Often newcomers ask me a question: how to enter safe mode. In this article I will try to describe everything as detailed and accessible as possible.
First, why is this necessary? Booting the computer in safe mode is often the last way to fix problems starting the system, if the computer fails to load in this mode too, then you need to completely reinstall the OS.
So, if your computer at startup displays a blue screen of death, does not load to the end, freezes halfway, or instead of the desktop endlessly turns the hourglass, it means you need to load safe mode and try to fix the problem. And you will learn how to enter safe mode if you read the article to the end.
The sequence of actions for loading in safe mode for Windows 7 and XP is the same, it is necessary immediately after the first 2-3 seconds to turn on the computer, without waiting for the Windows XP or Windows 7 window to repeatedly hit the F8 key. If instead of the window with a warning about loading the OS, the Safe Mode menu appeared in the English version, then you did everything right. It is also possible that your computer when you press F8 will prompt you to select the device (DVD-ROM, HDD, Network boot) from which it will boot the computer. Then you should wait a couple of seconds longer and start pressing F8 not after 2-3 seconds, but after 4-5, or instead of F8 try pressing the F5 button, if this button also does not work, try holding down the Shift button while loading.
But in most cases, the F8 button copes with its duties quite well, and if not the first, then the second time it is possible to enter safe mode. If you succeed, then you will see several boot options that the OS has prepared for you.
Both in the seven and in XP you will be offered a similar set of options, safe mode proper , safe mode with the command line (not recommended), safe mode with network support (if you plan to use the network or the Internet in safe mode, select this option). If you have a problem not only with how to enter XP or Win7 safe mode, but you also don’t know how to choose options in the menu of this mode, do not despair, it's very simple, you can move around the menu items with the arrows on the keyboard.
Also in the list there is a boot option with the last successful configuration, but in my memory this option has never helped anyone. To clear your conscience, you can try to boot into it, what if luck will smile on you?
What are the main differences between safe mode and normal startup? The main difference is that in safe mode, programs and components that are in autorun are not loaded , and it is there that various viruses and other hacker software like to register themselves. So, booting in safe mode, you will get a working operating system without the influence of viruses, and you can, for example, remove these very viruses.
With the question of how to enter XP safe mode and why we need it, we more or less figured it out, you can go to Windows 7.
Since this relatively new operating system itself is well protected from viruses, and on most computers now almost the first program installs some kind of antivirus, infecting computers on which this OS is installed is becoming non-trivial.
Indeed, most often in safe mode on computers with Win7 you have to go after some changes in programs or drivers, and not after a virus attack. In my practice, over the past year, out of ten of the systems I observed with Windows 7 installed, I only stopped loading two times at a time. In the first case, the reason was in the hardware, and not in the programs, and in the second case the fault lay with the video card driver, which worked incorrectly after the update. Here I had to remember how to enter safe mode in Windows 7.
If you know for sure that the reason for the failure when loading Win7 is the installed driver, you should boot in the system recovery mode and select the “Command line” option. When a command prompt appears, type devmgmt.msc. A device manager window will appear, select the device whose driver is not working correctly and delete it. Now try to reboot, if everything is done correctly, the system will please you with a sure start.