How to Start Windows in Safe Mode (Windows 11 and Windows 10): 4 Fastest Methods Plus What to Do When You're Stuck

What Safe Mode actually does (and when it’s the right tool)

Safe Mode is Windows starting up with the bare minimum. No graphics drivers, no third-party software, no fancy background services, just the core operating system and enough drivers to get a screen, mouse, and keyboard working. The whole point is to give you a working Windows you can use to fix whatever's broken in normal mode.

It's not a fix in itself. Booting into Safe Mode doesn't repair anything. What it does is isolate the problem so you can clean up what's actually causing the chaos. If your PC's been crashing in normal mode but runs fine in Safe Mode, that's telling you the problem is something Windows loads at startup, like a driver, an app, or a piece of malware.

There are three flavours of Safe Mode and each has a job.

Plain Safe Mode

This is what most people want. It loads the absolute minimum and disables your network connection. Use this for removing software, uninstalling a bad driver, or running a scan.

Safe Mode with Networking

This adds your network drivers back so you can get online. Use this when you need to download a fix, run a Windows tool that needs the internet, or get to a cloud-stored file.

The catch is that Wi-Fi often doesn't work in this mode on laptops, so plug in an ethernet cable if you can.

Safe Mode with Command Prompt

This skips the Windows desktop entirely and drops you at a black command line screen. Use this when even Explorer itself is broken, or when you need to run a specific command to undo a bad change.

It looks scary but it's just Windows without the polish. For the average problem, plain Safe Mode is the right answer.

Method 1: The fastest way (Shift plus Restart)

This is the method to try first. It works on Windows 11 and Windows 10, as long as you can still get to your Start menu or your lock screen.

From the Start menu

1. Click the Start button.
2. Click the Power icon.
3. Hold the Shift key down and click Restart.
4. Keep holding Shift until you see the blue Choose an option screen.

From the lock screen (if you can't sign in)

1. Click the Power icon in the bottom-right corner of the lock screen.
2. Hold the Shift key down and click Restart.

Once you're at the Choose an option screen, the path is the same:

1. Click Troubleshoot.
2. Click Advanced options.
3. Click Startup Settings.
4. Click Restart.
5. After the PC reboots, press 4 for Safe Mode, 5 for Safe Mode with Networking, or 6 for Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

The whole thing takes about 90 seconds end to end on most PCs. If your machine is BitLocker-protected (and most new Windows 11 laptops are these days), you'll get prompted for the recovery key before you reach Startup Settings. We'll come back to that further down.

Method 2: When Windows boots but is barely usable (Settings)

If your computer's running but everything's behaving badly, the Settings app gives you a tidier path to the same place. This is the official Microsoft method.

Windows 11

1. Open Settings (Win key + I).
2. Go to System.
3. Scroll down and click Recovery.
4. Next to Advanced startup, click Restart now.
5. Confirm by clicking Restart now again.

Windows 10

1. Open Settings.
2. Click Update & Security.
3. Click Recovery on the left.
4. Under Advanced startup, click Restart now.

After the reboot, follow the same path as Method 1: Troubleshoot, Advanced options, Startup Settings, Restart, then press 4, 5, or 6.

This method is genuinely useful when your PC works just enough to open Settings but you don't trust it to stay running long enough to do the Shift plus Restart dance. Both methods land you in the same place, just by a different route.

Method 3: When Windows won’t boot at all (three forced power-offs)

This is the recipe to know when nothing else works. When your PC won't get past the manufacturer logo, when it's stuck in an Automatic Repair loop, when you can't even get to the lock screen.

The trick is to force Windows into Automatic Repair by interrupting the boot three times in a row.

1. Press the power button to turn on the PC.
2. As soon as you see the Windows logo (or the manufacturer logo, whichever shows first), press and hold the power button for about 10 seconds until the PC turns off completely.
3. Turn it on again and repeat the same interrupt.
4. Do it a third time.
5. On the fourth power-on, leave it alone. Windows should display Preparing Automatic Repair, then take you to the blue Choose an option screen.

From there, the path is the familiar one: Troubleshoot, Advanced options, Startup Settings, Restart, 4 or 5 or 6.

This is the method that's been bailing out Aussie Dell owners through May and June 2026. If you've been hit by the Dell SupportAssist Remediation v5.5.16.0 bug that's been crashing XPS, Pro 14/16 Plus, Latitude, Precision and Alienware machines with a bluescreen every half hour, the three-power-off recipe is how you get into Safe Mode to uninstall it. Same for anyone whose May 12 Patch Tuesday update (KB5089549) failed at 35% with error 0x800f0922 and now boots in a loop.

