How to get into Windows safe mode

Sometimes, we can’t install the wireless/network adapters successfully due to some software installed or some programs running on the computer. Safe mode starts Windows with a limited set of files and drivers. Startup programs don't run in safe mode, and only the basic drivers needed to start Windows are installed, which means Safe mode is helpful to install the wireless/network adapters.

There are two ways to get into Windows Safe Mode.

Method One (Recommended)

For Windows 10

Step 1: On the sign-in screen, hold the Shift key down while you select Power > Restart (in the lower-right corner of the screen).

Step 2: After your PC restarts to the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.

Step 3: Press F4 or 4 in keyboard, start windows in safe mode.

For Windows 8/8.1

Step 1: When the computer is booting, pressing and holding the Shift key, and tap the F8 key repeatedly until the Recovery screen appears.

Step 2: Click the See advanced repair options on the Recovery screen.

Step 3: On the "Choose an option" screen, click the Troubleshoot option.

Step 4: On the "Troubleshoot" screen, click the Advanced options option.

Step 5: On the "Advanced options" screen, click the Windows Startup Settings option.

Step 6: On the "Windows Start Settings" screen, click the Restart option.

Note: If you have trouble getting to the Recovery screen in step 1 above, you may have to try it several times, with several reboots of your computer.

Step7: When the computer restarts, you should see the standard "Choose Advanced Options" screen, similar to the example below. Use your arrow keys  to navigate to "Safe Mode" and press your Enter key.

For Windows 7/Windows Vista/Windows XP/Windows 2000

Step 1: When the computer is booting, pressing and holding your "F8 Key", which should bring up the "Choose Advanced Options"/ "Windows Advanced Options Menu" screen as shown below.

Step2: Use your arrow keys  to navigate to "Safe Mode" and press your Enter key.

Note: With some computers, if you press and hold a key as the computer is booting, you will get a stuck key message. If this occurs, instead of pressing and holding the "F8 key", tap the "F8 key" continuously until you get the startup menu.

Method Two

For Windows 10

Step1: Press the Windows key and the I key together to access the "Windows Setting" option.

Step2: Select “Update & Security”.

Step3: Select “Recovery” and under “Advanced startup” select “Restart now”.

Step4: Refer to the step 2 to step 3 of method one.

For Windows vista/7/8/8.1

Step1: Press the Windows key and the R key together to access the "Run" option.

Step2: Type msconfig in the "Open" field.

Step3: In the "System Configuration" window, click on the Boot tab.

Step4: On the bottom left, in the "Boot options" section, check the box for Safe boot.

Step5: Select the Minimal option and click the OK button.

Step6: Restart the computer, and it should load into Safe Mode automatically.

For Windows XP

Step1: Press the Windows key and the R key together to access the "Run" option.

Step2: Type msconfig in the "Open" field.

Step3: In the "System Configuration Utility" window, click on the BOOT.INI.

Step4: On the bottom left, in the "Boot options" section, check the box for SAFEBOOT.

Step5: Select the MININAL option and click the OK button.

Now, your computer is in safe mode!

Please try to finish the configurations that need to be done on Windows safe mode.

How do I get out of safe mode?

If you get into safe mode with Method One, please click Start, Shutdown, and restart the computer. This will start the computer automatically back into Normal Mode.

If you get into safe mode with Method Two, please follow the same steps once in Safe Mode and uncheck the Safe boot option. Otherwise, your computer will continue to automatically boot into Safe Mode each time you restart the computer.

If you are unable to go to the safe mode, please refer the following link to get more instruction:

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000750.htm