Windows' Condom Mode is an essential tool. On computers infected with malware or crashing because of buggy drivers, Safe Style may be the only fashion to get-go the computer.

Safe Style starts your PC with a minimal fix of drivers and services. No third-party software or drivers get loaded, and even the born Windows stuff is limited to but what's necessary. Safe Mode is a not bad mode to remove problem-causing software—like malware—without that software getting in the way. Information technology also provides an environment where y'all may find it easier to curlicue dorsum drivers, and utilise sure troubleshooting tools.

When Rubber Mode Tin can Help

When Windows starts unremarkably, information technology launches startup programs, fires up all the services configured to start, and loads the hardware drivers you have installed. If you outset in Condom Fashion, Windows uses a very low screen resolution with generic video drivers, doesn't initialize much hardware support, starts only the necessary services, and avoids loading third-party startup programs.

Sometimes, you can start Windows in Safe Style when you lot can't start Windows usually, making it a good identify to starting time troubleshooting potential problems. If your computer is infected with malware or has unstable hardware drivers that cause blue screens, Safe Fashion can help you fix information technology considering those things aren't loaded the mode they are when Windows starts ordinarily.

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If in that location's a trouble with your estimator and you can't seem to fix it—or if your computer is unstable and keeps crashing or blue-screening—you should drop into Condom Fashion to set information technology.

How to Commencement Windows In Safe Fashion

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Your Windows PC should automatically start up in Rubber Mode if it crashes more than one time while trying to offset normally. However, you can also kicking into Safety Mode manually:

  • Windows 7 and earlier: Press the F8 key while the computer is booting (subsequently the initial BIOS screen, but before the Windows loading screen), and then select Safe Mode in the carte that appears.
  • Windows eight: Hold Shift while clicking Restart on the Power bill of fare on either the login screen or through the Charms bar carte du jour to begin the process.
  • Windows 10: Hold Shift while clicking Restart on the "Power Options" submenu of the Start Menu. Click Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings > Restart. Press the "4" primal when yous see the Startup Settings screen.

How to Prepare Your PC in Prophylactic Way

After starting Windows in Safe Mode, you tin perform near of the regular system maintenance and troubleshooting tasks to fix your computer:

  • Scan for Malware: Apply your antivirus application to scan for malware and remove it in Safe Manner. Malware that may be impossible to remove in normal manner—because information technology's running in the background and interfering with the antivirus—may be removable in Condom Mode. If y'all don't have an antivirus installed, you lot should be able to download and install one in Safe Mode. Of class, if you're using Windows Defender in Windows 10, yous might exist better off performing an offline malware browse.
  • Run Organization Restore: If your computer was recently working fine but it's now unstable, you can use Arrangement Restore to restore its organisation country to the before, known-good configuration. Assuming your computer is unstable and crashing, it may be possible to run System Restore without crashing from Safe Style.
  • Uninstall Recently Installed Software: If you lot recently installed software (such as a hardware commuter or a program that includes a driver) and information technology'due south causing your reckoner to blue-screen, you can uninstall that software from the Control Panel. Your reckoner should hopefully start usually after you've uninstalled the interfering software.
  • Update Hardware Drivers: Assuming your hardware drivers are causing system instability, yous may desire to download and install updated drivers from your manufacturer'due south website and install them in Condom Style. If your computer is unstable, you'll have to practice this from Safe Way—the hardware drivers won't interfere and make your computer unstable in Safe Mode.
  • See Whether a Crash Occurs: If your computer is unstable normally merely works fine in Safe Mode, it'due south likely that in that location's a software trouble causing your computer to crash. Withal, if the computer continues to crash in Safety Style, this is frequently a sign that there's a hardware problem with your computer. (Note that stability in Safe Mode doesn't necessarily mean it's a hardware problem. For example, your graphics card may exist faulty and causing crashes under load. All the same, it may exist stable in Safe Mode because your computer isn't performing demanding operations with it.)

Beyond Rubber Mode: Reinstalling Windows

If you are having computer problems, it'due south often not a good use of your time to spend hours isolating and fixing them. It may be much faster to reinstall Windows and start over with a fresh organisation.

  • Windows vii and earlier: Check out our guide to reinstalling Windows from a Windows disc or your computer's recovery sectionalization.
  • Windows 8 or Windows 10: Employ the Refresh or Reset your PC feature to restore Windows back to a make clean state.

Of grade, reinstalling Windows will cause you to lose your personal files, so be sure you lot take a backup. On Windows 8 or 10, Refreshing your PC will preserve your personal files while replacing the organization software.

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If your figurer continues to be unstable after a full Windows reinstall, your figurer's hardware may exist faulty. A complete Windows reinstall rules out any software problems, unless in that location'southward a faulty hardware driver that needs to be updated.