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Windows 10 won't boot into safe mode

In Windows 10, they removed the method that allows you to select a login mode when you hold down the F8 key when turning on the computer. But there are other options that make it possible to enter the lightweight mode both with and without access to the system.

Why use Safe Mode

Safe mode (SA) differs from normal mode in that when you log into the system, auto-starting programs, some system processes and drivers are not loaded through it.

Thanks to this, you can, firstly, avoid problems caused by errors in drivers, processes or applications, fix them and proceed to work as usual.

Secondly, BR is used to troubleshoot problems with everything that can break in the computer, since while working in BR, most processes are disabled and do not cause conflicts. For example, it is more convenient to rid your computer of viruses, blue screens, errors in programs and drivers, as well as reset your password and set up an administrator account.

There are three BR options: standard safe mode, as well as two additional ones with loading network drivers or the command line. In the latter cases, by booting into a special mode, you will be able to work with the Internet and all programs that require a network connection, since all the elements necessary to set up an Internet connection are added to the list of loaded processes and drivers.

Putting your computer in light mode

There are several ways to switch to BR from the regular one or enter the special mode immediately without logging in to the regular one. The second option may be useful if the system is so faulty that it does not boot or freezes severely, so you must immediately turn on the computer in the BR.

Using system configuration

Expand the “Run” window through the system search bar or the Win + R combination.
Open the Run program
Enter the msconfig command.
Run the msconfig command
In the window that opens, go to the “Boot” tab and check the box next to the “Safe Mode” line. Here you can choose one of three boot options: minimal - the most common BR, another shell - includes the ability to work with the command line, network - includes the ability to work with the network. Select one of the items and reboot the system; when you turn it on, it will automatically enter you into the BR.
Activate safe mode

Using System Restore

You can also enter safe mode through the system recovery option:

Expand PC settings.
Open computer settings
Select the "Update and Security" block.
Select the “Update and Security” block
Go to the “Recovery” subsection and click on the “Restart now” function.
Click the “Restart now” button in the “Special boot options” block
When the system reboots, a list of possible options will open. Select one of the modes using the keypad (numbers 4–6).
Select one of the safe modes

From the lock screen

The lock screen or login screen appears at the moment when you need to select an account and enter a password, if one is set, while turning on the computer or waking up from sleep mode. You can go to the BR directly from this screen:

Click on the Power icon in the lower right corner, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and then select the “Restart” function. When the system starts to turn on again, a list of special login methods will appear on the screen.
Hold down the Shift key and click on the “Restart” button
Go to the “Diagnostics” block.
Go to the “Diagnostics” section
Open advanced options.
Open the “Advanced Settings” section
And the last transition is loading methods.
Click on the “Download method” section
Select one of the BR items by pressing keys 4 to 6 on the keyboard.
Selecting recovery mode

By rebooting the computer

This method does the same thing as described in the “From the Lock Screen” instructions, but provided that you have access to the system. Open “Start”, then a menu with a list of ways to turn off the computer, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and select the “Restart” function. The device will begin to reboot and when turned on, will expand the recovery menu. For further steps, see the previous instructions “From the lock screen”.

Hold Shift and restart the computer

Return menu F8

In previous versions of Windows, you could press the F8 key at startup and select a boot mode. In Windows 10, this feature is not available by default, which speeds up logging in. But you can get it back by opening the command line and running the command bcdedit /set (default) bootmenupolicy legacy. After this, you can reboot the system, press F8 during startup and indicate that you need to go to BR.

Run the command bcdedit /set (default) bootmenupolicy legacy to return the selection menu

Using installation media

This method is suitable if you do not have access to the system, but need to log into BR. You will need installation media, which can be created using another computer from a regular flash drive or disk.

Once you receive the media, insert it into the computer being converted to BR and change the boot order in the BIOS so that the system starts from the media rather than the hard drive.
Changing the boot order
Once the installer appears, install the language you want and move on to step two.
Install the desired language and move on to the next step
Open Command Prompt via System Restore
The second option for going to the command line is to hold down the F10+Shift combination when the installation program is open.

Once you are at the command line, all you have to do is run one of the following commands:

bcdedit /set (default) safeboot minimal - for the next boot in safe mode;
bcdedit /set (default) safeboot network - for safe mode with network support;
bcdedit /set (default) safeboot minimal and bcdedit /set (default) safebootalternateshell yes - for safe mode with command line and network;
bcdedit /deletevalue (default) safeboot - will need to be executed later to disable the transition to safe mode when the need for it disappears;
bcdedit /set (globalsettings) advancedoptions true - to activate the boot mode selection menu, which will appear every time you turn on the computer;
bcdedit /deletevalue (globalsettings) advancedoptions - to disable the menu enabled by the previous command.

Video: Safe Mode in Windows 10

Why might Safe Mode not work?

