# Safe Mode Shortcut Trick



## lotuseclat79

Tired of tapping F8?

See my post #7 at:
http://forums.techguy.org/windows-n...ou-get-into-safe-mode-please.html#post3333503

-- Tom


----------



## matt_aj

If your tired of tapping F 8, just hold the CTRL key down while your computer starts. This will do the same as F8.


----------



## brindle

matt_aj said:


> If your tired of tapping F 8, just hold the CTRL key down while your computer starts. This will do the same as F8.


If you want to eliminate the menu hold down the shift key (98\se) and you will boot directly into windows safe mode.


----------



## coachdan32

I can't wait to get home and try the shortcut tip.


----------



## LauraMJ

brindle said:


> If you want to eliminate the menu hold down the shift key (98\se) and you will boot directly into windows safe mode.


Oh yeah, I know all about this one. Once, when I was still running 98, the computer kept booting into safe mode, and nothing I did would get it to boot normaally. So I took it into the shop where it was built, and the guy plugs the tower into his monitor and keyboard and it boots normally. So we can't figure out what is wrong, but decide that it must be okay now (generalized computer-weirdness) and I take it home. But when I boot it up again, IT'S BACK IN SAFE MODE!!  I don't know how long we fussed with that stupid thing until I finally JUST HAPPENED to notice that my "shift" key was just a tad, just a fraction mind you, lower than the other keys and realized that the "shift" key was stuck juuuuuust enough to be engaged. 

Unstuck the key and it was fine, boot right up in normal mode.


----------



## lotuseclat79

Just a quick note:

1) I run a dual-boot computer with GRUB to allow selection between WinXP Pro SP2 (default) and RH Linux FC3.

2) After default time-out period, a Windows menu selection screen displays a selection for:
Windows XP Professional (default)
Windows XP Professional Safe Mode

3) There is another default time-out period and bootup commences as before

This technique is for all those of us who upon occasion go into Safe Mode which for me has not been very often (very few problems since getting my computer last April 1st), and upon occasion run into the slight difficulty of F8 tapping not resulting in Safe Mode entrance.

Tapping keys leaves too much dependence on the OS to notice during bootup, and I have a great distaste for MS's startup approach, i.e. all-at-once which occasionally results in one of my apps in particular generating a False Positive error report advising to reinstall the app. I just kill the process and relaunch it - does the job.

-- Tom


----------



## brindle

LauraMJ


----------



## lotuseclat79

Just to note:

You can press the F8 key before the default timeout period (normally 30 sec, but if you reset it and forgot what it is, run msconfig to see what it is set for), and you will get the Advanced Options menu with all of the choices.

-- Tom


----------

