Safe Mode Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

How (and when) to boot Windows into ‘Safe Mode’

Posted on September 21, 2023

If you use a Windows PC there will likely come a time when you need to start up Windows in Safe Mode for trouble-shooting purposes.

Which brings up a question you might be asking…

What is Safe Mode?

When you boot up Windows into Safe Mode only the bare essentials of the operating system are loaded.

Only the system’s basic hardware drivers are loaded, and no programs listed in the Startup folder are allowed to load and run.

In a nutshell, Safe Mode makes it much easier to troubleshoot and fix software problems such as bad drivers, corrupted Windows files, really viruses and a lot more.

How to boot Windows into Safe Mode [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I stop Windows from repeatedly booting into Safe Mode?

Posted on December 24, 2022

Question from Jenna: I need your help, Rick.

I turned my computer on this morning and it booted up into Safe Mode instead of the normal mode.

I tried restarting the computer several times and it always boots into Safe Mode.

It’s an HP laptop with Windows 10. How can I make it boot up normally like it should? [Read more…]

Enable the F8 key for booting Windows 10/11 into Safe Mode

Posted on December 16, 2022

In Windows 7 (and earlier versions) we could easily boot our computers into Safe Mode by repeatedly pressing the F8 key when Windows first started loading.

Starting with Windows 8, Microsoft disabled that option in order to help speed up the boot process. Personally, I have never been very fond of that change.

If you miss being able to press F8 to boot into Safe Mode on your Windows 10/11 machine, you can easily enable it with a simple command line entry. [Read more…]

How (and when) to boot your Mac into Safe Mode

Posted on August 2, 2022

Safe Mode is a powerful tool that can help resolve software and hardware issues that are often difficult to identify while a full-blown Windows installation is running.

In a nutshell, booting a machine into Safe Mode typically loads only the operating system kernel plus just a few basic hardware device drivers.

This is basically a stripped down version of the operating system that isn’t affected by any auto-loading programs or advanced device drivers.

Windows users have been booting their PCs into Safe Mode to help them track down and solve system issues for years, but many Mac users don’t realize they can take advantage of Safe Mode as well.

As with Windows, it’s very easy to boot your Mac into Safe Mode. Just follow these simple steps: [Read more…]

How (and when) to boot your Android device into ‘Safe Mode’

Posted on June 19, 2022

If you’re a Windows or Mac user you probably know that restarting your computer in Safe Mode is a great way to troubleshoot software problems that are difficult to track down when everything but the kitchen sink is running on the machine.

In a nutshell, booting a device into Safe Mode ensures that only the most essential parts of the operating system and the most basic hardware drivers are loaded into memory to make it easier to track down those most stubborn issues.

Luckily, Android devices can be booted into Safe Mode as well. [Read more…]