data is lost, which is undesirable for any gadget owner. Therefore you can run safe mode in the laptop, and then start troubleshooting the problem.
How to start a laptop in safe mode?
Launching this mode is different for each laptop, or more precisely, operating system. For example, if you are puzzled by the question of how to boot a laptop into Windows 8 safe mode, then tips on how to enter safe mode on a laptop with Windows XP will be useless.
For Windows 8, you can try this method:
- select the power button in the Settings panel;
- press SHIFT and hold while clicking “Restart”;
- after this, the laptop will give a list of options from which you need to select “Diagnostics”, then “Advanced options”, “Boot options”, “Enable safe mode”;
- at the bottom of the screen there will be a window with the inscription “Restart”;
- you need to click it, then as many as 9 options will appear on the screen, three of them will relate to a secure connection.
If you press the F4 key, safe mode will be activated, if F5, then the mode that supports network drivers, if F6, then the mode will support the command line.
How a laptop of any type supports safe mode: method No. 1
There are two main boot options, the use of which should be suitable for any laptop. The first is this:
- turn on the laptop for it to happen full load OS;
- turn off any programs that were activated during the startup process. This can be done using the “Exit” command for each specific application;
- press the power button and force the laptop to turn off;
- wait a couple of minutes and turn on your laptop;
- Select the desired mode from among the suggestions.
You need to be prepared for the startup process to be very slow. U different models in different ways, sometimes even 5 minutes. It may seem that it is not working, in which case someone who turns on and starts the laptop may think that the gadget is frozen. There is no need to rush to reboot or turn off. If the OS is damaged, it will not start from the required option, but the laptop will reboot automatically or turn off itself. In this case, the screen will be black and Safe Mode will appear at the top.
How to switch to safe mode on a laptop: method No. 2
There is another option that guarantees safe switching on laptop almost one hundred percent. It consists in the following. You just need to press F8 many times when the laptop boots. Then a list of download offers will be displayed; you need to select the one you need. If the F8 key does not give the desired result, you need to press F12. Usually one or the other reacts.
There is a small chance that none of the proposed methods will solve the problem. In this case, there are several alternatives.
For example, for Windows 8, you can create a system recovery disk (you need to do it yourself) or try booting via USB. Windows seventh has the most in a simple way The download is the System Configuration program. In order for any of the described methods to be useful, they need to be analyzed in detail before a problem arises, then the actions will be confident and effective.
Many problems such as cleaning PC from malware software, fixing errors after installing drivers, running system recovery, resetting passwords and activating accounts are solved using safe mode.
Safe Mode or Safe Mode is a special diagnostic mode in Windows 10 and other operating systems, in which you can start the system without turning on drivers or unnecessary Windows components. It is usually used to identify and troubleshoot problems. Let's look at how you can get into Safe Mode in Windows 10.
Method 1: System Configuration Utility
The most popular way to enter safe mode in Windows 10 is to use the configuration utility, a standard system tool. Below are the steps you need to go through to enter Safe Mode this way.
Method 2: Boot Options
You can also enter Safe Mode from a loaded system through the boot options.
Method 3: Command Line
Many users are accustomed to the fact that they can enter Safe Mode during a reboot by holding down the F8 key. But, by default, this function is not available in Windows 10 OS, as it slows down the system startup. You can correct this effect and figuratively start safe mode by pressing F8 by using the command line.
Method 4: Installation media
If your system does not boot at all, you can use an installation flash drive or disk. The procedure for entering safe mode using this method looks like this:
- Boot the system from the previously created installation media.
- Press the key combination "Shift + F10", which launches the command line.
- Enter next line(command) to start safe mode with a minimum set of components
bcdedit /set (default) safeboot minimal
or string
bcdedit /set (default) safeboot network
to run with network support.
Using these methods, you can go into Safe Mode in Windows 10 and diagnose your PC using standard system tools.
