There have been cases when when you press a key F8 or Shift+F8 there was no transition to . New operating systems, especially on more expensive computers, began to load almost instantly and users simply did not have time to press the button.

What to do in this case? There are 5 ways in which we will try to enter Safe Mode without pressing any keys in Windows 8.

Msconfig.exe – system configuration

To enter Safe Mode, we will use the system configuration. We can launch the utility as follows: press the key combination WIN+R and in the window that appears, enter msconfig.

Go to the download tab and there, in the download options, select safe mode. Click OK.

The next time you start, Windows will go into safe mode.

Keyboard shortcut Shift+Restart

In order to do this, you need to move the mouse cursor to the lower right corner so that various settings appear. Click on the very last icon - parameters.

Now press and hold the key shift and click Reboot at the same time.

A window will appear where you need to select an option Diagnostics.


After, boot options.

There we will see a window where we need to select an option that will be enabled after windows starts. Choose enable safe mode.

The computer will reboot and 9 options will appear, 3 of which are safe modes. To select any option, you need to press the F1, F2, etc. keys. For example, you need to select - enable safe mode, then press the F4 key.

Safe Mode Using USB for System Recovery

In Windows 8 and 8.1, you can create a system restore disk, with which we can enter safe mode. We boot from a USB flash drive, or from the disk where you have Windows. Next, a window should appear windows installations. Below we should see the system recovery. Now, follow the instructions from the previous tip.

Using Hot Keys

In general, this is the method when you need to use F8 and other combinations. There is one catch, with and SSD drives This advice doesn't work. Therefore, it is often impossible to enter safe mode using this method.

If you can start safe mode using F8 or Shift + F8, then proceed as in the method №2 .

These are the methods for entering safe mode that exist in Windows 8 and 8.1.

In past OS releases, entering safe mode was quite easy. You just had to press f8 during loading, and in the menu that opened you had to select the desired item. In the eight, this may be difficult; this article will describe several ways to get into desired mode.

With this type of OS startup, only the most basic utilities and services necessary for operation are loaded. At the same time it is convenient carry out diagnostics systems and fix problems. Here you can edit the registry and remove viruses even when they interfere with the normal operation of the OS.

Standard way to enter safe mode

In this case, you need to click the keyboard shortcut Shift+F8 immediately after starting the PC. If the plan was successful, a window for selecting actions will open. You need to click on it diagnostics, then go to boot options and restart the device.

After this, upon startup, the user will be asked to select which option he would like to launch.

Nothing new has appeared here; you should decide on your preferences and click the button.

Login while the system is running

If the OS starts, then entering the desired mode is not difficult. You need to go to the utility " Execute" and enter there msconfig. In the window that opens, you should set the download parameters to the same as in the image.

Or you need to go to Charms, go to parameters, then go to edit computer parameters, then just click on General, and then go to . Here the device should be restarted using a special key.

How to enter safe mode if Windows 8 does not work

However, few people need this type of launch when everything works well. If the first option from this article did not work, then you will need boot drive to start. There you will need to wait for it to load and go to system recovery, after which you can launch the command line. It is worth entering the operator bcdedit /set (current) safeboot minimal, and then restart the device.

There is also an option with emergency shutdown of the device. You can unplug it from the socket or turn it off using the button. With this method of disabling, a menu with boot options should appear, but you should not use this method too often, it is not very useful for the computer.

Disclaimer: this article was published on our website two years ago. However, the methods described in it then partially stopped working. At the moment, the article has been updated and relevant, everything written below has been tested on Windows 8.1 Updated.

I'll tell you about three ways How to boot into safe mode:

  1. Using the system shutdown menu - works when the system boots at least to the user selection screen;
  2. Through the msconfig utility - it works only if it is possible to run it;
  3. Using a system recovery disk is a more labor-intensive method and will help those whose G8 does not boot.

1. Boot into safe mode by shutting down the system

This is the easiest and fastest option. It works regardless of whether the user is logged in account or not. Hover your mouse over the system shutdown menu, and while holding the Shift key, select “Reboot.”

After a short wait, the system recovery menu will open. An alternative way to launch this menu is to enter command line commands:

Here we are interested in the “Diagnostics” section. We follow the path “Diagnostics” - “ Additional options" - "Download options".

At the exit we will be greeted by a boot parameters window with detailed description what we get after restarting Windows.

Click “Restart” and select the key corresponding to the desired one from the proposed parameters:

  • F4 - to start safe mode;
  • F5 - to start safe mode with boot network drivers;
  • F6 - similar, only with command line support.

As a result, Windows 8.1 will boot into safe mode.

To return to normal mode Windows operation, just reboot the system.

2. Entering safe mode through the system configuration utility

You can get into safe mode in another way, which requires logging into your Windows 8 account. To launch configuration settings, open the search, enter and run the utility.

Switch to the “Boot” tab and check the box next to Safe Mode.

You can also select the type of safe mode:

  • Minimal is normal safe mode;
  • The other shell is safe mode with command line support;
  • Network is a safe mode that loads network drivers.

