What is Safe Startup Mode on Windows 8 and 8.1?

Safe mode starts Windows using a limited set of files and drivers.

Safe Mode bypasses startup programs and installs only the basic set of drivers needed to run Windows

And also for competently troubleshooting various problems that may arise when operating a computer.

Such as those caused by programs and drivers that may not load correctly or prevent Windows from starting correctly.

If these problems do not occur when booting into Safe Mode, you can exclude default settings and the basic set of device drivers from the list of possible causes.

in Windows 8, safe mode is launched in a rather specific way, which can confuse inexperienced users who are only recently familiar with Eight.

That is why we decided to tell you how to enter Windows 8 safe mode in various ways.

You can enter Safe Mode in Windows 8:

Using the F8 key (or Shift+F8)
By setting boot options in the system configuration when the OS is running
By changing the computer shutdown settings when the OS is running
Using a bootable USB flash drive with Windows 8
Using a Windows 8 boot disk

As you can see, there are many ways and one of them will probably suit you.

Using the F8 key, you can very quickly enter safe mode on Windows 8. The disadvantages of this well-known method include the sad fact that it simply does not work on some computers.

So, after turning on or restarting the computer, press the key combination “Shift + F8” several times. This will open a well-known menu in which, using the arrows on the keyboard, you need to select the “Safe Mode” item.

This convenient and familiar method doesn't work for everyone, but there is one trick that can fix it.

With the OS running, use the keyboard to press the key combination “Win+X” and in the window that appears, select “Command Prompt (Administrator)”.

Then type the command “bcdedit /set (default) bootmenupolicy legacy” and press Enter. A message should appear indicating that the specified command was completed successfully.

Now you can safely restart your computer and press the “F8” key to enter the menu for selecting boot options.

If previously the “Shift+F8” combination did not work, just like “F8”, now there will be no problems with entering safe mode.
If you want to return the standard OS settings, then enter the command “bcdedit /set (default) bootmenupolicy standard” on the command line.

Second way involves changing the boot parameters settings.

A good effective method, but in some cases it may be useless (if the computer is seriously broken and the OS cannot start). Press the “Win+R” combination and enter the “msconfig” command.

In the window that appears, we agree with the proposal to reboot the system. After rebooting, the computer will start in safe mode.

Please note that it will start in this mode until you uncheck the “Safe Mode” checkbox previously selected in the boot settings.

Be sure to do this!

The method can be used even if the computer is seriously damaged, since starting the OS is not necessary.

You will need a bootable USB flash drive with Windows 8, which can be used to restore the OS. If you don’t have a bootable USB flash drive at hand, don’t worry, you can easily create one.

Burn Windows 8 to a USB flash drive using Rufus.

This program is very popular among users. It has a simple and understandable interface, is not cluttered with unnecessary additional features, and copes well with its direct task - writing an OS image to a flash drive.

The Rufus program does not require installation; after downloading, you can launch it and use it immediately. You can download Rufus by this link.

After starting the program you will see the main window.

Before burning Windows 8/8.1 to a USB flash drive, you need to make some settings. In the “Device” line, you must select the flash drive already connected to the computer onto which you plan to write the OS image.

You can see the rest of the settings in the photo below.

The next step is to select an OS image. For this purpose, click on the disk icon and indicate the storage location for the image with Windows 8/8.1.

After this, we check that all settings are correct. Things to check before recording:

Correctly selected removable media (empty or with files that can be deleted)
NTFS file system selected
There is a checkmark next to the item “Create a boot disk”
In the window there is an option “ISO image”
The image of the desired OS is specified

After the final check, you can begin the process of writing Windows 8 to a USB flash drive; to do this, click the “Start” button.

Rufus will issue a warning about formatting the removable media, which you must agree to. After completion, the program will display a corresponding message.

Click the “Close” button and use the created Windows 8 bootable USB flash drive to install it on your computer.

However, LET'S CONTINUE..

We insert the created bootable USB flash drive into the computer and start from it. In the date and time selection window, click “Next”. When the installation window appears, click System Restore.

After that, go to the “Diagnostics” section.

