Free PC Support

[SoftStag]

In order to carry out several troubleshooting techniques, it is necessary to use Safe Mode to perform them. Safe Mode is a mode in Windows that loads limited drivers and services, it also does not load startup programs. It has limitations on what will work - many hardware devices and software packages may not function under Safe Mode.

To get in to Safe Mode, you should do the following. This is the same for all versions of Windows from Windows 95 to Vista.

Turn the computer on, and immediately start tapping the <F8> key (about twice a second is sufficient)
Before the Windows splash screen (loading screen) comes up, you should get a menu
Use the cursor keys to highlight Safe Mode and press <Enter>
The computer will continue to boot, however it may display messages on the screen that are not normally there, and it may also take longer than normal to boot
Once in Safe Mode it will give you a dialogue box to let you know you are in Safe Mode, depending upon the version of Windows you are using, it may give you an option to run System Restore.

To exit Safe Mode, just shut dow the computer as normal, it should then boot up normally in to Windows.
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"Microsoft programs are generally bug-free. If you visit the Microsoft hotline, you'll literally have to wait weeks if not months until someone calls in with a bug in one of our programs. 99.99% of calls turn out to be user mistakes. I know not a single less irrelevant reason for an update than bugfixes. The reasons for updates are to present more new features."
-- Bill Gates, on code stability, from Focus Magazine