Two New Ways to Boot into Safe Mode in Windows 8

Sometimes, things just don’t work right and you need to boot into Safe Mode, where only a minimum of drivers and Windows components are loaded. A previous tip explained how to boot into safe mode for Windows XP/Vista/7 but Windows 8 has two new procedures. Here they are:

1. Use the Troubleshooting and Repair Feature to Boot into Safe Mode

You can access the boot menu with an option to open in Safe Mode this way:

Open the troubleshooting and repair feature that is described in this previous tip.  You can also see screenshots there of the  windows referred to below.

In the window titled “Choose an Option”, click “Troubleshoot”

Next click “Advanced Options”

In the Advanced Options window, click “Startup Settings”

In the “Startup Settings” window that opens, click the button “Restart”

The boot menu shown in the figure below will open.

Use the down arrow key to highlight “Safe Mode” and press the Enter key.

Windows will open in Safe Mode.

2. Bring Back the F8 Way to Boot into Safe Mode in Windows 8

If you try to use the old keyboard method of pressing F8 to boot into safe mode in Windows 8, you will find that it doesn’t work. Windows 8 has a new boot process designed for the BIOS replacement called UEFI.

 However, most current PCs are still using the old BIOS and if you want to restore the familiar way of booting to a black-and-white options menu that includes safe mode, you need to change a system setting.

The procedure is straightforward and is done by opening the command prompt with elevated privileges and then entering a single command.

Use the keyboard shortcut Winkey+X to open the Quick Access menu (shown in this previous tip)

In the Quick Access menu, select “Command Prompt (Admin)”

Say “Yes” to the UAC challenge

A command window will open

Enter this command:  bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy

Note that there are curly brackets around the parameter “default”, not the usual parentheses.

A message will appear “The operation completed successfully”. Now the method using the F8 key is supposed to work again.The figure below illustrates the command and the completion message.  To undo the change, enter the command:

        bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy standard

As is true for other versions of Windows, getting into Safe Mode with the F8 key can be tricky. You have to hit the key at just the right time. Try tapping the F8 key as soon as you see the blue Windows flag appear on the screen. Some recommend holding the key down. I include this procedure because you see it a lot on the web but, personally, I have pretty mixed results trying to get into Safe Mode with the F8 key. If you know a way to do it reliably, let us know in the comments.