The computer may not boot into BR if the system is so damaged that disabling some drivers, programs and processes does not help. First, try logging into the most common BR, which does not support either the command line or the network. Secondly, even if this does not help, then reset the system, reinstall or restore it from a restore point, after which the computer should start working both in normal mode and in safe mode.

Exiting Safe Mode

To get out of BR, you need to know how you got into it. If you use “System Restore” or hold down the Shift key and reboot, then just reboot the system again or turn off the computer and turn it on again, after which the device will automatically return to normal mode. If you logged in by executing commands on the command line, then open the command line again and write a command that disables logging into safe mode. If the login was performed when BR was enabled in the system configuration, then re-open the configuration, go to the “Boot” block and uncheck the “Safe” mode, thereby disabling the computer to be switched to this mode the next time the system is rebooted.

Uncheck “Safe Mode”

So, you can go into safe mode in Windows 10 in different ways: both with access to the system and without it. If safe mode does not work, you should think that the system files are too damaged and you need to reinstall or restore the entire system. To exit Safe Mode, you must restart your computer or cancel Safe Mode entry using configuration or commands before restarting the device.

There is probably not a user who does not encounter problems when working with a computer. These can be either virus infections of the system and driver errors, or problems with logging into the system during normal loading of the Windows system. To resolve these issues, you will need to log in in Safe Mode. Unfortunately, many users in Windows 10 do not have the ability to boot the operating system in safe mode using the “F8” key. In this step-by-step instruction with photos, we will show you several ways to start the Windows 10 operating system in safe mode.

Step 1

How to enter safe mode through system configuration in Windows 10

Start by pressing the "Win" and "R" keys at the same time.

Step 2

In the Run window, enter the msconfig command and click OK.

Step 3

Next, go to the “Boot” tab and check the box next to “Safe Mode”. Then click the "Ok" button. After restarting your computer, you will be able to log in in safe mode. Please note that in order to boot the operating system in normal mode, you will need to uncheck this box.

Step 4

Entering Safe Mode through Windows 10 Special Boot Options

Click the Start button and select the Settings menu item.

Step 5

The next step is to click on Update & Security.

Step 7

At this point, in the “Select Action” window, click the “Diagnostics” button.

Step 8

Now click on “Advanced Options”.

Step 9

The next step is to go to the “Boot Options” section.

Step 10

Click the "Reboot" button.

Step 11

In the “Additional boot options” window, use the arrows on your keyboard to select the required safe mode and press the “Enter” key to select the required item.

Step 12

How to start Windows 10 in safe mode using the Shift key

In this method, you need to restart the operating system. You can do this by clicking the “Start” button and clicking “Shut down.” Then you need to hold down the “Shift” key and click the “Restart” line. The next steps to choose to sign in in Safe Mode are the same as signing in through the special Windows 10 boot options.

Step 13

How to enter Safe Mode if Windows 10 won't boot

If the Windows 10 operating system does not boot, then to log into the system in safe mode you will need an installation disk or flash drive. Load the flash drive with the operating system files, select the installation language and click “Next”.

Step 14

At this stage, click on the “System Restore” line.

Step 15

Select the "Diagnostic" action.

Step 17

Now select Command Prompt.

Many users who switched to Windows 10 from Windows 7 (bypassing the eighth version) are perplexed: why did the developers remove safe mode from the system? It used to be the same: I pressed F8 before starting Windows and booted into safe mode. And now it doesn't work.

In fact, no one even thought of depriving us of such a useful tool. And there are even more opportunities to download it than there were. Let's figure out how to enter Safe Mode in Windows 10 and what to do if it does not open.

The easiest way to boot your computer into Safe Mode is to press the Shift key along with the "" button in the Start menu or login screen.

After the restart, we will be offered a choice of 3 actions:

Continue working in Windows 10 - return to normal mode, from which we just left.
Turn off computer.
Carry out troubleshooting. Even if we haven't broken anything yet, we should select this item.

In the next menu, select the section “ Extra options».

After - " Boot Options».

To enter safe mode, you need to restart the machine again. Click on the “” button on the next screen

After the restart, another menu will open - the last one. In it we have to choose one of three types of safe mode: simple or minimal (the minimum required set of system components will be loaded), with support for network drivers (allowing us to access the Internet) and command line (in the form of a command console interface without a graphical shell).

Each item is associated with a specific key. It should be pressed to move to the desired environment.

Special download options in the Settings app

The second method is no more difficult than the previous one. Just a little longer.

Go to Start and open the system utility " Options».

Click " Update and Security».

Go to the group " Recovery" and near the item " Special download options"In the right half of the window, click " Reboot now».

Windows will restart and your monitor will display the same blue background menu as shown above. You already know what to do next.

Configuring boot in the System Configuration application (MsConfig)

With the application " system configuration» many are familiar with previous releases of Windows. This is one of the administration components with which you can control your computer's startup. Including switching it to safe mode.

To quickly launch the utility, press the combination Windows + R on your keyboard or run the application “ Execute» from the Start menu. Enter the name of the application executable file in it - msconfig, and click OK.

