[Tip] How to Restart or Boot in Safe Mode in Windows 10, Pressing “F8” Key at Startup Not Working

Safe Mode is a built-in feature of all Windows versions which is used by advanced users and tech experts to troubleshoot various Windows problems such as not able to boot into Windows, driver installation problems, virus/malware related problems, etc. Many times Safe Mode helps Windows users in fixing such kind of issues in their computer systems.

Safe Mode can be considered as a light mode and diagnose/troubleshooting mode of Windows which doesn’t load or launch 3rd party software, drivers, themes, wallpapers, etc. So if a software or driver is causing issues in Windows, users can uninstall and remove them from their computers easily by booting in Safe Mode. Many times Safe Mode also helps in getting rid of virus and other malicious programs (More info) which can’t be removed from normal mode.

Following is a screenshot of Windows running in Safe Mode which shows that no theme, no wallpaper is applied in Safe Mode:

To start a computer in Safe Mode, we need to press F8 (or Ctrl+F8/Shift+F8) key during our system startup i.e. as soon as the computer starts just after the BIOS logo or splash screen and before Windows boot screen. So basically we need to press F8 key during few milliseconds in between BIOS screen and Windows boot screen. If you hit the F8 key at right time, Windows shows a boot options screen where users can select Safe Mode option to start their computers in Safe Mode.

In older Windows versions such as Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7, users were able to press F8 key at startup to access Safe Mode options screen and boot their computers in Safe Mode.

But in Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, starting computers in Safe Mode has become very hard or almost impossible. If you try to press F8 key during startup in Windows 8/8.1/10, nothing happens and Windows starts normally without showing any option to select Safe Mode.

You can’t access boot options screen to select Safe Mode using F8 keypress in Windows 8 and Windows 10 operating systems. Many people wonder and ask many questions to us. Some of them are as following: Why does it happen? Why F8 key doesn’t work to start my computer in Safe Mode in Windows 10? What happened to Safe Mode option in Windows 10? Has Microsoft removed Safe Mode from Windows 10? How to start or boot my computer in Safe Mode in Windows 10 operating system?

Actually Windows 8 and Windows 10 come with new boot loader and faster boot time which prevents users from accessing Safe Mode option by pressing F8 key during startup. Or you can say Windows 10 and Windows 8/8.1 boot so faster that gives users no sufficient time to press F8 key. Windows 10 and Windows 8 can’t recognize F8 key press during boot process and thus users are unable to access boot options screen to select Safe Mode option.

But that doesn’t mean Windows 8 and Windows 10 do not contain Safe Mode feature. Safe Mode still exists in these newer versions of Windows but the old way to access Safe Mode using F8 key is no longer available or works. Microsoft has provided a new “Advanced Boot Options” feature in Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10 to select Safe Mode and other troubleshooting options.

More Info: How to Access and Use Advanced Boot Options in Windows 8 and Windows 10?

In this tutorial, we’ll tell you how to start or boot your computer in Safe Mode if you are using Windows 8 or Windows 10 operating systems.

There might be following situations when you want to start your computer in Safe Mode:

• Your Windows PC is running normally and you want to restart it in Safe Mode
• You can access the Login Screen (or Welcome Screen, Sign-in Screen) but can’t login and you want to restart in Safe Mode
• Your computer can’t load or boot into Windows and you want to start in Safe Mode to fix it
• You want to restore old way to start in Safe Mode by pressing F8 key at startup

Let’s discuss all one by one:

PS: Although all methods and instructions have been written specifically for Windows 10, you can also use them in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 operating systems.

1. How to Restart Computer in Safe Mode in Windows 10 Right From the Desktop:

This is the best way to restart in Safe Mode in Windows 10 operating system. It can be used if you are able to sign into Windows 10 Desktop and now you want to restart your device in Safe Mode:

1. Open Settings app from Start Menu or by pressing WIN+I keys together.

2. Now go to “Update & Security -> Recovery” section.

PS: Alternatively, You can directly launch this page using “ms-settings:recovery” command in RUN dialog box as mentioned here.

3. Now in right-side pane, click on “Restart Now” button present under “Advanced Startup” section.

Windows 10 will close the session and will show “Please wait” screen for few seconds. After that you’ll get “Choose an Option” screen.

Bonus Tip: You can directly access “Choose an option” screen via command-line using Shutdown.exe /r /o command in Command Prompt or RUN dialog box.

4. Now click on “Troubleshoot” option given at “Choose an option” screen.

5. It’ll open Troubleshoot options screen. Click on “Advanced Options” option.

6. On next screen, click on “Startup Settings” option.

7. At last click on “Restart” button given on Startup Settings screen.

Your computer will restart and you’ll get “Startup Settings” screen or boot options screen at startup as shown in following screenshot:

8. Now you can press Number keys or Function keys (F1-F9) to select desired boot option.

To start or boot your computer in Safe Mode, press 4 or F4 key on your keyboard. You can also press 5 or F5 key to boot in Safe Mode with networking support. It’ll load network drivers and services required to access Internet and other computers on your network.

You’ll see Windows 10 boot logo screen and then “Getting Windows ready. Don’t turn off your computer” screen.