Next, go to the “Advanced Settings” section. We have already entered this window when using previous methods, but as you can see, it is somewhat different from the others. Go to the “Command Line” section.
Type the command “bcdedit /set (globalsettings) advancedoptions true” and press Enter.

Next, close the command line and click on the “Continue” button. The system will reboot and a familiar window will appear on the screen, press the “F4” button and enter Windows safe mode

This window will appear every time you turn on the computer. Therefore, after troubleshooting, enter the command “bcdedit /deletevalue (globalsettings) advancedoptions” in the command line and the boot options selection window will not appear.

I think that this information will help you deal with problems in Windows 8 and 8.1.

Good luck, Friends!

In Windows 8, Safe Mode has been noticeably changed, making it more functional and convenient. Now, if problems arise with the operation of the operating system, the user has access to several utilities that make it easier to diagnose and restore the operation of the OS.

Booting into Safe Mode is one of the most important steps in troubleshooting computer problems. This is what most users use when errors appear in the system. However, the standard way to load Safe Mode in all Windows operating systems up to version 8 is to restart the computer and press the F8 button repeatedly, after which a black screen appears with a list of OS boot modes, from which you can select Safe.

In Windows 8, the way Safe Mode loads has been changed slightly, so users who tried to get into Safe Mode the usual way encountered some difficulties. The fact is that pressing the F8 key while Windows 8 is loading starts automatic recovery mode.

In order to open the modes and system recovery menu, you should press not F8, but the key combination Shift + F8. While the system is booting, you need to hold down the Shift button and press the F8 key several times.

However, due to some features of Windows 8, starting Safe Mode in this way can be difficult, so if the system on the computer is working, it will be much easier to use special utilities built into the system.

Opening Safe Mode from a running Windows 8 system using the msconfig utility

Safe Mode can also be launched from a running operating system. To do this, call up the program execution request window using the Win+R key combination. In the window that appears, type msconfig and press Enter. In the window that opens, go to the Boot tab and check the box next to Safe Boot.

In the list below, you can select one of the Safe Mode types. Minimal mode is a normal safe mode. Another shell (Alternate Shell) is Safe Mode, which supports the command line. Network is Safe Mode with network support.

Once you have selected the type of Safe Mode that suits you best, click OK and confirm that you need to reboot the system.

After this, the system will automatically boot into Safe Mode. Once you have set these settings, Windows 8 will always boot into Safe Mode when you turn on your computer. To stop this, open the msconfig utility window again and uncheck the box next to the words Safe Mode.

Opening the Diagnostics menu in Windows 8

There is another way to open Safe Mode in Windows 8, which also requires a running operating system. Press the Win+I key combination and in the blue window that appears, click on the Shutdown option while holding down the Shift key. A small menu will appear where you should select the Reboot option.

In the following windows, in order, select Diagnostics - Additional options - Boot options.

Reboot the system, after which a window will appear in front of you indicating several modes, you can select one of which using the F1-F9 keys.

Let's take a closer look at each of the available modes.

By pressing the F4 key, the most limited Safe Mode is available, in which, after the system starts, only the drivers necessary for Windows 8 work. Neither the Internet nor the local network will be available to you.

Using the F5 key, start Safe Mode with loading network drivers - the optimal solution for solving most problems. You can go online and continue searching for a solution to your problem or download the necessary patches and utilities. This mode is most often used to update the antivirus.

The F6 key launches Safe Mode with command line support. This mode does not support a graphical interface, so you will need to enter all the necessary commands into the command line.

To return to the start window from Safe Mode, press the Alt key.

Windows 8 Safe Mode boot keys

To return the Safe Modes menu boot option to the F8 key, you must make changes to the BCD boot configuration data file. To do this, open a command prompt as an administrator and enter the command bcdedit /deletevalue (current) bootmenupolicy.

After “Operation Complete” appears in the black window, close the Command Prompt and restart your computer. While loading, press F8 several times. A familiar window will appear where you can select Safe Mode.

To undo the changes you made, reopen the Command Prompt and enter the command bcdedit /set (current) bootmenupolicy standard.

Another way to make changes to the BCD boot configuration data file is to enter bcdedit /set (bootmgr) displaybootmenu yes at the command prompt.

You can return the system to standard boot with the command bcdedit /set (bootmgr) displaybootmenu no.

The latter method is most suitable for devices and PCs where the Windows 8 system boots so quickly that it does not have time to respond to either pressing F8 or the Shift+F8 key combination.

Why does the F8 key not work?

In some cases, it is not possible to open Safe Mode or automatic recovery after pressing either the F8 key or the Shift+F8 combination. After reading the message from the official Microsoft website, you can find out that this is due to Windows 8 loading too quickly, which does not even have time to detect pressing the F8 or F2 keys.

A fast modern computer equipped with a UEFI BIOS and an SSD where the operating system is installed may not allow you to use the function keys to open Safe Mode. However, loading the OS on older computers with a standard BIOS and an operating system installed on the HDD is not fast enough for Windows 8 to not detect keystrokes.

How to Avoid the Windows 8 Fast Boot Difficulty

To prevent problems with loading into Safe Mode using Shift+F8, you should make changes to the BCD boot configuration data file using the bcdedit /set (bootmgr) displaybootmenu yes command described above, rather than rolling back the changes.

In this case, you will always be able to easily get into Safe Mode, even if Windows 8 does not boot in standard mode. This solution, of course, has the disadvantage that now every time you boot the system you will see a black screen and press the Enter key to start it. You will have to determine for yourself which solution is more convenient for you.

Some users prefer to intentionally crash the operating system by turning off their computer or laptop using the power button. In this case, the next time the system boots, a system recovery and diagnostic window will appear, where you can select Safe Mode.

However, this method is extremely dangerous not only for the installed system, but also for the data stored on the computer.

Entering Windows 8 Safe Mode using a recovery disk

If the system does not boot and the Shift+F8 key combination does not allow you to access the system recovery menu, the best solution is to use a Windows boot disk, which will help you open Safe Mode when other methods have failed.

Once you boot your computer from the recovery disc or Windows 8 installation disc, click Next.

A window will appear in front of you, at the bottom of which there is a link to System Restore. Let's click on it.

The familiar Select Action window opens.

We follow the path Diagnostics - Additional parameters.

There is no Boot Options icon in the window, so open the Command Prompt. In the black window that appears, enter the command bcdedit /set (globalsettings) advancedoptions true.

Close the command line. Select the Continue menu item.

Now Safe Mode will always start when the system boots. To fix this, enter the command bcdedit /deletevalue (globalsettings) advancedoptions into the command line.

OS name: Microsoft Windows 8.1
Official website: www.microsoft.com
Developer:
Interface language: Russian, English, etc.
Treatment: Required.
System requirements: ()
Processor: 1 GHz or higher supporting PAE, NX and SSE2
RAM: 1 GB (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
Free hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 with WDDM driver
Screen resolution min: 1024 x 768 pixels
Internet access (fees may apply)
Some features require a Microsoft account

The official way to download the original ISO image of Windows 8.1 for free from the Microsoft website.

Where can I download the original Windows 8.1 image for free?

For owners of genuine Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10.
Many users wonder - Where can I download the original Windows 8.1 image for free?
You can find it on many websites on the Internet Pirate builds of Windows, which have a modified theme, disabled, removed or changed functions, images built into the system, signatures of the authors of assemblies, pre-installed programs and other applications that the user will not need.

How to download the original Windows 8.1 image for free

Attention! Our instructions (read below) were released at a time when it was possible to download a Windows 8.1 image from the Microsoft website only in this way, namely “Download the tool”. Now it’s even easier, you don’t need to download anything first, just select the edition you need and download it to your computer!

• First, you need to go to the Microsoft website, to the Window 8.1 download software download page and click “Download tool” (Fig. 1).

Fig.1

• The file will be downloaded to your computer (Fig. 2) Media Creation Tool is a proprietary utility from Microsoft Corporation that allows you to create bootable images of the Windows 8.1 operating system directly from the company’s server.

Fig.2

This program has greatly simplified getting the version of Windows OS you need, without requiring complex settings and providing the ability to select the required architecture.

Fig.3

• After launching the utility, select the OS language (Fig. 3), edition type (home, Pro, etc.) (Fig. 4) and architecture (32-bit or 64-bit) (Fig. 5).

Fig.4
Fig.5

• Next, when we decided on the choice of operating system, in this case we chose, language - Russian, bit depth X-64. (Fig.6)

Fig.6

• Select the location on the computer where we save the operating system image. If you have a USB flash drive inserted, you can immediately write to it (Fig. 7). When you select a USB flash drive, a bootable USB flash drive will be created without a preliminary ISO image. A bootable flash drive prepared in this way can be used at any time, on any computer, to update or.

Fig.7

• To burn an image to DVD disc, or simply save the original image of Windows 8.1 on your computer, select step 2 - ISO file(Fig.8)

Fig.8

• Select where we want to save the ISO image (Fig. 9)

Fig.9

• Click “Save”, then the original image of Windows 8.1 will be downloaded (Fig. 10, 11, 12). It will take some time for the image to be completely downloaded from the Microsoft website to your computer, it all depends on your Internet speed. By the way, you can check your Internet speed.

Fig.10
Fig.11
Fig.12

• When the image is completely downloaded, the following window will appear (Fig. 13), where you can click “Finish”.

Fig.13

• You can insert a blank DVD into your drive to immediately burn Windows 8.1 to a disc (you need to click " Open DVD burner") (Fig. 14). Thus, the disc you record will be no different from a licensed disc purchased in a store.
  The only thing you will need during the installation process is key product to your version of Windows, and after installation Activation of the system itself.

Fig.14

• Now that you have original image of Windows 8.1 Professional, written to disk or made a bootable USB flash drive, and of course the purchased key, plus activation in your name, you can safely install the fresh original Windows 8.1 operating system.

Attention! If you are installing the operating system for the first time, you will need a Windows product key (xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx), which you purchase from the Microsoft website (License Key).

System Description:

(formerly known as "Windows Blue") is a comprehensive update to Windows 8. In the new version, Microsoft does not deviate from the Modern UI interface (the correct name for the interface previously called Metro). Windows 8.1 adds a host of customizations to the user interface, along with some new and updated apps, all to help users enjoy the new Windows environment longer.

Additional Information:

Additional Information:
Windows 8.1 features a familiar desktop with a taskbar and Start button, plus a stylish new Start screen where you can add your favorite apps, people, and sites for one-tap access.

Plus, you'll have built-in cloud storage that lets you access photos and files anywhere, anytime, and enjoy a seamless full-screen browsing experience with Internet Explorer 11 and an exclusive collection of built-in apps like Photos and Mail. More apps can be downloaded from the Windows Store.

• What's new:
  Quick Start: We've brought back the Start button to the desktop—tap or click to go to the Start screen. If you like, you can switch to the desktop immediately after you turn on your computer, or use the same background for your desktop and start screen. You can also go to the list of all downloaded applications.
• Smart Search:
  Bing Smart Search searches everywhere at once—the web, settings, files, and apps on your device—and lets you quickly jump to results. Play a song, call a friend, open an app or your favorite website. (Not all features are available in some regions.)
• Get more done:
  Chat while gaming, shop while watching a movie, and work while listening to music. Depending on your screen size, you can open up to four apps at once and easily switch between them.
• Download more apps:
  The updated Windows Store includes apps designed specifically for Windows 8.1 and new recommendations. This update also includes new pre-installed apps like Reading List and Cooking. Now you can install apps on all your Windows 8.1 tablets and computers.
• All files at hand:
  Automatically save documents, photos and other files to SkyDrive so they're at your fingertips wherever you are, from any device. They will never be lost, even if something happens to your device.
• Enjoy surfing:
  Internet Explorer 11 loads sites faster, allows you to open two sites in full screen mode, place them side by side and view them simultaneously. The new browser also notifies you about updates to your favorite sites right on the home screen.

