In the past, when your PC was not working properly, it was common to repeatedly press the F8 key to start up in "Safe Mode." However, in Windows 10 and Windows 11, this feature has been disabled to speed up startup, and pressing the F8 key does not display "Advanced Boot Options."
But don't worry, this feature is still there, and you can "revive" the old F8 key with a simple command.
In this article, we will enable the F8 key andSteps to easily enter Safe Mode at any timeWe will explain in detail.
Is "Advanced Boot Options" a necessity now?
In conclusion,Yes, we highly recommend enabling it. In fact, with Windows 11 now, it's more convenient than it was in the Windows 7 era.It is becoming increasingly importantThere are two main reasons for this.
Reason 1: Avoid the latest "recovery environment glitch" (most important)
Recently, due to Windows Update, Mouse and keyboard become unresponsive in Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)This is a fatal problem. Even if the repair screen (blue screen) appears, you will not be able to select "System Restore" or "Safe Mode," and you will be completely stuck.
However, the Advanced Boot Options, which can be launched by pressing the F8 key, is a simpler text-based screen, so you can reliably select repair options such as Safe Mode without being affected by this bug. This makes it a very effective insurance against the latest problems.
Mouse and keyboard not responding in Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)? The cause is KB5067039
Reason 2: You can use the powerful tool "Last Known Good Configuration"
Additionally, the biggest benefit of enabling the F8 key is that it gives you the option to boot to the "Last Known Good Configuration." This is a powerful feature that allows you to quickly restore your system to a working state if a recent change causes it to fail to boot, such as a black screen caused by an automatically applied display driver.
In the past, there was a large-scale outage caused by an update from CrowdStrike that rendered approximately 850 million PCs worldwide unable to boot. However, even in such cases, if the "last known good configuration" had been known, many of the PCs could have been restored immediately.
How to display the "Last Known Good Configuration" when starting up Windows 10/Win11
How to enable Advanced Boot Options
1. Enabling "Advanced Boot Options"
Open a command prompt as an administrator, type the following code, and press Enter:
Learn how to open a command prompt
1. Press Windows key + R to open Run.
2. Type "cmd".
3.Shift + Ctrl + Enter Please press.
4. When the "User Account Control" message appears, click "Yes".
bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacyNow, the next time you power on your PC and press the F8 key repeatedly, the good old Advanced Boot Options will appear.
【point】 However, modern PCs boot up very quickly,It's difficult to press the F8 key at the right time, and the menu doesn't appear.You may.
In such a case, you can also set the Windows Boot Manager to always be displayed.The selection screen will be displayed for a few seconds during startup, giving you enough time to press the F8 key without panicking.
2. Windows Boot Manager Display Settings
1. Type the following command into the command prompt and press Enter:
BCDEdit /SET "{bootmgr}" displaybootmenu yes2. Then type the following command and press Enter:
bcdedit /timeout 30
The next time you start your PC, the Windows Boot Manager will be displayed for 30 seconds.
If no operation is performed for 30 seconds, Windows will start as is, and if you press the "F8" key within 30 seconds, "Advanced Boot Options" will be displayed.
If you want to change the display time of "Windows Boot Manager", change "timeout 30" to "30".
If you want to set it to "15" seconds, it will look like this (you can set it up to 999 seconds):
bcdedit /timeout 15If you set the timeout to "0", the "Windows Boot Manager" will not be displayed.
From these "Advanced Boot Options" you can run Safe Mode and other items.
The Advanced Boot Options may appear as a blue screen.
Advanced Boot Options
Each of the F8 options has a specific purpose, so we've outlined each below to help you choose the one that best suits your situation.
| Item | Description |
| Computer Repair | To solve problems such as Windows not startingWindows Recovery Environment (WinRE) You can use tools such as System Restore, Startup Repair, and Command Prompt. |
| Safe Mode | This will start Windows with only the minimum drivers and services required to start your PC. If an issue is caused by an added app or a specific driver, use this to identify and repair the cause. |
| Safe Mode with Networking | In addition to the functions of Safe Mode, this mode also loads the network driver required to connect to the Internet. Select this mode if you need to re-download the driver to resolve a problem. |
| Safe Mode with Command Prompt | Instead of the normal desktop screen, a command prompt (black screen) will start. This mode is for advanced users who are familiar with command operations and are in serious situations where a GUI cannot be used. |
| Enable boot logging | A log file (ntbtlog.txt), which can be useful if a specific driver is preventing boot. |
| Enable low resolution video | If there is a problem with the display driver and the screen is blank (black), start the computer with the most basic video driver (low resolution). This allows you to reinstall the driver, etc. |
| Debug mode | An advanced troubleshooting mode for system developers and administrators that connects the PC to a debugger to analyze kernel-level problems. |
| Disable automatic restart on system failure | Prevents your PC from automatically restarting when a critical error such as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) occurs, giving you more time to read the error message and determine the cause of the problem. |
| ドライバー署名の強制を無効にする | This option allows the installation of unofficial drivers that are not digitally signed by Microsoft. This option is not normally used unless special testing is required, as it poses a security risk. |
| Disable the startup anti-malware driver | Disables the ability to load anti-malware drivers (ELAM) as early as possible in the Windows startup process. This is useful in rare cases where security software is preventing the computer from booting. |
| Start Windows normally | Exit this menu and start Windows normally. Select this if you arrived at this screen by mistake or if you don't need to do anything. |
How to disable Advanced Boot Options
Open a command prompt as an administrator, type the following code, and press Enter:
bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy standardThis will return you to the default settings.
If you press the F8 key repeatedly during startup, a blue screen appears
In some environments, if you repeatedly press the F8 key during startup, a blue screen (Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)) may be displayed.
In this case, instead of repeatedly pressing the F8 key during startup, you can display the Advanced Boot Options by pressing the F8 key once after (while) the Windows Boot Manager is displayed.
