Thanks to this mode, where the minimum necessary for the operating system to work is loaded, we can find out if the operating problems that our equipment is experiencing, such as the blue screen, is a problem that is related to the equipment’s drivers or if it is a hardware problem, that is, the component that we have connected to our device, either directly to the board or through a USB connection.
When to use this Safe Mode and what can we do
Since this mode is very limited it is not something we can use every day. The main purpose of this boot mode is help us when we have problems in the operating system. Generally serious problems that prevent us from performing other tasks from Windows (such as uninstalling a program) or that directly prevent Windows from starting (for example, with a blue screen or a black screen).
Once inside this mode, what we can basically do is uninstall programs, uninstall drivers either apply certain settings in the system. We can also, for example, delete windows updates that are giving us problems or restore system to an earlier point. If we choose the Safe Mode option with Internet access, we can browse the net to find tools that can help us or solutions to our problems.
Of course, this mode is very useful for remove malware. Since viruses do not run at startup in this way, we can use a portable antivirus to detect and remove it. And, in addition, we will be able to deactivate all the persistence functions that the malware may have so that, when it returns to normal mode, it does not regenerate.
Generally, this minimal boot mode will ignore the culprit that causes these programs and will allow us to carry out a small desk. In addition, we can log in with the Administrator account to be able to perform all kinds of actions in the system without permission problems.
Safe Mode Limitations
If this mode is failsafe, why don’t we always use it? The answer is as simple as that this mode works because it is so limited that it leaves no room for errors. When we load Windows in this mode we are making the PC only load the essentials to be able to function. That is, it loads the system kernel, generic drivers signed by Microsoft, and literally nothing else. No programs. No third-party drivers… even, unless we select it, we won’t even have Internet.
Therefore, most programs cannot function properly in this mode. It is even possible that we cannot even install other programs from this mode because the processes necessary for the installers to work cannot be found.
Safe mode should be used for only two things, either to try to repair errors that may have occurred, or to make a copy of our data before completely formatting and reinstalling the operating system. Nothing else. It is not a mode that we can (and should not) use often, since the limitations it imposes on us are much worse than the advantages it brings us.
Windows advanced startup
To enter Windows safe mode, what we must do is enter the advanced startup options of the operating system. This can be done in several ways, which we will detail below. But once inside, what we will see will be a screen, like the following, from which we will have to choose the option “solve problems«.
Once inside this option, we can see two new ones. What interests us is Advanced Options. We click on it to see all the recovery options that our Windows PC offers us.
Here we can see a series of functions and tools that Windows Recovery offers us to detect and solve problems. To enter Safe Mode, what we must do is select the option of startup settings.
Immediately afterwards we will be able to see a new screen with all the options that Windows will offer us to configure the start. We don’t have to choose anything (yet). Just click on the little button “Restart”.
The PC will restart and now we can see the different boot options Windows offers us:
- Enable debugging.
- Enable boot logging.
- Enable low resolution video.
- Enable safe mode.
- Enable safe mode with networking.
- Enable safe mode with command prompt.
- Disable the enforced use of signed drivers.
- Disable early launch antimalware protection.
- Disable automatic restart on error.
Each of these options has its own number. Using the numeric keyboard, or the F keys, we must select the option that interests us. The important modes are 4 (normal safe mode, no Internet) and 5 (Windows safe mode with networking). 6 can also help us, but we will only have a CMD terminal, we will not be able to use the desktop.
We choose the option that interests us (5, in our case) and Windows will start to boot in this mode.
Open Windows 10 Advanced Startup
In order to get to the advanced start of Windows that we have just seen in the previous point, we can do it in several different ways.
From Windows Settings
The standard way to open Windows Advanced Startup is to do it from the Startup menu. Setting of the operating system. To do this, what we must do is press the keyboard shortcut Windows + I, to open the Configuration window, and in it we will move to the section Update and security > Recovery > Advanced startup.
By clicking on “Restart now”, Windows will open the advanced startup of the system, and we will only have to follow the steps described above.
Shift + restart
Another way to restart the computer in this mode, if we are already directly in Windows, is by forcing the advanced boot options of the operating system. To do this, all we have to do is hold down the Shift key on our keyboard while we choose the option restart in the Windows start menu.
At this point we can see the safe start of Windows. We simply have to follow the steps that we have seen in the previous points to indicate to the system that we want to boot in this mode.
With black or white screen
In addition to the two previous methods, methods that we can use if we do not have any problem with the computer, we also have another method to access safe mode in Windows 10, a method that we must use when the computer starts up. shows a screen in black or white, without leaving there.
If the hard drive of our PC stops reading and a black or white screen is displayed, to access safe mode, the first thing we must do is turn off the equipment by pressing the power button for 10 seconds and wait until it turns off completely. Next, click on the start button again and, when it is displayed the manufacturer’s logo from the computer (laptops) or the motherboard (on desktop computers), hold down the power button again for 10 seconds to turn the computer off again.
Click again on the power button of the equipment and when it is starting, we press the Windows start button for 10 seconds until it turns off. Finally, with the equipment already turned off, we press the power button once and wait for the recovery screen to appear. When Windows detects that your PC is having trouble starting, it will automatically display the Windows 10 recovery screen.
How to get to Safe Mode in Windows 11
In case we are using Windows 11, the process to get to this Safe Mode is very similar to that of Windows 10, although the process may vary given the new menus and sections of this operating system.
from settings
The first thing we are going to see is how to enter this mode from the operating system configuration menu. To do this, the first thing we must do is open the Configuration menu of the operating system with the keyboard shortcut Windows + I, and we will move to the System> Recovery section. There we will see an option called “Advanced Startup”. We click on the “Restart now” button that appears next to it to enter the recovery options menu that we saw at the beginning of the article.
Shift + Restart
The other way to enter this safe mode is using the same keyboard shortcut that we saw in Windows 10. That is, by holding down the Shift key on the keyboard while clicking on the “Restart” option from the Windows start menu. We open the menu, keep the key pressed, and click on this option.
We keep the key pressed while the computer restarts until we can see a screen with the Windows 11 logo and a message that says “Wait.” We can now let go, and in a few seconds we will be able to see the advanced start screen of the system that we talked about at the beginning.
Won’t go past black or white screen
Windows 11, like Windows 10, also offers us a method to access the Windows recovery screen to access safe mode or any other change in the system when the computer does not just jump to the start screen, staying in black or white. The method to access the Windows 11 recovery screen is exactly the same as in Windows 10, the first thing to do is to hold down the power button for 10 seconds until it turns off completely.
Next, we press the power button and wait for the logo of the manufacturer’s plate or the laptop to be displayed. Right at that moment, we hold down the power button for 10 seconds until it turns off completely. Next, we press the power button again and when the equipment begins to start, we press the power button again for 10 seconds to proceed to turn it off.
Once we have forced the computer to shut down, the next time we start the computer, it will show us the Windows recovery screen from where we can access safe mode.
Other ways to get to Safe Mode
Apart from the above methods, there are other ways to force this safe mode. These are very useful in case, for example, our PC does not start for some reason. Let’s go see them.
If Windows won’t boot…
If for some reason Windows won’t boot, the operating system will automatically display advanced startup options after 3 failed starts. Either because the computer restarts, or because of a screenshot, we will automatically be able to see this boot mode the third time you try to boot the system. We can even force it ourselves by turning off the PC while Windows is loading using the Power button or the restart button.
Likewise, after these failed starts, we can see the advanced start of Windows. We must follow the above steps to enable safe mode at the next system reboot.
Using MSConfig
Yeah…
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