Can't boot Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 in Safe Mode? Are you pressing F8 or Shift+F8 but it doesn't do anything? Loading the new operating system from Microsoft has become so fast that it is not always possible to interrupt it with keystrokes.
You can enter Safe Mode in Windows 8 or 8.1 5 in different ways, any of them will allow you to run the system on Windows 8-8.1 safely!
Safe Mode in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 is practically no different from that in earlier versions of the OS.
operating system still only loads the most basic drivers and services. The only noticeable difference is that the minimum screen resolution in Safe Mode has increased from 800x600 pixels to 1024x768 pixels.
1. Use the System Configuration tool (Msconfig.exe)
As with , the easiest way to boot into Safe Mode is to use the System Configuration program, also known as msconfig.exe.
Launch it, go to the “Boot” tab and in the boot options activate the “Safe Mode” option. Then click on the "OK" button.
Next, you will see a message stating that you need to restart your computer. Click Restart or Quit Without Reboot, depending on whether you want the computer to restart now or later.
The next time you start Windows 8 (Windows 8.1), it will boot into Safe Mode.
2. Use the combination Shift + Restart
Click the power button on the Windows login screen or in the Settings Charm. Then press and hold the SHIFT button on your keyboard and click Restart.
Windows will prompt you to select an option. Select "Diagnostics".
On the Diagnostics screen, click the Advanced Options button.
On the More Options screen, click Boot Options.
When your computer restarts, a list of 9 options will appear on the screen, including three types of Safe Mode.
Press F4 on your keyboard to enable Safe Mode, F5 to enable Safe Mode with support network drivers and F6 to enable safe mode with command line support. After this, Windows 8/Windows 8.1 will be downloaded according to your selection.
3. Boot into safe mode using CD/DVD to restore system (Windows 8 only)
On Windows 8, but not Windows 8.1, you can . So, if you have such a disk, you can boot from it.
After booting from the recovery disk, you will be prompted to select a keyboard layout. Select the one you want to use. You will then see the options screen. All further steps will be identical to those described in method 2.
4. Boot into USB Safe Mode to Restore System
Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 allow . Detailed instructions can be found at the link. Using such a disk you can also boot the OS in safe mode. To do this, boot from your System Recovery USB drive and follow the instructions from the previous method.
5. Use F8 or Shift + F8 (does not work when using UEFI BIOS and SSD)
In the case of Windows 7, just press F8 just before starting the operating system to get to the menu with additional options download, from where you can already boot the operating system in safe mode.
For Windows 8 and 8.1, some sites advise using the keyboard shortcut Shift + F8, which launches recovery mode, allowing you to boot into safe mode. However, the problem is that neither Shift + F8 nor just F8 often work.
In a post on its official blog, Microsoft explains that this behavior is due to the very fast boot process. Steve Sinofsky once said: “Windows 8 has a problem. It loads too quickly, so quickly that you actually don't have time to interrupt it when you turn on your PC. The operating system simply does not have time to detect pressing the F2 or F8 keys.”
In general, if you have modern computer With UEFI BIOS and SSD, you are unlikely to be able to interrupt the boot process with keystrokes. On older PCs with a classic BIOS and no SSD, pressing these keys still works.
Have a great day!
Windows 10 inherits all the boot system features of Windows 8, providing the same graphical environment for performing system recovery tasks. It is expected that system recovery operations after failures will be primarily performed by the system automatic recovery. If Windows 10 does not boot correctly, the automatic recovery system starts, which, without user intervention, tries to find and fix problems that prevent the system from loading normally. However, this does not mean that Windows 10 does not have Safe mode, it just means that this boot mode is hidden from users by default.
In some cases, it is necessary to start the system in safe mode, for example to debug a driver or application. Let's see how to enable safe mode in Windows 10.
Windows 10 can be booted into Safe Mode in several different ways.
