7 ways to boot into Safe Mode in Windows 10

TUTORIAL by Codrut Neagu published on 06/13/2017

If you have used Windows 10 for a while, you might have noticed
that the "old ways" of booting into Safe Mode no longer work. By
that, we mean trying things like pressing the F8 or the Shift + F8
keys on your keyboard while booting. These methods stopped
working because the start procedure became faster than ever
before. However, that doesn't mean that Windows 10 has no Safe
Mode. It's just that to get to it you have to follow other procedures.
Let's take a closer look and see all the ways you can get into Safe
Mode in Windows 10:

Safe Mode in Windows 10

When you enter Safe Mode in Windows 10, the operating system
loads a minimal user interface, with only the essential services and
drivers needed for it to function. Here’s how it looks:

1. Use the System Configuration tool

For optimal(msconfig.exe)
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One of the easiest methods to boot into Safe Mode in Windows 10 is

 One of the easiest methods to boot into Safe Mode in Windows 10 is
to use the System Configuration <http://www.digitalcitizen.life/how-use-
system-configuration-tool-all-its-awesomeness>tool. Many users know this
tool by its executable name: msconfig.exe.

The fastest way to launch System Configuration in Windows 10 is to

use the Run window <http://www.digitalcitizen.life/run-window-windows-7-
why-use-it-anymore>. To do that, simultaneously press on the Windows
+ R keys on your keyboard. Then, write msconfig in the Open text
field, and press Enter or OK.

Another way of opening the System Configuration Tool is to use

Cortana. In the search field from your taskbar, enter the words
”system configuration.” Then click or tap on the System
Configuration shortcut.

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In the System Configuration window, click or tap the Boot tab. In

 In the System Configuration window, click or tap the Boot tab. In
the Boot options section, select the “Safe boot” option. Finally, click
or tap on OK.

Windows 10 tells you that you need to reboot your PC for the new
setting to take effect. If you still have work to do, you can select to
“Exit without restart.” If not, you can restart now, and your device
will automatically boot into Safe Mode.

After Windows 10 reboots, it goes straight into Safe Mode, where

the first thing you’ll see is that Microsoft’s own Edge web browser
doesn’t work. Fortunately, you can still use the old Internet
Explorer.

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 2. Use the “Shift + Restart” combination
Another way of getting into Safe Mode in Windows 10 is to use the
Shift + Restart combination. Open the Start menu and click or tap
on the Power button.

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Then, while keeping the Shift key pressed, click or tap on Restart.
 Then, while keeping the Shift key pressed, click or tap on Restart.

Note that you can also use the Shift + Restart combination from the
Sign In screen: click or tap Power, press and hold Shift and then
click or tap Restart.

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Then, Windows 10 reboots and asks you to select an option. Choose

 Then, Windows 10 reboots and asks you to select an option. Choose
Troubleshoot.

Then, on the Troubleshoot screen, select Advanced options.

On the Advanced options screen, choose Startup Settings.

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 Windows 10 says that you can restart your device to change
advanced boot options, including enabling Safe Mode. Press
Restart.

After Windows 10 reboots, you can choose which boot options you
want to be enabled. To get into Safe Mode, you have three different
options.

To enable Safe Mode press the 4 or the F4 key on your keyboard, to

enable “Safe Mode with Networking,” press 5 or F5, and to enable
“Safe Mode with Command Prompt” press either 6 or F6.

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 3. Use the Settings app to access the
Recovery options
To get into Safe Mode in Windows 10, you can also use the Recovery
options available from the Settings app. Open Settings
<http://www.digitalcitizen.life/introducing-windows-10-ways-open-settings>
(Windows + I) and head to the Update & security section.

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 On the left side of the Settings window, press Recovery.

On the right side of the app, in the Advanced startup section, click
or tap on the Restart now button.

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 After Windows 10 restarts, you’ll have to follow the same steps as
those we’ve shown you in the second method from this guide. In
short, you must go to “Troubleshoot -> Advanced options -> Startup
Settings -> Restart”. Then, press 4 or F4 on your keyboard to start
in Safe Mode, press 5 or F5 to boot into “Safe Mode with
Networking,” or press 6 or F6 to go into “Safe Mode with Command
Prompt.”

4. Boot from a recovery drive

In Windows 10 you can use the Recovery Drive app
<http://www.digitalcitizen.life/how-create-recovery-drive-windows-10> to create
a system recovery USB drive. Once you have created a USB
recovery drive, use it to boot your Windows 10 device and, when
you're asked to load its content, do so.

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 The first screen asks you to choose the layout for your keyboard.
Select the one you want to use, or if you don't see it listed, press on
“See more keyboard layouts” to get the complete list of available
layouts.

Once you’ve chosen your keyboard layout, on the “Choose an

option” screen, select Troubleshoot.