It's also the right method if you've hit our blue screen of death guide and the previous steps haven't sorted it.

Worth knowing: if your PC is BitLocker-protected, you'll be asked for the recovery key before you reach the Startup Settings menu. Same warning as before, we'll cover it in the BitLocker section below.

Method 4: MSConfig (the one with the trap)

There's a fourth way that works from inside Windows, but it comes with a serious warning. Use this only if Method 1 didn't work, you can still boot normally, and you know how to undo it.

1. Press Win + R to open the Run box.
2. Type msconfig and press Enter.
3. Click the Boot tab.
4. Tick the Safe boot checkbox.
5. Choose Minimal (plain Safe Mode), Network (with networking), or Alternate shell (with Command Prompt).
6. Click OK.
7. Restart the PC.

After the reboot, you'll be in Safe Mode. Job done.

The trap (and how to undo it)

That tick box is sticky. Every single time you restart your PC, it will keep booting into Safe Mode until you go back into MSConfig and untick the box. We get calls every month from people who used this method, forgot about the tick box, and assumed Windows was broken.

To get back out of Safe Mode, you have to either:

• Open MSConfig again, untick the Safe boot box, and restart, or
• Open Command Prompt as administrator, run bcdedit /deletevalue {default} safeboot, then shutdown -r -t 00 -f

If you're a normal user, just use Method 1 or Method 2 and skip MSConfig entirely. It's not faster and it sets a trap you can fall into easily.

Help, I’m stuck in Safe Mode

If you're reading this section, you're already in Safe Mode and Windows won't go back to normal. This is the most common follow-up problem and there are usually only two causes.

Cause one: the MSConfig Safe boot tick box

This is by far the most common reason. The fix:

1. Press Win + R, type msconfig, press Enter.
2. Click the Boot tab.
3. Untick Safe boot.
4. Click OK and restart.

Cause two: something deeper (the bcdedit fix)

If the MSConfig box wasn't ticked, or you can't open MSConfig at all, open Command Prompt as administrator and run this single line:

bcdedit /deletevalue {default} safeboot

Then force a clean restart with:

shutdown -r -t 00 -f

Breaking the Automatic Repair loop

If even that doesn't work, the next step is disabling the Automatic Repair loop that's pushing you into Safe Mode in the first place. Open Command Prompt as administrator (Safe Mode with Command Prompt is fine for this) and run:

bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled No

Restart, and the loop should be broken. Once you're back into normal Windows, run:

bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled Yes

to turn the recovery system back on for next time.

If none of that works, the underlying problem is deeper than Safe Mode alone can solve. That's usually a corrupted Windows install, a failing drive, or something similar, and it's worth getting a tech to take a look before you start losing data.

BitLocker, the bit that catches new laptop owners out

This is the bit nobody warns you about until it's already happened. If you bought a new Windows 11 laptop from any of the big Aussie retailers (JB Hi-Fi, Officeworks, Harvey Norman, Centre Com, Umart) since late 2024, your hard drive is almost certainly encrypted with BitLocker. You probably didn't choose it. It was switched on silently the first time you signed in with a Microsoft account.

Why does this matter for Safe Mode? Because the moment you try to get into Safe Mode through any of the methods above, Windows asks for the 48-digit BitLocker recovery key before it'll let you in. If you've never seen this key, you can't get past the screen. Your data is sitting there, encrypted, and you can't reach it.

Find your recovery key before you need it

The key is stored against your Microsoft account. To find it:

1. On any working device, go to account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey.
2. Sign in with the same Microsoft account you set the laptop up with.
3. You should see a list of your devices and their recovery keys.

Do this right now if you've got a Windows 11 laptop bought in the last 18 months. Take a photo of the key with your phone. Write it down and stick it in a drawer. Email it to yourself. Save it to your password manager. Just don't trust that it'll still be sitting in your Microsoft account when you need it, because we've seen plenty of cases where the key didn't end up where it should have.

If you're already locked out

If you're already at the BitLocker recovery screen and you can't find the key anywhere, things get harder. Try every Microsoft account you've ever used, including any work or school ones the laptop might have been signed into. If you've still got nothing, the drive's encryption isn't getting cracked. Your data on that drive is gone. The PC itself can be wiped and reinstalled, but the data is unrecoverable without the key.

This is one of the biggest reasons we get called these days. New Windows 11 laptop, customer never knew BitLocker was on, hit a problem, can't get past the recovery screen, doesn't know what to do. If you're in this situation right now, call us on 131 546 before you do anything else. There are a couple of recovery paths worth trying before you give up on the data, and we know what those are.

