On
How to Boot Windows 10 into Safe Mode: 5 Different Methods

Safe Mode is Windows' built-in troubleshooting feature that strips your system down to basics—disabling unnecessary drivers and software during startup. This isolation lets you identify and fix problems without interference from third-party applications. Let's walk through five different ways to enter Safe Mode on Windows 10, plus what to do if you get stuck.

Table of Contents

Method 1: System Configuration

The quickest approach for most users: Type msconfig into the Windows Start search bar and open the System Configuration utility. Navigate to the Boot tab and look for Boot Options. Check the Safe Boot checkbox—your system will enter Safe Mode the next time it restarts.

Using msconfig to enter Windows 10 Safe Mode
Using msconfig to enter Windows 10 Safe Mode

You'll notice several additional options available. Here's what each one does:

  • Minimal: Launches Safe Mode with the bare minimum drivers and services, but keeps the standard Windows graphical interface. This is your standard Safe Mode option.
  • Alternate Shell: Boots directly into Command Prompt without the Windows GUI. You'll need solid knowledge of command-line syntax and how to navigate without a mouse.
  • Active Directory Repair: Loads Safe Mode with access to machine-specific information like hardware profiles. If a failed hardware installation corrupted your Active Directory, this mode can help restore system stability by fixing or replacing corrupted data. Note: Active Directory is primarily used in enterprise environments, so you probably won't need this on a personal computer.
  • Network: Starts Safe Mode with networking drivers and services enabled, plus the standard Windows interface. Pick this if you need internet access while troubleshooting.

Select Minimal > Apply > OK. Windows will ask whether you want to restart immediately. Choose Restart if you're ready—just remember to save any open work first, as the restart happens right away.

Method 2: Advanced Startup

Another straightforward path: Search for advanced startup in the Start menu and select the matching result.

Windows 10 Advanced Startup option
Windows 10 Advanced Startup option
  1. In the results, find Advanced start-up and click Restart Now.
  2. Your computer reboots into recovery mode with three choices: Continue, Troubleshoot, or Turn Off Your PC.
  3. Click Troubleshoot > Advanced Options. More options appear.
  4. Select Start-up Settings > Restart. After rebooting, the Startup Settings menu will display—from here, select your Safe Mode variant.
Windows 10 Advanced Startup menu after restart
Windows 10 Advanced Startup menu after restart

Advanced Startup Shortcut

Why click through all those menus? Try this faster approach: Hold Shift and click Restart from the Power menu in Windows 10. This skips straight to recovery options, where you can navigate to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings.

Method 3: Press F8 During Boot

Before Windows 8 came along, pressing F8 during startup was the standard way into Safe Mode. The key would trigger a menu showing all your Safe Mode choices and other boot options.

Here's the catch: Windows 10 (and 11) disabled F8 by default to speed up boot times. But if you're willing to sacrifice a few seconds of startup speed, you can reactivate it through Command Prompt:

  1. Open Command Prompt with administrator privileges. Click Yes if User Account Control prompts you.
  2. Type (or copy/paste) this command:
    bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy
  3. To reverse this later, open Command Prompt as admin again and enter:
    bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy standard
Windows Command Prompt restoring Safe Mode option
Windows Command Prompt restoring Safe Mode option

The reverse command returns your boot process to normal—so you'll need to use one of the other methods to access Safe Mode again after running it.

Note: These steps also work on Windows 11!

Method 4: Access Safe Mode from Windows Recovery

Some computers get stuck on the Windows boot screen and won't load normally. If that's your situation, you can force Safe Mode by interrupting the boot process three times in a row (hold the power button for a few seconds each time). Windows will automatically trigger Recovery mode. When the recovery menu appears, follow these steps:

From the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings.

Windows Recovery Environment with Troubleshoot selected
Windows Recovery Environment with Troubleshoot selected

From Startup Settings, you can restart your computer in Safe Mode with or without internet access. Both options work fine depending on your needs.

Windows Recovery Environment with Startup Settings option
Windows Recovery Environment with Startup Settings option

Method 5: Use a Windows 10 Recovery Drive

If Safe Mode remains inaccessible through all other methods, your last resort is creating a recovery USB drive. This bootable drive contains the Windows 10 recovery environment—functionality that was once as simple as pressing F8, before Microsoft decided to retire it.

To build a recovery drive, you'll need either a Windows 10 or 11 machine and a USB stick with at least 1GB of storage. If you want to include a full system image (optional), you'll need minimum 16GB.

Go to Control Panel > Create a recovery drive and follow the wizard.

Once your recovery drive is ready, you'll need to enable USB boot in your system's UEFI or BIOS settings (access this during startup, usually by pressing Delete, F2, or F12 depending on your motherboard). Insert the drive and restart your computer—you may need to press a reset button or hold the power button for a few seconds.

What's interesting here is that a bootable Windows 10 or 11 installation media (created with the Windows Media Creation Tool) offers the same recovery capabilities as a dedicated recovery drive.

How to Exit Safe Mode

Once you've fixed what brought you to Safe Mode, getting back out is simple—but the method depends on how you got in:

  • If you entered via Method 1 (System Configuration), you must turn off the Safe Boot checkbox in the same window. Otherwise, Windows will keep booting into Safe Mode every time you restart.
  • If you entered via Method 2 (Advanced Startup) or Method 3 (F8), just shut down or restart your system normally to exit Safe Mode.

Always double-check System Configuration afterward if anything feels off. The real concern is accidentally leaving Safe Boot enabled and wondering why your system feels sluggish—it's an easy detail to miss.

You now have five solid methods to access Safe Mode on Windows 10. Start with the System Configuration approach for simplicity, then work your way through the other options if needed. And remember: recovery tools only help if you've set them up beforehand, so don't wait until disaster strikes to create that backup.

Good luck with your troubleshooting!

Related Articles