In this article, we will figure out how to restore the Windows 10 or Windows 8.1 bootloader on a computer running in . Damage to the Windows 8 boot loader can be caused by installing a second OS (Dual Boot configurations), incorrect actions of a “specialist” when restoring the system after a failure, deleting “extra” data on hidden partitions, a ransomware virus, and a number of other reasons.

Boot error The boot configuration data for your PC is missing: EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD

Damage to the Windows 10/8.1 bootloader installed in UEFI mode may be indicated by the inability to boot the system and the appearance of a new blue “screen of death” with the error:

The boot configuration data for your PC is missing or contains errors.
File:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD
Error code: 0xc000000f

In the Russian version of Windows, the error may look like this:

Your computer needs repair
Boot configuration data for your PC is missing or incorrect
File:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD
Error code: 0xc000000f

All this may indicate damage or even complete deletion of the Windows 8 bootloader configuration - Boot Configuration Data (BCD). Restoring the BCD bootloader using one of the previously discussed methods ( , ) will not work: when you try to execute the bcdedit command, the system displays an error:

The boot configuration data store could not be found.
The requested system device cannot be found

The fact is that the BCD BCD boot loader configuration in Windows 10/8 installed in UEFI mode is stored on a separate hiddensection EFI(100 MB in size with the FAT32 file system), which the bcdedit utility does not see, and accordingly cannot manage the bootloader configuration on it.

Automatic Windows Boot Loader Repair

The automatic bootloader recovery procedure built into , as a rule, is powerless in such cases. But it's still worth a try:

Manually repairing the Windows boot loader using a boot disk

Let's move on to the procedure for restoring the Windows bootloader on a system with EFI.

So, to restore the boot loader (BCD) configuration, you need to boot from the original Windows 8 installation DVD (or recovery disc or) and open a command prompt window: by selecting System Restore -> Diagnostics -> Command Line(System Restore -> Troubleshoot->Command Prompt), or by pressing the key combination Shift+F10).

Let's launch diskpart:

Let's display a list of disks in the system:

Let's select the disk on which your Windows is installed (if there is only one hard disk in the system, its index should be 0):

Let's display a list of partitions in the system:

In our example, you can see that the EFI partition (it can be determined by its size of 100 MB and the FAT32 file system) has an index of volume 1, and the boot partition with the installed Windows system (this can be either Windows 10 or Windows 8.1/8) has a volume 3 .

Let's assign an arbitrary drive letter to the hidden EFI partition:

assign letter M:

A line should appear indicating that the drive letter was successfully assigned to the EFI partition:

DiskPart successfully assigned the drive letter or mount point.

Finishing work with diskpart:

Let's go to the directory with the bootloader on the hidden partition

cd /d m:\efi\microsoft\boot\

In this case, m: is the drive letter assigned to the UEFI partition just above. If the \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\ directory is missing (The system cannot find the path specified error), try the following commands:

cd /d M:\ESD\Windows\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\

Let's recreate the boot sector on the boot partition:

bootrec/fixboot

Let's delete the current BCD configuration file by renaming it (saving the old configuration as a backup):

Using the utility bcdboot.exe Let's recreate the BCD storage by copying the boot environment files from the system directory:
bcdboot C:\Windows /l en-us /s M: /f ALL
Where, C:\Windows– path to the directory with Windows 8 installed.
/f ALL– means that it is necessary to copy boot environment files, including files for computers with UEFI or BIOS (theoretical ability to boot on EFI and BIOS systems)
/l en-us— system locale type. The default is en-us - English (United States).

Advice. If you use a localized Russian version of Windows 10 / Windows 8, the command will be different:
bcdboot C:\Windows /L ru-ru /S M: /F ALL

Possible mistakes:

• BFSVC Error: Can't open the BCD template store. status – – check the correctness of the entered command and whether you are using localized Windows, in this case you need to correctly specify the system language code (local language code)
• BFSVC Error: Error copying boot files Last Error = 0x570 – try checking the disk using the CHKDSK M: /F command

Run the commands:

bootrec /scanos
bootrec /rebuildbcd

All that remains is to restart the computer, after which the Windows Boot Manager item should appear in the selection of boot devices, in which you can select to boot the desired OS. BCD boot loader configuration successfully restored!