When Safe Mode features don’t work

Sometimes you get into Safe Mode and discover that the basic stuff doesn't work. This is normal, frustrating, and usually fixable.

Wi-Fi doesn't connect in Safe Mode with Networking

Even in Safe Mode with Networking, most laptops can't connect to Wi-Fi because the wireless drivers don't load. You'll often see "The driver was not loaded because the system is booting into safe mode" against your network adapter.

Plug in an ethernet cable if you can. If your laptop doesn't have an ethernet port (most thin ones don't), a $20 USB-to-ethernet adapter solves this in seconds.

PIN doesn't work

Windows 11 24H2 introduced a long-running headache where Windows Hello PINs don't work in Safe Mode. You'll see "Something happened and your PIN isn't available. Click to set up your PIN again."

Click anywhere else on the sign-in screen for the option to use your password instead. If your account only has a PIN and no password, that's a much bigger fix that's worth a phone call.

USB keyboard or mouse stops working

After Microsoft's KB5066835 update in October 2025, a fair number of PCs found their USB keyboards and mice stopped working in Windows Recovery Environment (the blue Choose an option screen). It's been mostly patched since but it still happens.

The workaround is connecting a PS/2 keyboard if you've got one (older PCs), or trying a different USB port (preferably one directly on the motherboard rather than a front-panel port).

External monitor stays blank

Safe Mode loads only the basic Microsoft display driver, which often doesn't drive a second screen properly. If your laptop's lid is closed or your desktop only has an external monitor, the screen may stay black.

Open the laptop lid, or plug your monitor directly into the motherboard's video output (not a graphics card port) if you can.

Settings app doesn't open

Safe Mode disables a lot of services the Settings app needs. If you need to uninstall a Windows Update or change a setting and Settings won't open, Command Prompt is the workaround. We can walk you through that on the phone if you're stuck.

This is the stage where DIY usually starts hitting walls. If you've made it this far and Safe Mode is half-working but not enough to actually fix the underlying problem, give us a call. We sort these out remotely or in person across Australia every week, and most of the time it's a 30-minute job for a tech who's done it a hundred times.

What problems Safe Mode actually fixes

Safe Mode is the right tool for a specific set of problems. Knowing which ones helps you avoid wasting time using it for problems it can't solve.

Stubborn malware and adware

Some malware loads at startup and prevents itself being removed in normal mode. Booting into Safe Mode stops the malware loading, which lets you uninstall it or run a proper scan. This is one of Safe Mode's most useful jobs.

Bad graphics drivers

A botched NVIDIA or AMD driver update can leave your PC stuck on a black screen, with flickering, or with the colours all wrong. Boot into Safe Mode, run DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) to remove the old driver completely, restart in normal mode, and install a fresh copy.

Failed Windows updates

When a Windows Update rolls back partway through and leaves your PC in a half-broken state, booting into Safe Mode lets you uninstall the bad update from Settings (or with the wusa /uninstall /kb:XXXXXXX command if Settings won't open). The May 2026 KB5089549 update is the current example of this.

Software that won't uninstall

Some apps (antivirus programs are the worst offenders) won't uninstall properly while they're running. Safe Mode stops most of their services loading, which lets the uninstaller do its job.

The Dell SupportAssist BSOD wave (May 2026)

If your Dell has been crashing every 30 minutes since around May 8, Safe Mode is the only way to remove the broken SupportAssist Remediation v5.5.16.0 update that's causing it. Boot into Safe Mode, open Programs and Features, uninstall Dell SupportAssist Remediation and SupportAssist OS Recovery Plugin, restart normally.

System Restore when normal boot is broken

You can run System Restore from the Recovery Environment to roll your PC back to a working point. This catches a lot of "I installed something and now Windows won't start" scenarios.

The "delete the specific bad file" fix

The CrowdStrike outage in July 2024 was the headline example, where the fix was to boot into Safe Mode and delete one specific file (C-00000291*.sys) from a specific folder. Safe Mode is the right tool whenever a particular file is causing crashes and needs to be removed.

What Safe Mode doesn't fix

• Hardware faults (failing drives, RAM issues, dying batteries)
• Windows installation files that have been deeply corrupted
• Problems caused by BIOS or firmware bugs
• Anything caused by physical damage

For those, you'll need either a proper diagnosis or a different tool. If your PC has been freezing rather than crashing, check our computer freezing troubleshooting guide first. And if you're still on Windows 10 and the underlying issue is the operating system itself, our Windows 10 end of support guide covers what to do next.