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 The next steps you need to take to boot into Safe Mode are the
same ones we showed in the second method from this guide,
which is to follow this path: “Troubleshoot -> Advanced options ->
Startup Settings -> Restart.” Then, press the 4 or the F4 key on your
keyboard boot into minimal Safe Mode, press 5 or F5 to boot into
“Safe Mode with Networking,” or press 6 or F6 to go into “Safe Mode
with Command Prompt.”

5. Use a Windows 10 installation drive and

the Command Prompt
If you have a Windows 10 installation DVD or USB memory stick
lying around, or if you can create one right now, you can use it to
boot your broken PC with Windows 10 into Safe Mode. To create a
Windows 10 installation drive, follow the steps from this tutorial:
How to download Windows 10 Creators Update and create your
own installation media <http://www.digitalcitizen.life/how-download-
windows-10-and-create-your-own-installation-media>. Then use it to boot
your broken Windows 10 PC from it and wait for the installation
environment to load. Choose the language and keyboard layout
you prefer and click or tap on Next.

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 Next, click or tap on the link that says “Repair your computer” on
the bottom left corner of the screen.

Click or tap on Troubleshoot.

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 On the “Advanced options” screen, click/tap on “Command Prompt
(Use the Command Prompt for advanced troubleshooting).”

Now Command prompt will load. Inside it, write the command:
bcdedit /set {default} safeboot minimal. Then press Enter on your
keyboard.

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 After a moment, Command Prompt tells you that “The operation
[was] completed successfully.”

Then close the Command Prompt and choose to Continue on the

next screen.

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 After your PC reboots, Windows 10 will automatically boot into
Safe Mode.

6. Interrupt the normal boot process of your

Windows 10 PC
If Windows 10 fails to boot normally three times over, the fourth
time it enters by default in an Automatic Repair mode. Using this
mode, you can boot into Safe Mode. To trigger the Automatic Repair
mode, you must interrupt the normal boot process three
consecutive times: use the reset or the power button on your
Windows 10 PC to stop it during boot, before it finishes loading
Windows 10. If you use the power button, you might have to keep
it pressed for at least 4 seconds to force the power off. When your
Windows 10 PC enters the Automatic Repair mode, the first thing
you see is a screen that tells you that the operating system is
“Preparing Automatic Repair.”

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 Wait for Windows 10 to try to make an automatic diagnosis of your
PC.

Then, on the “Automatic Repair” screen, press the “Advanced

For optimaloptions” button.
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 On the next screen, choose Troubleshoot.

From here on, the steps you’ll have to make are the same as those
we’ve shown in the second method from this guide. Follow the
path “Troubleshoot -> Advanced options -> Startup Settings ->
Restart.” Then, press the 4 or the F4 key on your keyboard boot
into minimal Safe Mode, press 5 or F5 to boot into “Safe Mode with
Networking,” or press 6 or F6 to go into “Safe Mode with Command
Prompt.”

7. Use F8 or Shift + F8 (doesn't work when

using UEFI BIOS & SSDs)
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In Windows 7, you were our ableuse
to press F8 just before Windows got
of cookies.
loaded, to open the Advanced Boot Options window, where you
could choose to start Windows 7 in Safe Mode.
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Some websites advise you to press Shift+F8, just before Windows

 Some websites advise you to press Shift+F8, just before Windows
10 starts loading so that you make it launch the recovery mode,
from where you can boot into Safe Mode. The problem is that most
times, Shift+F8 and F8 doesn't work, even though they are correct
commands, supported by Windows 10.

This official blog post from Microsoft (Designing for PCs that boot
faster than ever before
<http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/05/22/designing-for-pcs-that-boot-
faster-than-ever-before.aspx>) explains that this behavior is caused by
their work in creating a very fast boot procedure. Both Windows
8.1 and Windows 10 have the fastest boot times ever. To quote
Steve Sinofsky:

“Windows 8 has a problem – it really can boot up too quickly. So

quickly, in fact, that there is no longer time for anything to interrupt
boot. When you turn on a Windows 8 PC, there's no longer long
enough to detect keystrokes like F2 or F8, much less time to read a
message such as “Press F2 for Setup.” For the first time in decades,
you will no longer be able to interrupt boot and tell your PC to do
anything different than what it was already expecting to do.”

If you have modern PC with a UEFI BIOS

<http://www.digitalcitizen.life/simple-questions-what-bios-what-does-it-do>and
a fast SSD drive, there's no way you can interrupt the boot
procedure with your keypresses. On older PCs, with a classic BIOS
and no SSD drive, pressing these keys might still work though.

Conclusion
Windows 10 is a fast operating system with a fast boot process.
Getting into Safe Mode might not work the way it did in older
Windows operating systems, but the methods available are similar
to the ones in Windows 8.1. If you happen to know of other ways to
do this, don't hesitate to let us know and we promise we’ll update
this guide.

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