That’s it. Your Windows 10 computer will start in Safe Mode. Now you can sign in using your user account credentials and access Windows 10 in Safe Mode.

You’ll see Safe Mode watermarks on all corners of your computer screen and Microsoft (R) Windows (R) build number written at the top-center area of your computer screen. It shows that your computer is running in Safe Mode.

To exit from Safe Mode, simply restart your computer and it’ll boot in normal mode.

PS: Following video shows the whole procedure live in action:

2. How to Restart Computer in Safe Mode in Windows 10 When You can’t Login to Desktop:

This method will help you in restarting Windows 10 computer in Safe Mode when you can access Login Screen (also known as Welcome Screen or Sign-in Screen) but you can’t access Desktop or unable to login to Desktop.

1. When you see Windows 10 Login Screen, click on Power button/icon present at the bottom-right corner.

2. Now press and hold SHIFT key on your keyboard and click on Restart option.

Windows 10 will show “Please wait” screen for few seconds. After that you’ll get “Choose an Option” screen.

Now you’ll need to follow same procedure as given in Steps 4-8 in Method 1 to start your Windows 10 computer in Safe Mode.

PS: You can use this method right-from Desktop as well. Launch Start Menu, click on Power button/icon, press and hold SHIFT key and click on Restart option.

3. How to Start Computer in Safe Mode in Windows 10 When Windows is Unable to Boot:

There might be situations when Windows 10 can’t boot or load and you are unable to access Sign-in Screen. You get blank screen or some error codes/error messages at boot time.

This method will help you in starting your computer in Safe Mode when Windows 10 refuses or fails to boot.

1. Power on your computer and as soon as it starts, press and hold power button for a few seconds. Your computer will power off.

2. Repeat the same process for 2 more times i.e. power on and press and hold power button for few seconds to power it off.

So basically you need to switch on your computer 3 times and then forcefully switch it off 3 times.

Why we are doing this? To trigger boot recovery mechanism. Windows 10 will boot into Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) to start recovery process as soon as it detects that there are some issues in booting process as we forcefully turned off our computer 3 times.

3. Once the recovery process is started, Windows will show “Preparing Automatic Repair” message on boot screen.

After that you’ll need to select your user account and enter correct password to continue the process. Windows will show “Diagnosing your PC“, followed by “Attempting repairs” message on boot screen.

After the above mentioned screens, Windows will show “Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC” message and will provide 2 buttons: Shut down and Advanced options.

4. Click on Advanced Options button and you’ll get “Choose an Option” screen which we discussed in 1st and 2nd methods.

Now you’ll need to follow same procedure as given in Steps 4-8 in Method 1 to start your Windows 10 computer in Safe Mode.

Bonus Tip: You can also use Windows 10 setup disc or bootable USB drive to start your computer in Safe Mode if Windows can’t load. Boot your computer using setup disc and select “Repair your computer” option. It’ll open same “Choose an Option” screen and then you can follow Steps 4-8 given in Method 1 to start your PC in Safe Mode.

4. Restore Old Way to Access Safe Mode Option Screen by Pressing F8 Key at Startup in Windows 10:

Now let’s share a bonus tip. You can restore good ol’ classic way to access Safe Mode option screen by hitting F8 key during startup in Windows 10. We’ll restore old boot loader (Windows Vista and Windows 7 style) in Windows 10 which will restore the method to start computer in Safe Mode using F8 key.

1. First of all launch Command Prompt as Administrator using any way given in following tutorial:

[Guide] Different Ways to Open Command Prompt as Administrator in Windows

2. Now type following command and press Enter:

You’ll get a message “The operation completed successfully”.

That’s it. You have restored classic boot loader in Windows 10. Now when you’ll restart your machine, you’ll see Windows Vista/7 style boot loader where you can press F8 key to access Safe Mode option screen.

PS: Check out following tutorial to learn more about this command and method:

How to Disable New Metro Boot Loader and Restore Classic Boot Loader in Windows 8 and Later?

BONUS TIP:

There is another way to force start your computer in Safe Mode. We can use good ol’ MSCONFIG command to force any Windows version to start next time in Safe Mode.

1. Type msconfig in RUN or Start Menu search box and press Enter. It’ll open System Configuration Utility window.

2. Now go to “Boot” tab and enable “Safe Boot” option for Windows boot entry as shown in following screenshot:

3. That’s it. Click on Apply button and now when you’ll start your computer next time, Windows will start in Safe Mode.

IMPORTANT: Once you decide to disable Safe Mode and start your Windows in normal mode, uncheck “Safe boot” checkbox in “Boot” tab of MSCONFIG window and apply changes. Now Windows will boot in normal mode.

More instructions and information about the above mentioned bonus tip have been given in following tutorial which will work in all Windows versions:

How to Boot Windows in “Safe Mode” When “F8” Key is not Working? Add “Safe Mode” Option to Windows Boot Loader

Also Check:

How to Enter BIOS Settings on Your Windows PC?

[Fix] Windows 7 Animated Boot Screen Changed to Vista Style Green Progress Bar

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