Windows 10 is a great operating system with plenty of features. It comes with decent malware protection and has several security safeguards. However, the lack of sandboxing and abundant use of third-party programs make the OS vulnerable to unidentifiable attacks. In such cases, we have to use Safe mode on Windows 10 to inspect and cleanse our PC from harmful programs. If you are facing a similar situation and want to know how to start Windows 10 in Safe mode, you have come to the right place. Here, I have discussed everything from basics to advanced methods to boot Windows 10 in Safe mode. So without further ado, let’s get started.
In this article, we will learn how to start Windows 10 in Safe mode, for both functional and non-functional PCs. If your PC is booting fine then you can easily start Windows 10 in Safe mode. However, if Windows 10 is not booting at all and showing a blank screen then there are two neat ways to start the PC in Safe mode. You can jump through the section to find a desirable solution. Now having said that, let’s begin the guide for working PCs first.
If your PC is working fine and you want to start Windows 10 in Safe mode then follow the steps mentioned in this section. All four methods are pretty easy and straightforward so you will not have any issues booting Windows 10 into safe mode. With that being said, here we begin.
This is the easiest way to start Windows 10 in Safe mode. Just open the Power menu and press the “Shift” key while clicking on the “Restart” menu.
The PC will restart to “Choose an Option” screen. Here, click on the “Troubleshoot” menu.
Now, click on “Startup Settings”.
You can start Windows 10 in Safe mode through Advance Startup as well. Just press “Windows” and “I” keys at once to open the Windows Settings. Here, click on “Update and Security” menu.
3. Configure the Boot Menu
- You can configure the Boot menu to force Windows 10 to start in Safe mode. All you have to do is press “Windows” and “R” keys simultaneously to open the Run window. Here, type “msconfig” and hit enter.
In earlier versions of Windows, pressing the F8 key while booting Windows would open the startup menu. From there, you could easily boot into the Safe mode within seconds. It was the easiest and best way around to boot into the Safe mode. However, with the release of Windows 8 things changed and now the F8 key functionality has been deprecated. Nevertheless, there is a neat way to enable booting into Safe mode through the F8 key. It works just like before and it’s awesome. Here, I am going to show you how to get it back.
- In case, you want to revert the changes, open Command Prompt again and paste the following command. Now, hit enter and the F8 key functionality will be disabled.
If your PC is not booting and keeps throwing a blank screen then you will have to take another route to start Windows 10 in Safe mode. In some cases, rogue programs take over the crucial resources of the computer and impair the operating system from running properly. To disable these programs and services, you will have to boot into Safe mode through the Windows recovery environment. In this section, I am going to show you how you can start Windows 10 in Safe mode on non-functioning PCs.
Yes, you read that right. In order to trigger the Windows recovery environment(winRE), you must interrupt the normal boot process by turning off the PC and turning it on for three consecutive times. winRE automatically kicks in whenever it finds there is a problem with the startup process. Here, I will show you how to do it.
Again, turn on the computer and turn it off similar to the above step. Repeat the same steps one more time.
From here on, you can easily boot into the Safe mode. I have shown the complete steps with screenshots in the first section above so check that out. Anyway, you can follow this path to find the Safe mode option.
If the above method didn’t work or your PC is not even booting or showing any sign of life then follow this method. You will need a Windows 10 installation disc or a bootable thumb drive. If you have no idea how to create a bootable USB, follow our tutorial here. Having said that, let’s begin with the steps.
After that, an installer window will appear. Select your language, country, and keyboard layout and click on the “Next” button.
After that, close the Command Prompt window and go back to the “Choose an Option” screen. Here, click on “Continue” to start Windows 10 in Safe mode.
bcdedit /deletevalue {default} safeboot
