Lab 10.3: Booting to Safe Mode

Windows 98/2000/XP have a mode of operation that helps you troubleshoot devices. This mode is Safe mode. It is designed to boot the system with only the minimum number of devices operational, which can help you determine if the problems you are having are software related or related to a device.

In Safe mode, Windows uses some basic default settings that load the minimum device drivers necessary to load Windows. You get a mouse pointer, and video starts in VGA mode with 16 colors and 640 480 screen resolution. You do not have access to CD-ROM drives, the network, printers, or other devices. To access Safe mode, press F8 after the power on self- test (POST) process.

Windows does give you some options for Safe mode, including starting Safe mode with network support and Safe mode with command-prompt support. These options let you access key driver files if they are located on the network.

Windows 2000/XP add the ability to use the last known good configuration, which is a saved configuration that was used during the last successful boot. This option is very useful when the reason you need to get into Safe mode is to undo a configuration change that is now preventing you from a successful boot.

Windows XP adds a system restore mode that allows you to create restore points. Another feature added to Windows XP is driver rollback. If you need to remove a driver that is affecting the proper operation of the system, you can use Device Manager to roll back the driver.

Upon completion of this lab, you will be able to boot the computer into Safe mode.

Set Up

For this lab, you will need a working computer running Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows XP.

Exercise

1. Boot the computer using Windows 98. After POST completes and during the time when Windows is starting, press F8.

2. Record the options for Safe mode:

3. Repeat these steps to boot into Windows 2000 and Windows XP. Record the options: