What does safe mode on your computer mean?

The safe mode of the computer is a special mode in the Windows operating system. The working principle is to start the computer without loading third-party device drivers, so that the computer runs in the system minimum mode, so that the user can Easily detect and repair computer system errors.

Safe mode is a special mode in the Windows operating system. Friends who often use computers will definitely feel unfamiliar. In safe mode, users can easily Fix some system errors to get twice the result with half the effort. The working principle of safe mode is to start the computer without loading third-party device drivers, so that the computer runs in the system minimum mode, so that users can easily detect and repair computer system errors.

Operation steps

As long as you start the computer and before the system enters the Windows startup screen, press the F8 key (or hold down the Ctrl key when starting the computer), The operating system multi-mode boot menu will appear. Just select "Safe Mode" to boot the computer into safe mode.

In addition, when you are in the normal mode of Windows, click "Start/Run", enter "msconfig", then select the "General" tab in the window that opens, and then check "Diagnostic Startup" - Load only basic device drivers and services" and finally click "Apply/OK" and restart, the system will automatically enter "Safe Mode".

Solve the problem

• Delete stubborn files

  When we delete some files or clear the contents of the Recycle Bin under Windows, Sometimes the system will prompt "A certain file is in use and cannot be deleted." However, these files are not in use. At this time, you can try to restart the computer and enter safe mode at startup. After entering safe mode, Windows will automatically release control of these files and you can delete them.

• "Safe Mode" Restore

  If the computer cannot start normally, you can use "Safe Mode" or other startup options to start the computer, and press F8 when the computer starts key, select safe mode in the startup mode menu, and then perform system restore as follows:

  Click "Start" → "All Programs" → "Accessories" → "System Tools" → "System Restore" to open System Restore Wizard, then select the "Restore my computer to an earlier time" option, click the "Next" button, click on the date shown in bold on the calendar to select the system restore point, click the "Next" button to proceed system Restore.

• Check for viruses

  There are more and more viruses every day, and anti-virus software is also updated every day. However, we are a little worried about antivirus under Windows because they are very likely to be cross-infected. And some anti-virus programs cannot run under DOS. At this time, of course we can also boot the system into safe mode so that Windows only loads the most basic drivers, so that the virus can be killed more thoroughly and cleaner.

• Unlock Group Policy

  In fact, Group Policy restrictions in Windows are implemented by loading specific key values ​​​​in the registry, but this will not be loaded in safe mode limit. After restarting, hold down the F8 key and select "Safe Mode with Command Prompt" in the multi-boot menu window that opens. After entering the desktop, enter "C:WindowsSystem32XXX.exe (the program you started)" at the startup command prompt, start the console, and then follow the above operations to remove the restrictions. Finally, restart the normal login system to unlock it.

  Note: Many restrictions of Group Policy cannot take effect in safe mode. If you encounter restrictions that cannot be lifted, you may wish to go in and find a solution.

• Repair system failure

  If Windows is not running stably or cannot start normally, don’t be busy reinstalling the system at this time, try restarting the computer and switching Start in safe mode and then restart the computer. Has the system returned to normal? If the system failure is caused by a problem with the registry, this method is very effective because Windows can automatically repair the registry when starting in safe mode. Question, after successfully starting Windows in safe mode, you can usually start it in normal mode (Normal).

• Restore system settings

  If the user installs new software or changes some settings, causing the system to fail to start normally, he also needs to enter safe mode. To solve the problem, if it is caused by installing new software, please uninstall the software in safe mode. If some settings are changed, such as the display resolution setting exceeding the display range of the monitor, resulting in a black screen, you can change it after entering safe mode. Back again, you can also put the screen saver with a password in the "Startup" menu. If you forget the password and the computer cannot operate normally, you can also enter the safe mode to change it.

• Uncover malicious self-starting programs or services

  If there are some inexplicable errors on the computer, such as being unable to access the Internet, and the problem cannot be found according to conventional methods, you can boot it into safe mode with network connection and take a look. If you can access it here, it means that it is Some self-starting programs or services affect the normal connection of the network.

• Detecting incompatible hardware

  Because XP adopts a digital signature driver mode, the detection of various hardware is stricter than before, so some devices may It cannot be driven and used under normal conditions. For example, with some early CABLE MODEMs, if you find that XP cannot recognize the hardware in normal mode, you can press F8 during startup, and then choose to enter safe mode. After detecting new hardware in safe mode, it is possible to load the CABLE MODEM correctly. Driven.

• Correct the display resolution

  If we set a resolution that is unacceptable to the monitor in the display properties, for example, 1600×1200 is set for a 17-inch CRT monitor Resolution, because we cannot directly check the display, we cannot change the resolution to normal settings. It is true that Windows has a protection mechanism. When you set a resolution that is too high and the monitor cannot display it, you only need to wait for 30 seconds and it will automatically restore to the previous resolution. However, sometimes this function may not work due to various reasons. Take effect.

  You can use safe mode at this time, because in safe mode, the system will display the desktop with a resolution of 640×480. Therefore, we can safely boot the system into safe mode, set the correct resolution in the display properties, and restart the system into normal mode.

• Remove stubborn software or virus Trojans

  In normal mode, some viruses and Trojans (even normal software) may not be removed correctly because they may not work with some automatic There is a connection between the loaded software. At this time you can try safe mode. Because most of these programs will not be loaded by the operating system in safe mode, we can safely use anti-virus/Trojan software to remove viruses and Trojans, or uninstall some software that cannot be uninstalled in normal mode as needed.

  Although malware and viruses are becoming more and more cunning, and some may not be removed in safe mode, deleting software or virus Trojans in safe mode is a skill that beginners must master.

• Disk defragmentation

  After the system has been used for a long time, a lot of fragments will appear in the hard disk. Too many fragments will affect the performance of the system and waste precious hard disk. resource. Therefore, it is recommended that you defragment the hard drive regularly. During the defragmentation process, it is best not to run other programs. Generally, when Windows is started normally, the system will load some automatically started programs, and these programs are not easy to close. , often causing interference with the defragmentation process. In this case, we should restart the computer and enter safe mode. Safe mode will not start any automatic startup programs, which can ensure the smooth progress of disk defragmentation.

• Uninstall the incorrect driver

  If the general driver is not suitable for your hardware, you can uninstall it through XP driver restore. However, if the graphics card and hard disk IDE driver are installed incorrectly, they may crash as soon as they enter the GUI interface; the same is true for some motherboard ULTRA DMA patches, because Windows needs to read the memory and disk page files at any time to adjust the computer status, so the hard disk driver As soon as there is a problem, the system crashes. What to do at this time?

  In some cases, disabling the administrator account may cause maintenance difficulties. For example, in a domain environment, when the secure channel used to establish a connection fails for some reason, if there is no other local administrator account, you must restart the computer in safe mode to fix the problem that caused the connection state to be interrupted.

  If you try to re-enable a disabled administrator account and the current administrator password does not meet the password requirements, the account cannot be re-enabled. In this case, an optional member of the Administrators group must set the password for the Administrator account through the Local Users and Groups user interface.

• Solving crashes caused by drivers or software

  This problem may be encountered by many people. In this case, the only solution is to uninstall the new driver and restore the old one. version of the driver, but the problem is that Windows cannot start. How to uninstall and restore it? If the driver you installed is for some non-important devices (such as network card, graphics card, sound card, etc.), you can try entering safe mode to recover.

  In safe mode, the system will only load the most basic drivers, so as long as the system can still enter safe mode, we can uninstall the driver directly, or Windows XP/2003 users can use "Return to Driver" function returns the last correct driver).

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