The so-called Safe Mode or Safe Mode, which is used to start the system in the presence of critical problems, is available in any version of the operating system family Windows. But sometimes you can meet completely unusual situations when safe mode does not start. What to do in this case, many simply do not know, and for some reason most begin to immediately reinstall the operating system. I must say that this is far from the most correct and reasonable solution, since it is quite simple to eliminate problems of this type, if only violations in the operation of the OS or computer hardware have not reached a peak level at which only the most drastic measures can help. And before we figure out why safe mode does not start, let's decide what it is, what it is for, and what factors may imply the inability to use it.
What is safe mode and what is it for?
The safe start mode itself, according to Windows developers, is a kind of selective type of operating system startup, in which only its most necessary components are loaded, and only those that can ensure computer performance at a minimum, but at the same time allow you to use the basic OS tools to eliminate possible problems. Indeed, many people know that during normal boot of the system, along with its main components, a huge number of additional services and processes will start, including driver control programs that ensure the correct functioning of absolutely all hardware and some virtual devices. Thus, if a failure occurs in a process that appears on the entire OS as a whole, it can be eliminated just by loading the minimum configuration.
The standard safe start call in Windows version 7 and below
Quite often, novice users complain that in the same Windows 7 safe mode does not start using the standard method, although they seem to follow the instructions exactly and press the F8 key at the beginning of the download. Here the problem is that a one-time press does not always work (sometimes you need to press a key several times).
In addition, many people miss the very moment the download starts or try to use the keystroke too early. But this is the simplest thing that can be.
In principle, if the system starts without problems in normal mode, you can start the reboot with a safe start directly through its configuration settings (msconfig), where on the boot tab you just need to tick the corresponding item, save the changes, and restart. Please note that when this item is activated, the download will be constantly performed in Safe Mode, therefore, if it starts working normally, its use will need to be disabled when you re-enter the configurator settings.
Note: if several OSs are installed on the computer, the point of using a restart with a safe start will need to be marked for each of them.
Why does safe mode not start in Windows 10?
The above solution is relevant for all systems, including the tenth modification. But after all, many complain that safe mode does not start through F8. Why is that? Yes, only because he should not start with this method, since the call to the boot menu using this key in the "top ten" is disabled initially. Access to this launch option (it is not known why) was changed and became extremely difficult for an unprepared user. To use it, you need to use completely different loading methods, and often even go through many different menus.
How to load the "top ten" in Safe Mode: first ways
Now let's see what can be done if Windows 10 in safe mode with F8 does not start. One of the options for its activation, provided for in this modification of the system, is to use the new settings menu, called through the start button, in which the update and security section is selected.
On the left, the restore item is used in the menu, and in the window on the right - the special boot options item. After confirming the immediate restart, a slightly changed menu will appear on the screen, in which you can select the desired boot mode.
Windows 10 Safe Start: Method Two
At the same time, one more method can be called simple and rather complicated. Assume that the above methods (although this is unlikely), Windows Safe Mode does not start. In this case, you can get to his section of his choice through the transitions on several menus.
First, use the reset item from the start menu with the Shift key held down, and then go to the boot options section through the diagnostics menu and additional options, where the desired item is selected, after which a complete restart is confirmed.
Note: exactly the same sequence can be applied when starting from removable media, when not only normal start, but even safe mode does not start when you try to boot Windows from the hard drive.
How to return the use of the F8 key in the tenth modification of the system?
Despite the fact that standard access to the boot menu is not provided in Windows 10, returning to using the F8 key to call it can be quite simple. If the system boots in normal mode without any problems, you need to run the command console (with administrator privileges) and execute the command to activate the standard boot mode in it by changing the policy for invoking the corresponding menu (bcdedit / set {current} bootmenupolicy legacy).
When restarting, the standard method can be used again. By the way, the same applies to the execution of the corresponding command when booting from removable media, but the command line in this case is called by Shift + F10 or by jumping to the desired item from the many additional sections.