When Safe Mode Hasn’t Fixed It, We Have

Get your home or business computer properly diagnosed and repaired by a real tech across Australia. We sort PCs that won't boot at all, BitLocker lockouts where the recovery key has gone missing, Dell BSOD waves and bad Windows updates that Safe Mode alone hasn't fixed, malware that keeps coming back after every cleanup, and the deeper hardware faults that need physical hands on the machine. Call us today on 131 546 or fill out the form on this page and we'll get back to you ASAP.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why doesn't F8 work to enter Safe Mode anymore?

Microsoft disabled the F8 shortcut in Windows 8 and it hasn't worked by default in Windows 10 or 11 either. The reason is UEFI fast boot, which makes modern PCs boot too quickly for Windows to register the F8 keypress before it's already loading.

You can re-enable the old F8 menu if you really want it. Open Command Prompt as administrator and run bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy. It slows your boot time slightly. To undo it, run the same command with standard instead of legacy.

How do I get out of Safe Mode?

For most people, the answer is simple: just restart your PC normally. Click Start, click Power, click Restart. Windows should boot back into normal mode on the next startup.

If your PC keeps booting back into Safe Mode no matter what you do, you've probably got the MSConfig Safe boot box ticked. Press Win + R, type msconfig, untick the Safe boot box on the Boot tab, click OK, restart. If MSConfig isn't the cause, run bcdedit /deletevalue {default} safeboot in an administrator Command Prompt and restart.

Will my Wi-Fi work in Safe Mode?

Often not on laptops. Even in Safe Mode with Networking, most wireless adapters won't load because their drivers are blocked. The fix is plugging in an ethernet cable, or using a cheap USB-to-ethernet adapter if your laptop doesn't have a built-in ethernet port.

Why is Windows asking for a BitLocker recovery key just to enter Safe Mode?

Because your hard drive is encrypted with BitLocker, and entering Safe Mode triggers a security check that requires the 48-digit recovery key. This catches almost every Windows 11 laptop owner out because Microsoft turns BitLocker on automatically on most new PCs without telling you.

The recovery key is stored against your Microsoft account at account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey. Sign in with the same account you used to set up the laptop and you should find it. If it's not there, try every Microsoft account you've ever used on that machine, including any work or school accounts.

Is it safe to use my computer in Safe Mode for everyday tasks?

Technically yes, but it's not designed for everyday use. Your graphics card won't be running at full speed, your screen resolution will probably be wrong, most of your apps won't open, and your antivirus won't be running. Safe Mode is a tool for fixing problems, not a place to do your day-to-day work.

Why does my PC keep booting into Safe Mode by itself?

Almost always because the Safe boot tickbox in MSConfig got switched on. Open MSConfig (Win + R, type msconfig), go to the Boot tab, untick Safe boot, click OK, restart. If that's not the cause, run bcdedit /deletevalue {default} safeboot from an administrator Command Prompt and restart.

Can I run Windows Update in Safe Mode?

Sometimes, but it's not the ideal place for it. Safe Mode with Networking gives you internet access, but Windows Update itself often refuses to run because the services it depends on are disabled. If your goal is to install or roll back an update, Safe Mode is better for uninstalling a bad update than for installing a new one.

What's the difference between Safe Mode and Clean Boot?

Safe Mode loads the absolute minimum to start Windows: only the core drivers and services Microsoft built. A Clean Boot starts Windows normally but disables all third-party startup programs and services. Clean Boot is more useful for diagnosing software conflicts. Safe Mode is more useful for removing malware, rolling back drivers, and rescuing a system that won't boot properly.

My Dell laptop is bluescreening every 30 minutes. Is this connected to Safe Mode?

Almost certainly yes. Dell released a faulty SupportAssist Remediation v5.5.16.0 update in late April 2026 that started pushing out from May 8. It causes BSOD reboot loops every 30 minutes or so on a wide range of Dell XPS, Pro 14/16 Plus, Latitude, Precision, and Alienware machines.

The fix is booting into Safe Mode (Method 3 above is the most reliable for this), opening Programs and Features, and uninstalling Dell SupportAssist Remediation and SupportAssist OS Recovery Plugin. After that, restart normally and the bluescreens should stop. If they don't, give us a call.

Can Jim's IT help me fix a PC that won't boot into Safe Mode?

Yes, this is one of the most common things we sort across Australia. PCs that won't boot at all, BitLocker lockouts, Dell BSOD waves, failed Windows Updates, malware that survives Safe Mode cleanup, and the harder cases where the drive itself is failing. We do this remotely where possible and in person where it isn't. Worth a call before you spend another weekend on it.