How to Boot Into Safe Mode on Windows 11 (Even When It Will Not Start)

Updated: October 2026

A PC that crashes on every boot, a driver that took the display down, a user who can't get past a black screen. Safe Mode is where you go to fix those without wiping anything, because it starts Windows with only the basic drivers and services. Here's how to boot into safe mode on Windows 11 from Settings, from the sign-in screen, and from boot when Windows won't start at all.

What Safe Mode Loads and What It Skips

Safe Mode starts Windows with a limited set of files and drivers. Third-party drivers, startup apps and most services stay off. If a problem disappears in Safe Mode, the cause is something that loads during a normal boot: a driver, an app or a service.

If the problem stays, the cause sits deeper. That points at core drivers, the disk or the boot files themselves, and Safe Mode won't be the fix.

Safe Mode also doesn't repair anything on its own. It gives you a stable place to remove what broke Windows, then you restart normally and check.

How to Get Into Safe Mode on Windows 11 From Settings

If Windows still starts and you can sign in, this is the simplest route.

1. Open Settings, go to System, then Recovery.
2. Next to Advanced startup, select Restart now.
3. After the restart, choose Troubleshoot, then Advanced options, then Startup Settings, then Restart.
4. Press 4 or F4 for Safe Mode, 5 or F5 for Safe Mode with Networking, or 6 or F6 for Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

This one-time route clears itself. The next normal restart brings Windows back as usual.

Microsoft's ITOpsTalk channel walks through the same screens:

Shift + Restart From the Sign-In Screen

When Windows boots but you can't sign in, use the sign-in screen. Select the Power icon, hold Shift, and select Restart. Windows restarts into the Advanced startup menu, the same blue Choose an option screen as the Settings route.

From there, the path is identical: Troubleshoot, Advanced options, Startup Settings, Restart, then pick 4, 5 or 6.

This also works from the Start menu once you're signed in. Hold Shift while you select Restart.

Windows 11 Safe Mode From Boot When Windows Won't Start

This is the case that sends people searching. The PC crashes, loops or hangs before any sign-in screen appears.

Windows opens its recovery environment (WinRE) on its own when it detects trouble. Per Microsoft Learn (updated August 2026), triggers include two consecutive failed attempts to start Windows and two unexpected shutdowns within two minutes of boot completing. A PC stuck on a blue screen of death usually lands there after a couple of crashes.

You can force it too. Hold the power button for 10 seconds to turn the PC off as soon as the manufacturer logo appears, then turn it on again. Do that twice and the next start opens Automatic Repair or Choose an option. Select Advanced options, then follow the same Startup Settings path.

If WinRE won't load at all, boot from Windows installation media, choose Next, then Repair your computer. That reaches the same Troubleshoot menu.

Why F8 no longer works: Windows 11's default boot menu policy ignores F8. Microsoft's startup troubleshooting guide gives bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy to bring the old menu back, but WinRE is the simpler path.

msconfig and bcdedit: The Routes That Stick

Two tools set Safe Mode as a flag in the boot configuration. Windows then boots into Safe Mode every time until you remove it.

System Configuration (msconfig). Press Windows + R, type msconfig, open the Boot tab, tick Safe boot, and choose Minimal (plain Safe Mode) or Network. Select OK and restart.

bcdedit. From an elevated Command Prompt, or the Command Prompt in WinRE, run:

code
bcdedit /set {current} safeboot minimal

Microsoft's own troubleshooting articles use this command when a driver change needs Windows to start in Safe Mode first. Use network in place of minimal if you need networking. Microsoft Learn's BCDEdit reference carries a caution: editing boot settings wrong can stop a PC from starting, and Startup Settings or msconfig are the safer options for everyday use.

The sticky routes earn their place in scripts and on PCs where you can't catch the Startup Settings screen. They're also the reason people get stuck, as the section on exiting shows.

