Safe Mode

Overview The Windows operating system has a handy and unique feature called “safe mode”. Safe mode is primarily used to troubleshoot problems with Windows by only running the bare essentials of the Windows operating systems and device drivers. The usefulness of safe mode is reflected in the fact that, once entering safe mode, the user can execute commands and load devices one at a time. For example, if your computer "hangs" while booting, you can boot into "safe mode" and load device drivers one at time to locate the problem. Additionally, a "system restore" can be performed in safe mode which allows the user to restore their system to previously recorded settings.  

Safe Mode Defined A Web page at foldoc.org provides an uncomplicated definition of safe mode. The site HowStuffWorks offers a more detailed definition and description of what happens within your system as it boots into safe mode. Follow this link to view a concise definition of safe mode or this link for a definition and links to other troubleshooting terms. 

How to Boot into Safe Mode www.computerhope.com provides basic step-by-step instructions about how to enter and exit safe mode. Entering safe mode with Windows 98-based computers by using alternative methods to the common f8 key method are described at this Microsoft support page. You can read about the safe mode boot options for Windows XP at  support.microsoft.com. Read about how to boot Mac OS X into safe mode at this Web page.

Troubleshooting Windows using Safe Mode Understanding safe mode and knowing how to boot into safe mode are of no use unless you know how to troubleshoot with safe mode's features. For basic information about how to troubleshoot your system using safe mode, visit this page. Here you will find outlined, a step by step method for basic troubleshooting in safe mode. Another useful article about basic troubleshooting in safe mode can be obtained at this smartcomputing.com page. This article describes safe mode's troubleshooting uses and the steps that must be taken to restore your system.  Included are instructions about how to clean up your device manager in order to resolve hardware conflicts. A voice introduction to safe mode and the clean boot process can be obtained by going to this Microsoft Support WebCast. This WebCast is 30 minutes in length. There is also a link on this page to a Microsoft Power Point presentation which covers the same information.