How to Start Dell In Safe Mode

I am sure you have your reasons for wanting to start or boot your Dell laptop into Safe Mode. Whatever your reasons are, regarding this windows tutorial, this article will provide you with all the information you need.

This article is applicable to all windows version. You may aslo want to take screenshots on your Dell Laptop to get the right information ready before we begin going into safemode.

Before I get started, you need to understand what a Safe Mode is.

What is Safe Mode?

Safe Mode is known as a series of boot options that start your windows with a limited set of drivers and files.

Safe Mode is mostly used for troubleshooting problems with programs or drivers that won’t start correctly or that could be stopping Windows from running correctly.

If the problem isn’t seen in Safe Mode, you can go ahead and rule out the default settings and the basic device drivers as being at fault. If a new program, device, or driver stops Windows from running properly, you can start your dell computer in Safe Mode and then remove the program that’s causing the problem.

Types of Safe Mode

There are three different types of Safe Mode when you are on the Advanced Boot Options menu.

1. Safe Mode

This is the regular Safe Mode; it starts Windows with the minimum of services and drivers possible.

2. Safe Mode with Networking

This is the same as the regular Safe Mode but it includes the service and drivers needed to enable the network. You need this networking mode if you need to plug peripherals like a USB key to your Dell laptop

3. Safe Mode with Command Prompt

This is also the same as the regular Safe Mode but it uses the Command Prompt as the user interface instead of the windows desktop Graphical User Interface (GUI).

I would advise you use Safe Mode first, If that doesn’t work, then you can try either the Safe Mode with Command Prompt if you need the command-line commands and troubleshooting or Safe Mode with Networking if you need network or Internet access with the tools you need to load onto the system.

Now that you have an understanding on what Safe Mode is, let’s dive right into the methods.

Let’s start with windows 10

Boot into Safe Mode on Windows 10

Windows 10 has three methods. These methods are:

• Booting from windows
• Booting from the user sign-in screen
• Booting from outside of windows

Let’s start with booting from windows

Booting from Windows

1. Press and hold the Windows logo button + I on your Dell keyboard to open Settings. If that method doesn’t work, click on the Windows logo button at the bottom left-hand corner on your Dell laptop screen, then select Settings.
2. Select Update & Security and proceed to Recovery.
3. Under Advanced Startup, click on Restart Now.
4. After your Dell laptop restarts to the Choose an Option screen, click on Troubleshoot
5. Select Advanced Options
6. Select Startup Settings
7. Now Restart your Dell laptop.
8. When your Dell laptop restarts, a list of options will be revealed to you. In this option, select 4 or F4 to boot your Dell laptop in Safe Mode or if you require to use the Internet, select 5 or F5 to boot your Dell laptop into Safe Mode with Networking.

Booting from The User Sign-in Screen

1. Restart your del laptop.
2. When you get to the sign-in screen, press and hold the Shift Key while you use your mouse to select Power then Restart.
3. After your PC restarts to the Choose an Option screen, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.
4. When your Dell laptop restarts, a list of options will be revealed to you. In this option, select 4 or F4 to boot your Dell laptop in Safe Mode or if you require to use the Internet, select 5 or F5 to boot your Dell laptop into Safe Mode with Networking.

Booting From outside of Windows

At this stage, you want to boot into Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). To achieve this, you want to turn on your Dell laptop and then turn it off when you begin to see the windows logo.

Try this for three times and your Dell laptop will boot into Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)

Now follow these steps:

1. At the Choose an option screen, choose Troubleshoot.
2. While at the troubleshoot screen, select Advanced Options.
3. Now click on Advanced Startup Options.
4. choose Startup Settings.
5. Then select Restart.
6. Your Dell laptop will restart and enter the Startup Settings menu.
7. Now select 4 to Enable Safe Mode.

Boot into Safe Mode on Windows 8 and 8.1

Windows 8 has five methods

let’s start with the first method

Method 1

1. Turn on your Dell laptop.
2. Press and hold the SHIFT key, repeatedly while tapping the F8 key during the whole booting process. This will boot you into the Recovery Mode menu. You might fail several times but just keep trying till you get it.
3. While in the Recovery Mode, click on See advanced repair options.
4. Select the Troubleshoot option.
5. Choose the Advanced options
6. Click on Windows Start-up Settings
7. Then select Restart
8. After your Dell laptop restarts, you should see the Advanced Boot Options menu that enables you to boot your Windows 8 and 8.1 in Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Networking and Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

Method 2

This method will enable you to use charm bar.

here’s how

1. Press and hold the Windows logo + I key to bring up the charm bar
2. Click on the Change PC Settings button at the bottom right-hand corner when the charm bar pops up
3. Click General
4. Select Restart now under the Advanced start-up title.
5. When your Dell laptop restarts now you should be able to boot your computer into Safe Mode,

Method 3

1. Press and hold the Windows logo + I key to bring up the charm bar
2. Click on the Power button just once.
3. Now press and hold down your Shift key and click the Restart icon by navigating with your mouse.
4. When your Dell laptop restarts now you should be able to enter Safe Mode.

Method 4

This method will enable you to use the command line

1. Press and hold the Windows logo + R key to bring up the Run dialogue.
2. Type in the command or copy and paste the command >> shutdown /o /r
3. Hit Enter on your Dell keyboard.
4. Once you hit Enter, your Dell laptop should start the reboot process.
5. Once it boots up again, inside the Advanced Boot Options menu, you should be able to boot into Safe Mode

Method 5

1. Press and hold the Windows logo + R key to bring up the Run dialogue.
2. Type in the command or copy and paste the command >> msconfig
3. Hit Enter on your Dell keyboard.
4. Navigate to the Boot Tab 
5. Select the Safe Boot Checkbox.
6. You have the option to choose the type of Safe Mode you want to boot into
   • Minimal – Normal Safe Mode.
   • Alternate Shell – Safe Mode with Command Prompt.
   • Network – Safe Mode with Networking.
   • Active Directory – This is to recover servers over a Domain Controller for your network.
7. After selecting your preferred option, click on OK and restart your Dell laptop.
8. Now your computer will enter Safe Mode automatically.
9. When you are done, make sure you open msconfig again and uncheck the Safe Boot option. If you don’t uncheck the safe boot option, your Dell laptop will always boot to safe made any time you restart.
10. After unchecking Safe Mode, select OK and Restart your Dell laptop to boot back into Normal Mode.

Boot into Safe Mode on Windows 7, Vista

1. Remove any floppy disks, USB, CDs, or DVDs connected to your Dell laptop.
2. Restart your Dell laptop.
3. Click on Start or select the Windows logo key on your Dell keyboard
4. Click on the arrow next to Shut Down and then select Restart.
5. You will need to boot to the Advanced Boot Options screen before your windows beings to load
   • If your Dell laptop is using only one operating system, tap the F8 key rapidly as your dell computer starts up. Please note that If the Windows logo appears, you have already gone past and you’ll need to restart your Dell laptop and try again.
   • If your Dell laptop is using more than one operating system, use the arrow keys to highlight the OS you want to start in Safe Mode, and then tap the F8 key before your operating system loads.
6. The Advanced Boot Options will be revealed to you, then use arrow keys to highlight the Safe Mode option you want and then press hit ENTER
7. Make sure you log in to your Dell laptop with an Administrator account.
8. Now you are in Safe Mode, you should see the word Safe Mode in the corner of your screen.
9. Once you are done and want to exit Safe Mode, simply restart your Dell computer normally.