Windows Vista - Starting the Computer in Safe Mode

There are two ways to start Windows Vista in Safe mode:

Method 1

  1. Shut down Windows and restart the computer. From the Start menu, click the small icon next to the padlock icon, and then click Restart.

  2. As the computer restarts, press the F8 key after the Gateway BIOS logo appears until the Advanced Boot Options menu appears.

  3. In the Advanced Boot Options menu, use the arrow keys to highlight Safe Mode, and then press the ENTER key.

  4. After logging into Windows Vista Safe mode, close the Windows Help and Support window by clicking the X in the upper-right corner.

Method 2

  1. From the Windows Vista default Start menu, in the Start Search field, type: Msconfig, and then press the ENTER key.

  2. In the System Configuration Utility dialog box, click the BOOT tab.

  3. Under Boot Options, click the check box for the Safe boot option.

  4. Click OK.

  5. When prompted, click Restart to restart the computer.

  6. Be sure to restart msconfig and uncheck the Safe boot option when finished with troubleshooting.