Why does Windows not start in safe mode?
Finally, let us leave the standard methods for invoking the boot menu alone and see what problems may be associated with which make it impossible to use a safe start as such. We will assume that safe mode in Windows 7 does not start at all (despite the fact that it seems to be possible to use it). Most often, such problems are associated with failures in the hardware or software of a computer system. In terms of hardware, this may be a malfunction in the hard drive, but in the sense of software components - damage to system files and the effects of viruses.
Troubleshoot hard drives
So, if Windows 7 does not start in safe mode, first of all, pay attention to the status of the hard drive. First, make sure that it is defined in the parameters of the primary BIOS I / O or UEFI. If this is all right, try loading the system in normal mode and check the hard drive for errors. Using a standard tool is not recommended. It is better to use the command line and tools toolkit CHKDSK. By and large, the system partition may not be able to check. In this case, it will be offered to check at the next boot. But such a technique does not guarantee the complete elimination of possible failures. The optimal option, as it is believed, will be booting from removable media, invoking the command console and launching a verification tool with a letter for each partition (for example, chkdsk c: / x / f / r).
System Restore
It also happens that if safe mode does not start, the sudden crashes and malfunctions can be eliminated by rolling the system back to an earlier state, in which everything worked. In the case of booting in normal mode, you can use the special section "Control panels".
To simplify the actions, it is better to call the Run console (Win + R) and set the rollback command in it (rstrui), and then select the desired restore point.
Similarly, you can restore the OS from a removable media with the installation distribution. A simpler (but considered barbaric) action to start automatic rollback is to force shutdown by long pressing the power button and then starting (this procedure is performed several times in a row).
Checking system files
If safe mode does not start even after that, it may well be that some important system files are corrupted. Accordingly, it is necessary to check their integrity and, if possible, restore (meaning loader components). To do this in a non-working system, as is already clear, is impossible to do. Therefore, you will again have to use a removable disk or flash drive with an installation distribution kit or special recovery media, and then call the command line and run the sfc / scannow command in it.
If there is no result, to restore the download, you can specify the first two commands of the Bootrec.exe tool shown in the image above. If such actions do not give a result, it will be necessary to completely rewrite the bootloader by specifying another (third) command for execution.
Viral exposure issues
Finally, if safe mode does not start due to virus exposure, all the previous methods for restoring the operating system may just not make sense, since in most cases, even when recovering, files may become infected again.
In this case, it is advisable to use not even portable scanners (it is impossible to boot the system), but special disk programs that have their own bootloaders (for example, Kaspersky Rescue Disk or similar). But after removing the threats and disinfecting the objects, you can just use the means of restoring system components.
Special abilities
It remains to say that if none of the above proposed methods gave a result, you can use the AVZ utility. Despite the fact that it is supposedly an antivirus, the program has many additional features, including tools to fix problems with launching and using a safe start. If the application is included in some kind of disk like LiveCD, even better. It can be launched directly from removable media. If you want to add the program even to the distribution of the system, you can do it yourself, using for this application like Actual Installer or similar utilities that allow you to create your own installation kits with the integration of any components into them. But to create the bootable media it is easiest to use the small Rufus program, which is by far the easiest, despite its English-language interface.
What if nothing helps?
Finally, if after that neither normal boot nor calling any of the safe start options work, it remains only to reinstall the operating system, and with full formatting of the system partition, since a new copy can inherit the errors of the old OS, and the problem with starting will manifest itself again. Please note that some specific laptop models may contain built-in additional menus through which you can return the device to its original state, including the operating system pre-installed on it. In this case, user actions are simplified even further. The only thing you should pay attention to when performing a reset is the safety of user files (they can either be pre-copied to another location or rolled back with saving data, if required by the settings). But, in theory, things usually don’t reach such drastic measures, and at least one of the methods described above will give a result.