Q: How Do I Boot to Safe Mode?

A: Safe mode is a special boot mode where drivers and startup programs are NOT loaded - it is just a very simple, basic boot of the minimal operating system.  This is useful when troubleshooting startup problems, and sometimes necessary to disable malware so it can be removed with an anti-malware scan.

The most common way to get to Safe Mode is to restart the computer and slowly tap the F8 key until you get to the Advanced Boot Options screen. At that point you can choose either Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking.  If you are trying to run an anti-malware scan, choose the latter, you can download the latest definitions before you kick off a scan.

An alternate method to choosing Safe Mode is through the use of BCDEdit.  This saves you all the F8 tapping (and the occasional frustration of somehow not tapping F8 at the right time and booting all the way back up to normal mode accidentally.)  To use BCDEdit, you need an elevated command prompt, so click Start->All Programs->Accessories-> then RIGHT-click "Command Prompt" and choose "Run as Administrator".

Once in the command prompt, you can use these commands to choose the boot mode on the next restart.  Once you change the selected boot mode, it will stay that way for all subsequent boots, so be sure to set it back to normal when you are done working in safe mode!

bcdedit /set safeboot minimal   (Will choose Safe Mode)

bcdedit /set safeboot network   (Will choose Safe Mode with Networking)

bcdedit /deletevalue safeboot   (Will set it back to normal boot)

After you set the mode, just type:

shutdown -r -t 00 -f    (Immediate restart, forcing all apps to close.)

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