After selecting the desired download option, click Ok and restart your computer. As a result, it will automatically boot into Safe Mode.

If you restart your computer again, it will go into safe mode again, and it will stay that way forever. To return to normal loading system, open msconfig and uncheck the box, click Ok, and reboot the system.

3. Using a recovery disk

The two methods shown above allow you to start safe mode while the system is running. But what to do if Windows 8 does not load at all and the Shift+F8 key combination does not work? In this case, you will need a recovery disk, which you, as a prepared user, created in advance. No? Then you need to create it and act according to the scheme described below.

Disk is being created Windows recovery 8 is very simple - the standard package of the 8 includes a creation utility. We launch it and act as directed by the program, everything is very simple and intuitive (the process of creating a bootable flash drive can be seen in the video at the end of the article). The only requirement for the disk/flash drive is that the media must hold at least 256 MB of data.

So you have a recovery disk. You need to boot from it and select one of the proposed keyboard layouts. After this, follow the path “Diagnostics” - “Advanced options” - “Command line” (you will not see a direct link to boot the system in safe mode).

Select the command line and enter:

bcdedit /set (globalsettings) advancedoptions true

After receiving a message about a successful operation, close the command line and select “Continue”.

The long-awaited menu appears before us.

We select what we need and load.

There is one point: after the steps described above, Windows 8 will always offer this menu when booting. To return to normal boot mode, enter the following command on the command line:

bcdedit /deletevalue (globalsettings) advancedoptions

We looked at three ways to launch the command line under Windows 8.1. I hope that they will help you bring a crashed system back to life or troubleshoot problems that have arisen.

Finally, a video that shows everything that is written in this article, only more briefly.

Subscribe to our channel on Youtube. See you!

Disclaimer: this article was published on our website two years ago. However, the methods described in it then partially stopped working. At the moment, the article has been updated and relevant, everything written below has been tested on Windows 8.1 Updated.

I’ll tell you about three ways to boot into safe mode:

  1. Using the system shutdown menu - works when the system boots at least to the user selection screen;
  2. Through the msconfig utility - it works only if it is possible to run it;
  3. Using a system recovery disk is a more labor-intensive method and will help those whose G8 does not boot.

1. Boot into safe mode by shutting down the system

This is the easiest and fastest option. It works regardless of whether the user is logged into their account or not. Hover your mouse over the system shutdown menu, and while holding the Shift key, select “Reboot.”

After a short wait, the system recovery menu will open. An alternative way to launch this menu is to type the following command on the command line:

Here we are interested in the “Diagnostics” section. We go along the path “Diagnostics” - “Advanced options” - “Boot options”.

At the exit, we will be greeted by a boot options window with a detailed description of what we will get after restarting Windows.

Click “Restart” and select the key corresponding to the desired one from the proposed parameters:

  • F4 - to start safe mode;
  • F5 - to start safe mode with loading network drivers;
  • F6 - similar, only with command line support.

As a result, Windows 8.1 will boot into safe mode.

To return to normal Windows operation, simply reboot the system.

2. Entering safe mode through the system configuration utility

You can get into safe mode in another way, which requires logging into your Windows 8 account. To launch configuration settings, open the search, enter and run the utility.

Switch to the “Boot” tab and check the box next to Safe Mode.

You can also select the type of safe mode:

  • Minimal is normal safe mode;
  • The other shell is safe mode with command line support;
  • Network is a safe mode that loads network drivers.

After selecting the desired download option, click Ok and restart your computer. As a result, it will automatically boot into Safe Mode.

If you restart your computer again, it will go into safe mode again, and it will stay that way forever. To return to normal system boot, open msconfig and uncheck the box, click Ok, and reboot the system.

3. Using a recovery disk

The two methods shown above allow you to start safe mode while the system is running. But what to do if Windows 8 does not load at all and the Shift+F8 key combination does not work? In this case, you will need a recovery disk, which you, as a prepared user, created in advance. No? Then you need to create it and act according to the scheme described below.

Creating a Windows 8 recovery disk is very simple - the standard package of the "eight" includes a creation utility. We launch it and act as directed by the program, everything is very simple and intuitive (the process of creating a bootable flash drive can be seen in the video at the end of the article). The only requirement for the disk/flash drive is that the media must hold at least 256 MB of data.

So you have a recovery disk. You need to boot from it and select one of the proposed keyboard layouts. After this, follow the path “Diagnostics” - “Advanced options” - “Command line” (you will not see a direct link to boot the system in safe mode).

Select the command line and enter:

bcdedit /set (globalsettings) advancedoptions true

After receiving a message about a successful operation, close the command line and select “Continue”.

The long-awaited menu appears before us.

We select what we need and load.

There is one point: after the steps described above, Windows 8 will always offer this menu when booting. To return to normal boot mode, enter the following command on the command line:

bcdedit /deletevalue (globalsettings) advancedoptions

We looked at three ways to launch the command line under Windows 8.1. I hope that they will help you bring a crashed system back to life or troubleshoot problems that have arisen.

