How to start a laptop in safe mode: ways, step by step

Safe mode may be necessary to diagnose a computer, remove malware, and other necessary actions. But to use all the useful features of safe mode on a laptop, you need to know how to connect it. There are no significant differences between turning on on a regular computer and a laptop, but there are a number of features that need to be noted.

What is safe mode on a laptop

Safe mode is a system diagnostics mode that provides for working in Windows using only the necessary software and drivers. If there are problems in the operating system, starting in safe mode gives you the opportunity to continue working and fix the problem.

However, software installation is not possible. The Windows desktop window interface is also different from the standard one because it uses a lower screen resolution. The corners of the monitor indicate “Safe Mode”.

How to start a laptop in safe mode: ways

The reasons why the operating system does not boot can be completely different. And most often at the same time they recommend cardinal actions - rearrange Windows. But during the installation of the new operating system, all information is lost, which may be critical for each laptop user. Therefore, you need to activate safe mode on the device, and try to fix the problem that has appeared.

Connecting Safe Mode for all gadgets, or rather, the operating system, is different. For example, if you ask yourself how to enter safe mode in Windows 7, then recommendations on how to connect Safe Mode on a Windows 10 laptop are useless.

For Windows 7, you can try to use the following option:

• Find the power key in the Options menu;
• hold the SHIFT button by clicking "Restart";
• then a list of options will appear on the laptop screen in which you need to click "Diagnostics", "Advanced Settings", "Boot Methods", "Safe Mode";
• at the bottom of the monitor a window appears indicating "Restart";
• you need to click this button, 9 menu items will be displayed, of which 3 options relate to the desired connection.

Reference! If you click the F4 button, safe mode is activated, if F5, then a reboot will occur with support for network drivers, if F6, then you can use the command line.

Reboot methods for any OS

There are several basic download methods that are suitable for all laptops. The first option to get into Safe Mode:

• turn off the laptop to start a full reboot of the operating system;
• close all programs that started independently during startup. This can be done by the Quit command for each specific program;
• left-click to turn off;
• then you need to wait a couple of minutes and turn on the laptop again;
• among the possible proposals to find the desired mode.

You need to prepare for the fact that the reboot process will be slow. For different laptops, this can take a different time, in certain cases it can last more than 10 minutes. Sometimes it even seems that the device is not working. So the user who launched the laptop may find that the device just “hung”.

Do not rush to restart or turn off the device. During operating system malfunctions, it will not boot using the selected method, but the laptop will restart automatically or shut itself down. In this case, the monitor will be black, and the “Safe Mode” input method will appear at the top.

Reference! There is another way that guarantees a 100% secure connection of the gadget. The main steps of the action are as follows.

You just need to constantly press F8 when booting the device. After that, there will be options for the method of loading, you need to specify which is required. If the F8 button did not give the desired result, then press the F12 key. Most often, a list of options for connecting a laptop activates one of these buttons.

There is a low probability that none of the above options will solve the issue of downloading the gadget. In this situation, there are several alternative methods.

For example, for Windows 8, you can make a system recovery disk (a boot disk is done independently) or try to boot using a USB port.

For Windows 7, the simplest boot option is the “System Configuration” submenu. In order for all of the described download options to show the desired result, it’s necessary to deal with them in detail before the problem appears, in this case all actions will be performed confidently and with the appropriate result.

I can’t enter safe mode: what to do

If you don’t get to boot using Safe Mode, then most likely this is due to the presence of malware. You can try to enable anti-virus applications that will allow you to delete virus-infected files.

There are also cases when the owner of the laptop can’t log into the Windows system (for example, a large banner appears on the screen and any actions are simply impossible), or into safe mode. In these situations, only installing a boot disk can help.

In certain cases, this is due to a registry violation. To solve this problem on the Internet, you can find files that have .reg permission made for a specific operating system. But no one can give 100% guarantees that these files will help.

It is also necessary to pay attention that on the device the functional buttons “F” are sometimes disabled in the BIOS (or they are activated only during the simultaneous combination with the Fn button). In this case, the Hot Key Mode (and similar ones) is considered. For this reason, sometimes on mobile computers it’s not possible to enter Safe Mode using the F8 key.