How to boot into Safe Mode in Windows 11
Booting into Safe Mode is usually one of the steps to solving common software problems in Windows, because Safe Mode provides an isolated environment with limited capabilities so that the user can perform certain functions that were not available to perform in the case of the normal operation of Windows.
In a clearer sense, Safe Mode does not allow the operation of external programs installed on the device, so if you boot into safe mode and notice that the problem you were facing suddenly disappeared! It means that the reason was in one of the programs. Since it is completely isolated, you can use Safe Mode to repair your computer and delete any program, viruses, etc. No program will prevent you from performing any action. Since most settings have changed in Windows 11, access to Safe Mode is different as well, let's explain how to enable it below.
Safe Mode in Windows 11 is available in three forms: The first is called Minimal, which allows for very limited functionality where you cannot access the Internet, use the command prompt, etc., but you can uninstall programs, applications, or even device drivers.
The second is called "Network", which provides an isolated environment supported by an Internet connection, but via an Ethernet cable, that is, if the connection is via Wi-Fi, it will not work in this mode. The third one is the Alternate shell where you are provided an isolated environment bare from Windows that contains only a Command Prompt window where you can scan and diagnose your computer via commands.
The usual way to boot into Safe Mode in Windows is through the Advanced Options screen, which can be accessed in two ways. The first and fastest way is to open the Start menu and press the Power menu in the lower right corner, and when the menu opens, press and hold the Shift button and then press the Restart option from the menu.
As for the second method, you need to open the Settings application from the Start menu or by pressing the Win + I (E) keys together, then go to the System section and then scroll down and press Recovery and on the next page press the "Restart now" button in front of the Advanced option startup. A window will appear asking you to confirm the work of restarting the computer, press "Restart now".
After that, Windows will shutdown and restart in a blue screen and ask you to select "Choose an Option" with many options in a shortcut menu, here select the "Troubleshoot" option and then click on "Advanced options" to display more options that help In solving some problems such as deleting updates, restoring the system state from System Restore, fixing boot problems, and so on. All you need here is to select "Startup Settings" and press "Restart".
The computer will shutdown and restart, and the Startup Settings menu will appear in front of you, which contains 9 different options to boot Windows, including 3 options to boot into safe mode. You can press No. 4 on the keyboard to boot into Safe Mode without functions, No. 5 to enter Safe Mode with an Internet connection, or No. 6 to boot into Safe Mode with the command prompt running. In general, you'll need to press 4 or 5 here, but 6 can be useful for advanced troubleshooting if you know how to work with the Windows command line.
Once you make your choice, Windows will finally boot into Safe Mode where you will notice the screen resolution drop and Windows will replace your desktop image with a black background indicating Safe Mode in all corners of the screen. Do whatever you want and when you're done, just restart your computer to get out of this mode.
Note that you can also boot into Safe Mode directly through Windows 11 settings, that is, without going to the Advanced Options screen first. This is done using the System Configuration tool which can be launched by opening the Run window by pressing the Win + R (s) keys together then typing [msconfig] and hitting Enter.
As soon as the tool appears on the screen, go to the “Boot” section and put a checkmark next to “Safe boot” under the “Boot options” section. You can also specify whether you want to activate the mode in its usual form, Minimal, with an Internet connection, or with a command prompt. Once done, click OK and select "Restart" from the popup that appears. The computer will restart and enter Safe Mode directly.