Finally, a video that shows everything that is written in this article, only more briefly.

Subscribe to our channel on Youtube. See you!

What is Safe Startup Mode on Windows 8 and 8.1?

In Safe Mode Windows startup performed using a limited set of files and drivers.

Safe Mode bypasses startup programs and installs only the basic set of drivers needed to run Windows

And also for competently troubleshooting various problems that may arise when operating a computer.

Such as those caused by programs and drivers that may not load correctly or prevent Windows from starting correctly.

If these problems do not occur when booting in safe mode, then from the list possible reasons You can exclude default settings and a basic set of device drivers.

in Windows 8, safe mode is launched quite specifically, which can confuse inexperienced users, who are just recently familiar with the eight.

That is why we decided to tell you how to enter Windows 8 safe mode in various ways.

You can enter Safe Mode in Windows 8:

Using the F8 key (or Shift+F8)
By setting boot options in the system configuration when the OS is running
By changing the computer shutdown settings when the OS is running
Using bootable USB flash drive with Windows 8
Using boot disk with Windows 8

As you can see, there are many ways and one of them will probably suit you.

Using the F8 key, you can very quickly enter safe mode on Windows 8. The disadvantages of this well-known method include the sad fact that it simply does not work on some computers.

So, after turning on or restarting the computer, press the key combination “Shift+F8” several times. This will open a menu known to everyone, in which, using the arrows on the keyboard, you need to select the item “ Safe Mode».

This convenient and familiar method doesn't work for everyone, but there is one trick that can fix it.

With the OS running, use the keyboard to press the key combination “Win+X” and in the window that appears, select “Command Prompt (Administrator)”.

Then type the command “bcdedit /set (default) bootmenupolicy legacy” and press Enter. A message should appear indicating that the specified command was completed successfully.

Now you can safely restart your computer and press the “F8” key to enter the menu for selecting boot options.

If previously the “Shift+F8” combination did not work, just like “F8”, now there will be no problems with entering safe mode.
If you want to return standard settings OS, then enter the command “bcdedit /set (default) bootmenupolicy standard” on the command line.

Second way involves changing the boot parameters settings.

Good effective method but in some cases it may be useless (if the computer is seriously broken and the OS cannot start). Press the “Win+R” combination and enter the “msconfig” command.


In the window that appears, we agree with the proposal to reboot the system. After rebooting, the computer will start in safe mode.

Please note that it will start in this mode until you uncheck the “Safe Mode” checkbox previously selected in the boot settings.

Be sure to do this!

The method can be used even if the computer is seriously damaged, since starting the OS is not necessary.

You will need a bootable USB flash drive with Windows 8, which can be used to restore the OS. If you don’t have a bootable USB flash drive at hand, don’t worry, you can easily create one.

Burn Windows 8 to a USB flash drive using Rufus.

This program is very popular among users. It has a simple and understandable interface, is not cluttered with unnecessary additional features, and copes well with its direct task - writing an OS image to a flash drive.

The Rufus program does not require installation; after downloading, you can launch it and use it immediately. You can download Rufus by this link.

After starting the program you will see the main window.


Before burning Windows 8/8.1 to a USB flash drive, you need to make some settings. In the “Device” line, you must select the flash drive already connected to the computer onto which you plan to write the OS image.

You can see the rest of the settings in the photo below.


The next step is to select an OS image. For this purpose, click on the disk icon and indicate the storage location for the image with Windows 8/8.1.


After this, we check that all settings are correct. Things to check before recording:

Correctly selected removable media (empty or with files that can be deleted)
Selected file system NTFS
There is a checkmark next to “Create a boot disk”
In the window there is an option “ISO image”
The image of the desired OS is specified

After the final check, you can begin the procedure Windows entries 8 onto the flash drive, to do this, press the “Start” button.

Rufus will issue a warning about formatting the removable media, which you must agree to. After completion, the program will display a corresponding message.

Click the “Close” button and use the created bootloader Windows flash drive 8 for installation on a computer.

However, LET'S CONTINUE..

We insert the created bootable USB flash drive into the computer and start from it. In the date and time selection window, click “Next”. When the installation window appears, click System Restore.


After that, go to the “Diagnostics” section.


Next, go to the “Advanced Settings” section. We have already entered this window when using previous methods, but as you can see, it is somewhat different from the others. Go to the “Command Line” section.
Type the command “bcdedit /set (globalsettings) advancedoptions true” and press Enter.


Next, close the command line and click on the “Continue” button. The system will reboot and a familiar window will appear on the screen, press the “F4” button and enter Windows Safe Mode

This window will appear every time you turn on the computer. Therefore, after troubleshooting, enter the command “bcdedit /deletevalue (globalsettings) advancedoptions” in the command line and the boot options selection window will not appear.

I think that this information will help you deal with problems in Windows 8 and 8.1.

Good luck, Friends!


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