Despite the fact that Windows operating systems are developing at a rapid pace, increasing reliability and stability, sometimes situations may arise when the computer cannot boot normally.

However, you can try to start the system in a minimal environment mode, when only the most necessary services and a limited set of device drivers are functioning, sufficient to diagnose and eliminate possible malfunctions.

This mode is called "Safe".

For example, here is a screenshot of the task manager in safe mode.

It can be seen that only 19 processes are running, opening 4482 descriptors (pointers to different files).

And here is a screenshot of the normal operation of the same system immediately after a restart.

Already 33 processes and more than 12 thousand descriptors. Obviously, in the event of probable software failures, booting the system in safe mode will be much easier.

How to Boot into Safe Mode on Windows 8

There are various ways to boot your system into Safe Mode.

Method one.

1. When finishing work, hold down the key Shift and select “” without releasing Shift;

Or you can right-click on the “Windows” icon and select “ Shutdown -> »

2. In the menu that appears, select “ Diagnostics»;

3. In the section " Diagnostics" choose " Extra options»;

4. In the additional parameters section, enter “ Boot Options»;

5. Select the item “ Reboot»;

6. After the reboot, we see a menu with various boot options, which can be selected by pressing the F1-F9 keys, respectively.

Here we are interested in items with safe mode. This is normal safe mode, starting the system in a minimal environment; – safe mode with loading network drivers. In this case, we will have access to the network adapter (standard driver) and we can diagnose the network, access files and even access the Internet - safe mode with command line support. When we select this mode, a command line window will open in which we can perform diagnostics and administration using control commands.

(For example, the command " chkdsk C: /f" will run a file system check on drive C: with error correction).

Method two.

1. With the system running, press the key combination , or find the “Run” program through the search, in the input field of which type the command “msconfig”;

2. In the launched program, go to the “” tab and select the download options “ Safe mode" In addition to the boot parameter, you can specify the mode option (see the previous method, here “Other shell” means “...with command line support...”, “Network” - “... with loading network drivers...”).

3. Reboot. The system will boot in the specified mode. This setting is disabled through the same utility (the “Safe Mode” checkbox is unchecked);

Method three.

If we are not able to login. In this case, we will need a system recovery disk, which needs to be made in advance (if you have free time and a USB flash drive, then spend it now on creating such a disk, it will help save data in the future).

1. In order to create a recovery disk, you need to use a special utility (you can find it by searching for the phrase “Creating...”);

To the warning that the data will be destroyed, respond in the affirmative by clicking the “Create” button. First make sure that there is no important data on the flash drive; it will be erased.

2. Boot the computer from the USB drive created in the previous step. Booting from a USB device must be enabled in the BIOS in the Boot section (it may look different: Boot options/Boot order/Boot priority, names may differ in BIOSes from different manufacturers).

3. In the automatic recovery window that appears after clicking on the “Advanced options” button, we will see the already familiar menu (from the first method). Further actions do not differ from those described earlier.

Method four.

If suddenly we did not create a recovery disk in advance, then there is another option to start the computer in safe mode - use the Windows 8 installation disk.

1. Install the Windows 8 boot disk into the CD drive and reboot (you may need to set boot priority from the CD/DVD device in the BIOS).

2. The system will prompt you to press any key to continue booting from the disk, press any key (for example, spacebar);

3. We will see the boot disk menu, the appearance of which depends on the author of the assembly that compiled the disk. Select “Recovery Environment 8.1”

6. From the command line itself, we can run the following command:

> bcdedit /set (globalsettings) advancedoptions true

7. Now close the command line and restart the computer. The system will prompt us with boot options every time we boot.

You can disable this system behavior with the following command on the command line:

> bcdedit /deletevalue (globalsettings) advancedoptions

So, we have as many as four ways to load safe mode in the operating system; which one to choose depends on the situation and the available equipment. In any case, remember that getting into safe mode is not a problem. The most important thing is to take comprehensive measures aimed at eliminating the malfunction. But this topic is beyond the scope of the article.