How to Boot into Safe Mode Windows 10
If you have been encountering problems with your Windows 10 computer, one way of solving the issue is to boot to safe mode. This article looks at how to enter safe mode in Windows 10. You may wish to do so if your computer is stuck or has begun to slow down. Safe mode allows you to diagnose and resolves issues on your PC. So, how do you boot into Safe mode in Windows 10? First, let us take a look at what Safe Mode is;
What is Safe Mode?
Safe Mode is a diagnostic mode in Windows, under which only the barest minimum of programs are launched. It’s essentially a stripped down version of the Windows Operation System. Omitting most of the programs at boot has the effect of disabling software that may be causing problems on your PC. In my case, Safe Mode meant that the WiFi drivers that were causing the crash were not loaded at startup, which allowed me to get into Device Manager and disable them.
Windows 10 Restart in Safe Mode from the Login Screen
In order to restart Windows 10 in safe mode, all that you need to do is the following;
- Turn off your computer.
- Press the power button on your PC and wait till Windows gets to the login screen
- Now, press the Shift button, while clicking on the Power button on your screen (not the physical button, but the one that appears on your screen towards the bottom right corner).
- You computer will now restart. Click on Troubleshoot in the options that appear.
- In the next screen, choose Advanced Options.
- Choose Startup Settings in the next screen.
- You will now need to choose the “Restart” button to get to the Startup Settings screen.
- In Startup Settings, choose “Enable Safe Mode.” You do this by pressing either on the 4 or on the F4 buttons.
That’s it. That’s all that you need to do to enable Windows 10 to boot into Safe Mode. Your computer will now reboot into Safe Mode, and you will now have the chance to diagnose whatever it is that is causing the problem.
What if your computer is not getting to the login Screen?
If your computer is failing to properly load Windows and its not getting to the boot screen, then you may be truly and well in trouble. The method that’s outlined above assumes that you are able to get to the login screen. However, and this was the case in my case, your problem may be that your PC is getting stuck somewhere before reaching the login screen.
Press Escape for Startup Menu
The fortunate part for me was that my computer was showing a message at the bottom prompting me to press the Escape button in order to get to the Startup Menu. This message does not always appear, as I have discovered. Anyway, after quickly pressing on the “Escape,” button on my keyboard, I was taken to the Startup Menu, where I chose F11, which is the “System Recovery,” option. From there, I was able to follow the steps that are outlined above to reboot into Safe Mode on my Windows 10 computer. That’s it. Now you know how to Start your Computer in Safe Mode. Hope this little bit of advice helps you.