It will be impossible for you not to run into a problem that prevents you from completing the standard startup of your Windows computer. There are times when they will be so bad that you will have to use the “reset” feature and in extreme cases take the bull by the horns and go ahead with a clean install.

Before doing all this, we recommend trying Windows Safe Mode. It’s one of those older tools that’s been with us since Windows 95, but it’s still just as useful in situations where A full system load is not possible due to one of the bugs that plague Microsoft, conflicting applications, incompatible drivers, or the malware that abounds in Windows being loaded into memory at startup and preventing it from accessing the desktop.

Indeed, there are times when this is the only way if we cannot do a normal startup with all services loaded. Once you are in this environment, which is also known by such descriptive names as “start-safe-safe” either “secure boot”it is easier to use functions to fix errors or restore the system.

Accessing Windows Safe Mode (8, 10 and 11)

Until Windows 7, accessing this special mode was as simple as pressing a button function key “F8”. during computer startup. Since Windows 8, with the implementation of the new UEFI firmware and the explosion of SSDs for internal storage, this path does not work on many modern computers. Fortunately, there are other methods to remind you.

Shift+F8

It’s the fastest way to start Windows in Safe Mode, but it also doesn’t work on all computers. The reason is mentioned. The speed of the new UEFI BIOS combined with the speed of the PCI-Express SSD does not leave time to interrupt the normal boot process and go into safe mode. If you use hard drives as your main drive, it usually works, it works in Windows 10 and 11.

Shift + Reset

Another way to get to it is even easier, as it can be reached by clicking and pressing the Shift key when the system restarts. Open the Start menu and click the shutdown button. Shift-click the reset button. You will be taken to another configuration screen that will allow you to access Safe Mode via “Troubleshooting – Advanced Options – Startup Settings”.

msconfig

One option that doesn’t fail is to use the system configuration tool ‘msconfig.exe’, either with the ‘run’ application in the control panel or using the Windows + R key combination.

Once you’re in system configurator, go to the ‘Boot’ tab and enable ‘safe boot’ with the options you need, like basic ‘minimal’. The app will prompt you to restart the system and when you do so, you will automatically go into Windows 10 safe mode.

Reboot the system and you will be taken to a screen that allows you to boot into this safe mode with network features, command prompt, etc.

Recovery via USB/DVD

In situations where none of the above methods work, this mode can also be accessed from external bootable drives. In Windows, they can be created using the “Recovery Drive” tool on DVDs or external USB drives. Once created, these recovery media contain several tools, including the ability to access Safe Mode by activating “Troubleshooting – Advanced Options – Startup Settings”.

Windows Safe Mode (Advanced)

This “safe start” is not a method that the average user would use regularly, but if you are interested in having it as close to hand as possible, you can also add it to the start menu of Windows 10, Windows 11 or earlier , which will make it easier to access every time the system restarts. You need to perform several steps as follows:

• The first thing is to create an entry that contains the operating system loading parameters. When you install Windows, a standard default startup item is created and loaded every time you start your computer. If this home input is unique the device automatically charges. If you have several, like when we install other Windows operating systems, a menu with different boot options will appear.

• We need the Windows console to add the ones corresponding to safe mode. Enter the command line (as an administrator) by right-clicking on the Start button or by pressing the “Windows + X” keys.
• Copy and paste the following command and press enter: bcdedit /copy {current} /d “Windows 10 Safe Mode” (you can put the desired name in quotes. This will be the one you see in the boot menu.
• In addition, and using the same command, you can create other items enabled in safe mode, for example, for access through the command line without a graphical interface. To prove this, we add another entry: bcdedit /copy {current} /d “Test MuyComputer Safe Mode”

So far we’ve only created items for the boot menu, so if we don’t configure them, we won’t see any effect. We will do it with system configuration tool.

• Right-click the Start button or use the “Windows + R” key combination to enter the Run function. He writes msconfig.

• Go to the Boot tab and as you will see we will now have the two new entries added in the previous step next to the standard default entry created in the Windows installation.

• Click on the one we created for “Safe Mode” and configure it according to your needs. In this case, we mark the “Error-safe boot” option in its “Minimum” option and activate the “Make all boot configuration permanent” option.

• We click on the second added item and configure it in the same way. For example, with an alternative shell, only with network functions or with parameters that interest you.

• The system configurator also allows you to configure “Waiting time” in seconds to boot, set the default entry, which will normally be the one created in the installation or access to Advanced options where we can assign the number of processors or the maximum amount of memory.

• If you don’t need them later, to delete any of the created records, just select them and click the delete button.

Once all the items are configured, we just have to use them and we will receive the corresponding change notification. To check what we have done, just restart your computer. You will see that the system will show us the boot menu with the option to select all three inputs and also with the option to change their default values ​​or choose other options.

In order not to waste time, you can simply choose few seconds as waiting time and the entry created in the Windows installation as default. In this way, the system will always start by default without selecting any, but we will also have access to other boot methods, such as this safe mode, whenever we need it and in a very simple way.

Although not as fast as the popular “F8”, access to Windows Safe Mode is not only possible, but its functions have expanded since Windows 10. Remember this, because you will definitely have to use it on more than one occasion, because it is a method that sometimes sometimes turns it around necessary to restore your PC to proper operation.