Fix PC problems with Windows Safe Mode

There are a couple of ways to access Safe Mode, but this first method is by far the simplest. Restart Windows, or simply turn on the computer and immediately begin tapping the F8 key. In Windows XP, the Windows Advanced Boot Menu will be displayed. Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to select Safe Mode and press Enter. Note that your screen may present the options slightly differently.

The menu to launch Safe Mode in Windows Vista can also be accessed via the F8 key, but this time it is labelled Advanced Boot Options. As before, use the arrow keys to highlight the Safe Mode option and press Enter. In both Windows XP and Vista, the Safe Mode menu also includes an entry labelled ‘Safe Mode with Networking’. As the title would suggest this mode allows for network and internet access, and is the ideal option if drivers or other software may need to be downloaded.

If Windows can still be accessed in the usual way, there is another route to Safe Mode. Click Start, followed by Run, and type msconfig before pressing Enter. In Windows XP move to the BOOT.INI tab of the System Configuration Utility and tick the box labelled /SAFEBOOT. Select either the MINIMAL or NETWORK option and click OK, followed by Restart. To prevent Safe Mode from continuing to load when any problem-fixing has been completed, launch the System Configuration Utility again and untick the /SAFEBOOT option on the BOOT.INI tab. Incidentally, we ran a Masterclass on the use of the System Configuration Utility in the last issue.

To use a similar method to access Safe Mode in Vista, launch System Configuration by pressing and holding the Windows key and then tapping R, type msconfig and press Enter, followed by Continue. Move to the Boot tab and tick the ‘Safe boot’ box. Select either Minimal or Network as required and then click OK, followed by Restart. As with Windows XP, these steps will need to be reversed to prevent Safe Mode from continually loading on subsequent restarts.

Launching Windows in Safe Mode loads the bare minimum number of drivers and bypasses any programs that have been configured to start automatically. Despite this fact, Safe Mode can actually take longer to load than normal, and when the Windows Desktop appears, it will look dramatically different from normal. Any Desktop background will be removed, a lower resolution is used and the legend ‘Safe Mode’ appears in each corner of the screen. Windows XP users should log in using the newly revealed Administrator account, while in Vista any account is fine.

One use for Safe Mode is to uninstall a new driver that has proved troublesome. To revert to a previous version of the driver, launch Device Manager in Windows XP by clicking Start, right-clicking My Computer and selecting Properties. Move to the Hardware tab and click the Device Manager button. In Vista, click the Start button, right-click Computer and select Properties before clicking the Device Manager link to the left of the screen.

Navigate through the various categories of hardware and then right-click the entry for the troublesome piece of hardware before selecting Properties. Move to the Driver tab and click the Roll Back Driver button. Run through the uninstallation process and the previous driver will be restored. With this done, check to see if Windows will now start up and run normally. An alternative is to use the Uninstall button to completely uninstall hardware drivers - when Windows restarts it will then try to find a suitable driver.

Safe Mode can also be used to run anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Some types of malware infection can actually block security software, but by turning to Safe Mode the threats can generally be removed with greater success. Be sure to select the option to enter Safe Mode with Networking as this will make it possible to connect to the internet to download the latest virus- and spyware-definition files.

If System Restore cannot be used in the usual way to roll Windows back to a previous working state, Safe Mode may be able to help. In both Windows XP and Vista, click Start, followed by All Programs, then Accessories, System Tools and finally click System Restore. Make sure that the ‘Restore my computer to an earlier time’ option is selected and click Next. From the calendar that is displayed, select the date to which Windows should be restored, click Next and follow the instructions that are displayed.

Programs that cannot be uninstalled normally from Windows may be removed in Safe Mode. In Windows XP, open ‘Add or Remove Programs’ from the Control Panel, select a program and click the Remove button. In Vista, open the ‘Programs and Features’ Control Panel, select a program from the list and click the Uninstall button. Safe Mode can also be handy if you are having problems deleting individual files. Just start in Safe Mode and delete files in the usual way.