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I'm having a devil of a time trying to get Windows 8.x into safe mode. From what I've read it seems nigh impossible to do this without doing a jig and catching a leprechaun first.

The shift-(mash)F8 just doesn't do the trick. I've tried this on about 10 computers so far ranging from various 8 and 8.1 editions with no joy.

Is there a sure fire mechanism to trigger safe mode now? I'm even open to the idea of some CD/ISO that is set up to trigger this by modifying the boot.ini or such if you know of a tool like this. There are way too many situations where I'm needing safe mode to keep going on like this otherwise.

ylluminate
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  • There are two ways to get into Windows 8 safe mode both are extremely easy. The first is the Advanced Startup Options Menu boot options enabled by selecting that option in msconfig the other is to force Windows 8 to fail durin the loading process 3 times. The reason the Advanced Startup Option Menu must be used because of the extremely fast boot times allowed by UEFI partitions. The F8 method was actually removed since it wouldn't have been possible to hit within the 1-2 seconds it actually would have been valid. – Ramhound Apr 28 '14 at 15:50
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    Possible duplicate: http://superuser.com/questions/701693/what-is-the-most-reliable-way-to-get-a-windows-8-8-1-computer-into-advanced-star?rq=1 and http://superuser.com/questions/476187/how-do-i-boot-windows-8-into-safe-mode – Ramhound Apr 28 '14 at 15:53
  • The key here for me is to get into safe mode when there is one cannot get into windows to run msconfig. That is about the case 1/4 - 1/2 the time for me, so thanks. Let me give that a go. – ylluminate Apr 28 '14 at 15:55
  • Hence the reason I mention the fact the Advanced Startup Option Menu will be displayed after 3 failed attempts to load Windows automatically. – Ramhound Apr 28 '14 at 15:56
  • On that Advanced Startup Option Menu, what is the "best" way to make bootup fail. I hate to just power it off during boot (coming from a *nix background it makes me queasy), but that's the only thing I can think of off the top here. – ylluminate Apr 28 '14 at 15:58
  • @ylluminate - I don't understand the question. If Windows is crashing because of a driver, after 3 failed attempts, it will offer that menu. Are you simply trying to replicate 3 failed attempts? The reset button works wonders for that. – Ramhound Apr 28 '14 at 16:03
  • LOL, trying to not destroy the filesystem by hard resets. But that sounds as though it may be the only option. Thanks. – ylluminate Apr 28 '14 at 16:05
  • Still not clear what your trying to do. Sounds like Windows 8 boots – Ramhound Apr 28 '14 at 16:30

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