" In the list " Boot Options"check the box next to " Safe Mode" and select the desired launch type with the switch - " Minimum" (simple), " Net"(with loading network drivers) or " Another shell"(interface in the form of a command console). Click OK.

In the window asking you to restart your PC now, click "".

After setting the “Safe Mode” flag in the MsConfig utility, the computer will start in it by default. To restore normal booting, you must uncheck the box.

Use this method only if you are sure that safe mode is working. Otherwise, you have every chance of getting an unbootable machine!

BootSafe program

B free program BootSafe created in order to make it as easy as possible for the user to switch between different Windows boot modes. It has only one window, 4 switches and a couple of buttons.

The switches are designed to set the boot type of the operating system. Including:

normal mode (normal startup);
safe mode minimal (minimum safe);
safe mode with networking (network);
safe mode width command prompt only.

Button " Configureonly" saves the setting for later startup of the computer, and " RestartWindows» – immediately reboots it into the selected mode.

Using BootSafe before you are sure that Safe Mode works has the same consequences as checking the box in Msconfig!

Command line

You can also switch between Windows 10 boot modes using the command line. This method will help you out not only if the graphical shell malfunctions, but also if the system does not start completely, since the command console is among the recovery environment tools.

We looked into the Windows 10 recovery environment when we opened Safe Mode by rebooting while holding down the Shift key. If you forgot what it looks like, scroll up this page.

So, to boot the machine in one of the safe mode options, enter the required instruction into the command line (run with administrative rights):

Minimal (simple) safe mode : bcdedit/set(current)safebootminimal
With network driver support: bcdedit/set(current)safebootnetwork
With the console interface: first the first command in this list, then - bcdedit/set(current)safebootalternateshellyes

To immediately restart your computer, in the same window, follow one more instruction - shutdown /r/t 0

As in previous cases, all 3 commands determine the default way to start Windows, that is, the system will boot in the specified mode constantly. To cancel the setting and return to normal boot, follow these instructions: bcdedit /deletevalue (current) safeboot.

If you switched to the command line interface, in addition run the command bcdedit/deletevalue(current)safebootalternateshell.

How to get back the menu of different boot options

If you want to regain the ability to quickly switch to safe mode by pressing F8 before the system starts, as was the case in Windows 7, follow the following instructions in the console:

bcdedit /set (default) bootmenupolicy legacy

The window for additional boot methods in Windows 10 will look the same as in the “seven”:

However, due to the fact that the startup time of the “ten” compared to the “seven” has noticeably decreased, it will be extremely difficult to catch this menu. After all, the period of time when the system responds to pressing F8 has also been reduced several times.

I don't know about you, but I don't really like this method. Modern computers with disks labeled according to the GPT standard boot in a matter of seconds. It is impossible to press any key on them before Windows starts, since it starts almost simultaneously with turning on the machine. In this case, there is another solution: we can make the menu open on its own and not close until you tell it what exactly you want to load.

To enable this option, you will need the command line again. Follow the instructions there:

bcdedit/set(globalsettings)advanced optionstrue and reboot.

Before each new start of Windows 10, you will see this picture:

However, this menu is already familiar to you. To enter normal mode, you will have to press Enter each time; to enter safe mode, press F4, F5 or F6.

Have you experimented? Did not like? Then we will return everything to its place. To mark the first command (black screen of additional launch options, as in Windows 7), follow these instructions:

bcdedit /set (default) bootmenupolicy standard

To check the second one (Windows 10 startup options on blue screen), run another one:

bcdedit/deletevalue (globalsettings) advancedoptions

After restarting the PC, no additional menus will open.

How to restore Windows 10 Safe Mode if it's not working

The reasons why a computer or laptop fails to boot into safe mode include various “tweaks” to speed up or decorate Windows, as well as user experiments with the system registry. It is in the registry that the keys responsible for launching the safe mode are located. Even their partial damage leads to the fact that the latter stops opening, while the normal one continues to work properly.

Safe mode keys are stored in the registry section HKLM/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/SafeBoot. This section consists of two subsections: Minimal And Network. I think you understand what each of them is responsible for. When you select the minimum (normal) secure mode, the system reads data from the first. When choosing the option to load network drivers, use the second option. An additional parameter, AlternateShell, is responsible for opening the command line interface instead of Explorer; Windows takes the rest from the Minimal section.

The fact that all safe mode parameters are stored in one place, and not scattered throughout the registry, allows them to be easily and quickly restored in case of damage. To do this, you will need a copy of them, made on another, working PC, running Windows 10 of any version.

How to get it:

Launch Registry Editor ( RegEdit.exe) in a “healthy” system. To do this, it is convenient to use the system application " Execute».

Find the branch mentioned above (HKLM/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/SafeBoot), right-click on the SafeBoot folder and select the command " Export».

Save the file under any name, without changing the extension that will be assigned to it by default (.reg), and then transfer it to the “sick” system.