How to boot Windows 8 into safe mode

Windows 8 brought with it many new features and made it easier to use, but unfortunately made the process of booting into the all important safe mode more difficult.

Safe mode is the handy minimal boot mode of Windows in which only the most basic drivers and services are loaded so that problems caused by external agents can be fixed.

Unlike the previous editions of Windows where you could simply hit F8 during boot to get the safe mode menu, Windows 8 requires a little bit more effort. You can start Windows 8 safe mode in 3 different ways, read on to see what they are!

Method 1:

This method is for users who can access their desktop but want to boot into safe mode for a little tinkering around. Here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Go to Start > Run or right click the bottom left corner in Windows 8 and select Run or press Windows-Key + R.

Step 2: Type “msconfig” Without the quotes!

Step 3: Go to the Boot tab, select “Safe Mode” and restart your PC.

Now your computer will boot up into safe mode by default, so when you want to get back to regular boot, follow the same procedure and uncheck the Safe Mode option.

Method 2:

The second way is simpler and in fact better when you just need to boot into safe mode once, or also access advanced troubleshooting options.

Step 1: Right click your profile picture in the Start menu on the top right and select either Lock or Sign Out.

Step 2: On the user selection screen, click the Power icon on the bottom right.

Step 3: Now, hold shift and right click restart to boot into the Advanced Options menu like the one below where you can choose to boot into Safe Mode under Troubleshoot > Advanced Options and then Windows Startup Settings.

Win8 Advanced Options

Method 3:

The third method is basically two way. When Windows 8 detects that there’s a problem with booting, it automatically goes into the same Advanced Options menu as the method above. You can choose Safe Mode from here in the same way. If that isn’t working, you can also insert a Windows 8 installation disk, boot from it and again access the same menu above.

I do hope you find these methods handy and helpful whenever you need to boot your windows 8 to safe mode.

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