MSConfig Utility (System Configuration)
The easiest way to boot Windows 10 in Safe Mode, just like the previous ones Windows versions, use the utility msconfig.exe. To do this:
Advice. You can also disable booting in safe mode using msconfig by unchecking the Safe boot option.
Shift + Restart combination
In the start menu, press the Power button and, while holding down Shift on your keyboard, select reboot system ( Restart)
Note. The same Shift+Reboot combination can be used on the login screen. 
In the dialog that appears, select the items sequentially Troubleshoot(Diagnostics) -> Advanced options(Advanced options)-> Startup Settings(Boot Options).
Reboot the computer by pressing the button Restart.
After the reboot, a window will appear with available system boot options (9 options, including three types of safe mode). To boot into safe mode, press F4 or 4 (or F5/F6 to boot into safe mode with networking or command line support, respectively).
Launching diagnostic mode from the new Control Panel interface
To launch a new modern Panel Windows management 10, press the button Start and select menu Settings. Then go to the section Update &security.
Go to section Recovery and in the section Advanced Startup click Restart now.
Starting safe mode from the command line
It is also possible to configure Windows startup 10 in safe mode and from the command line. To do this, open a command prompt (cmd) with administrator rights and run the command:
Then restart your computer with the command:
Windows 10 will now always boot in Safe Mode. To return to normal boot mode:
bcdedit /deletevalue (default) safeboot
Bringing back the old text boot menu
In Windows 10/8 it is possible to revert to the old Windows text loader that supports the key F8(Shift+F8) and the ability to select system startup parameters.
Note. The system boot speed with such a bootloader will be lower.
To return the test bootloader, run: command line with administrator rights:
bcdedit /set (default) bootmenupolicy legacy
Now when you boot your computer after the self-test (POST) stage, you need to press the key several times F8. The good old text menu with system boot options should appear.
To disable text bootloader mode and return to fast boot, run:
bcdedit /set (default) bootmenupolicy standard
Launching Safe Mode from Recovery Mode
Few people know that to enable safe mode and other recovery options in Windows 10, it is enough 3 times in a row interrupt the system boot with the power off button.
The system recovery environment will start 4 times ( Recovery mode ), from which you can choose to boot into safe mode or other system boot options.
Select an item See advanced repair options and follow the instructions from the second paragraph of our article.
Sometimes you need to start your laptop in safe mode on Windows 7, Windows 8, Vista or XP. The differences are only in the eight, the rest are almost the same.
To enable safe mode on samsung laptops(Samsung), asus (asus), acer, hp, sony xperia,lenovo, sony vaio, msi or Packard bell You can use one of the three methods below.
Why three? Anything can happen - what if one doesn’t work - try the second one. In general, safe mode is the same as normal, only some services/programs on the laptop do not work.
I turn on safe mode on my laptop mainly to disable (uninstall) antivirus applications and programs that cannot be uninstalled.
NOTE: If you are unable to run secure windows mode 10 or 7 then
The first way to start a laptop in safe mode on Windows 7
To load, go, open, call, install, access, transfer, select, restart or switch to safe mode, click the restart option and immediately after turning it on (there is no Windows logo yet) click the f8 button.
In rare cases, you may need to press a different key: f1 to f12. Then you will have to experiment or immediately move on to the second method.
Starting Windows in Safe Mode: Method Two
You can launch safe mode in Windows (I’m writing about Windows 7) through the “control panel” by clicking “administration”, clicking on “system configuration” and moving to the boot tab, and then simply check the box in the appropriate place (see the picture below).
You can do it differently by using the “msconfig” utility. Paste it into the laptop search (without quotes). It will appear at the very top - click once, and then do as described above.
The third way to enable safe mode on a laptop on win 7
This method is for the lazy - just force shutdown the laptop. For example: remove the battery and disconnect the mains.
It could be simpler. Press and hold the power button for a few seconds (until everything goes dark).
That's all, I think one of the three options will definitely suit you. Good luck solving problems.