Safe Mode vs Safe Mode With Networking vs Command Prompt

Safe Mode (4 or F4) is the minimal set. No network drivers load. Start here for driver problems and suspected malware, because nothing can reach the internet.

Safe Mode with Networking (5 or F5) adds the network drivers and services. Pick it when the fix needs a download, like a clean driver from the manufacturer, or when you need to reach a file share.

Safe Mode with Command Prompt (6 or F6) loads the same minimal set but opens a Command Prompt window as the shell. It suits a PC where the desktop itself crashes, or anyone who wants to run sfc, DISM or bcdedit straight away. Type explorer if you need the desktop after all.

Have the BitLocker Key and the Password Ready

On an encrypted device, Microsoft notes that you'll need the BitLocker recovery key to get into Safe Mode through the recovery screens. Look it up before the restart. Work devices usually store it in Entra ID or Active Directory, personal ones in the user's Microsoft account. Our BitLocker guide covers where the key lives and how to recover it.

Sign-in is the second catch. Windows Hello PIN sign-in can fail in Safe Mode, as this r/sysadmin thread from the 24H2 rollout shows:

Know the account password, or a local admin password, before you send anyone into Safe Mode.

What to Fix Once You're in Safe Mode

Start with whatever changed last.

• A new driver. Open Device Manager, right-click the device, and choose Roll back driver or Uninstall device. Our guide on updating Windows drivers covers getting a clean version back afterwards.
• A Windows update. Go to Settings, Windows Update, Update history, then Uninstall updates, and remove the most recent one.
• A startup app or service. Disable it in Task Manager's Startup tab, or run a clean boot from msconfig to find it one service at a time.
• Suspected malware. Run a full scan while fewer processes are running. Our primer on what malware is covers what to look for.

Microsoft's startup troubleshooting guide also points to Event Viewer. The System log often names the driver or service that failed during the last normal boot.

If Safe Mode itself won't start, the problem sits below the drivers. Open Command Prompt from WinRE and repair system files with SFC and DISM RestoreHealth.

When repairs fail, a Windows 11 factory reset is the next step.

How to Get Out of Safe Mode When It Keeps Coming Back

If you used Startup Settings, a normal restart exits Safe Mode. If every restart lands back in Safe Mode, a sticky flag is still set.

Open msconfig, go to the Boot tab, clear Safe boot, select OK and restart. If msconfig won't open or the box is already clear, remove the value from an elevated Command Prompt:

code
bcdedit /deletevalue {current} safeboot

This r/pchelp poster hit the same loop and shared the fix that worked for them:

If you can't sign in to run either one, go through WinRE instead. Open Troubleshoot, Advanced options, Command Prompt, and run bcdedit /deletevalue {default} safeboot. Inside WinRE, target {default}, the entry Windows boots normally, because {current} points at the recovery environment.

Safe Mode on Remote and Managed Devices

Safe Mode is hard to do from a distance. Plain Safe Mode loads no network drivers, so any remote session ends at the restart. Safe Mode with Networking brings the network back, but only services Windows allows in Safe Mode start, so check whether your remote tool's agent is one of them before you send the restart.

Three checks save a site visit. Have the BitLocker key in hand, because the device may ask for it with nobody at the keyboard. Confirm a password sign-in works. And if you set the flag with bcdedit, plan how it gets removed, since the device will return to Safe Mode on every boot until someone clears it.

Often the better move is to skip Safe Mode. Removing a driver or rolling back an update can run as a script while Windows is up. OpenFrame runs scripts across a client's devices and collects the output, so a rollback can reach every affected PC before anyone has to restart into Safe Mode.

Safe Mode on Windows 11: The Short Version

Use Settings or Shift + Restart when Windows starts, and WinRE when it doesn't. Pick plain Safe Mode for drivers and malware, Networking when you need a download, and Command Prompt when the desktop won't load. Have the BitLocker key and a password ready. If every restart returns to Safe Mode, clear the safeboot flag in msconfig or with bcdedit.