Safe Mode in Windows 11: How to Boot In, Fix and Exit

Safe mode in Windows 11 starts Windows with only a basic set of files and drivers, so a startup app, a third-party driver or a background service that is making the PC unstable does not load. The usual way in is Settings › System › Recovery, then Restart now next to Advanced startup, followed by Troubleshoot › Advanced options › Startup Settings › Restart and the 4 or 5 key.

Safe mode is a diagnostic state, not a repair: it tells you whether the problem comes from something that loads in a normal start, and gives you a quiet place to remove it.

What safe mode loads, and the three versions

Microsoft's safe mode article describes safe mode as starting Windows "in a basic state, using a limited set of files and drivers", and adds the reasoning that makes it useful: if a problem does not happen in safe mode, default settings and basic device drivers are less likely to be the cause. Startup Settings offers three versions:

Pick 4 to remove something already on the PC, and 5 to download a driver or sign in with a Microsoft account; Microsoft's sign-in troubleshooting page recommends 5 for that case. Pick 6 only if you know the command you want to run.

The same Microsoft page says safe mode sign-in works only with a password, not a PIN or biometric sign-in, so check you know your account password before you restart.

When safe mode helps, and when it does not

Safe mode earns its place when something that loads with Windows is the problem:

• A new driver. The PC started crashing, freezing or showing a black screen after a GPU, audio, network or chipset driver update.
• A startup app or service. The desktop appears and then hangs, or the PC slows to a crawl a minute after sign-in, and you cannot get far enough in normal mode to turn the culprit off.
• An app that fights back. Security software, a VPN client or a system utility keeps a process running that blocks its own removal or makes the PC unusable.
• A malware cleanup where a normal start lets the unwanted program protect itself.

It helps much less when the cause is hardware, such as a failing drive or overheating, or when Windows is damaged badly enough that safe mode also fails. If the problem is still there in safe mode, that points away from your apps and drivers.

Do not treat safe mode as a better place to uninstall in general. Some uninstallers rely on services that safe mode does not start, so they can refuse to run or stop halfway. If an app uninstalls normally in normal mode, uninstall it there. For uninstallers that stall in either mode, when a Windows uninstall fails explains how to read what the uninstaller is waiting for.

Get into safe mode from Settings

This route works when Windows still starts and you can reach the desktop.

1. Open Settings › System › Recovery. You can also press Win + R and enter ms-settings:recovery.
2. Under Recovery options, next to Advanced startup, choose Restart now. Save open work first; the PC restarts immediately.
3. On the blue Choose an option screen, choose Troubleshoot › Advanced options › Startup Settings › Restart.
4. After the restart, press 4 or F4 for safe mode, or 5 or F5 for safe mode with networking. Pressing Enter starts Windows normally.

Microsoft's Windows Recovery Environment article documents the Settings path, and the Startup Settings article lists all nine options on that last screen. Options 7 to 9 (Disable Driver Signature Enforcement, Disable early launch anti-malware protection, Disable automatic restart on system failure) are not safe mode, and the first two switch off protections for that start; leave them alone unless a support article for your exact problem asks for one.

Shift + Restart, failed boots and recovery media

If you can reach the sign-in screen but not the desktop, hold Shift while you select Power › Restart, as Microsoft's sign-in troubleshooting page describes. The PC goes to the same Choose an option screen, and the rest of the steps are identical. The recovery article lists the same Shift + Power › Restart as a general way in, so it also works from the desktop.

If Windows does not get as far as the sign-in screen, the Windows Recovery Environment can still be reached. Microsoft's recovery article says Windows enters it on its own after repeated failed starts, and that you can force this: hold the power button to turn the PC off while Windows is loading, do it twice, and on the third start the Automatic Repair screen appears. Choose Advanced options there and continue to Startup Settings. A recovery USB drive or Windows installation media gets you to the same place: boot from it and choose Repair my PC. Use the hard power-off only when nothing else works, never while Windows is installing an update you can still wait for.

BitLocker may ask for a recovery key

Microsoft's safe mode and Startup Settings articles both say that if your device is encrypted, you need your BitLocker key to complete these steps. Find it on another device before you begin.

According to Microsoft's BitLocker recovery key guide, a home PC's key is usually in the Microsoft account that set the PC up: sign in at aka.ms/myrecoverykey. If someone else set up the PC, it may be in their account. It may also be on a printout or a USB drive you saved when encryption was turned on, and a work or school PC uses aka.ms/aadrecoverykey instead. When the prompt appears, compare the first 8 characters of the Key ID on screen with the one listed, because one account can hold keys for several PCs. Microsoft Support cannot recover a lost key.

What to do inside safe mode

Work through these in order and stop as soon as one explains the problem, so you know which change fixed it.

Remove what you installed last. Open Settings › Apps › Installed apps and uninstall the app you added just before the trouble began. If its uninstaller will not run here, note the name and come back to it in normal mode.

Roll back a driver. Right-click Start, open Device Manager, expand the category (Display adapters for a GPU), right-click the device and choose Properties. On the Driver tab, choose Roll Back Driver, pick a reason and confirm with Yes, then restart when asked. Microsoft's Device Manager guide notes that you need administrator permissions. If Roll Back Driver is not available, get the older driver from the device maker instead.

Remove a Windows update. If the problem started with a Windows update, go to Settings › Windows Update › Update history, then Uninstall updates under Related settings. Microsoft's update removal article warns that some updates cannot be removed and that removing a security update carries risk. If Windows will not start at all, the recovery environment has its own Troubleshoot › Advanced options › Uninstall Updates.

Turn off startup apps. Settings › Apps › Startup, or the Startup apps tab in Task Manager, both listed in Microsoft's startup apps article. Turning an entry off does not remove the app. For deciding which ones to turn off, see managing Windows startup apps.

Go back to a restore point. Press Win + R, enter rstrui.exe and pick a point from before the trouble started. Microsoft's System Restore article says it reverts system files, registry settings and installed programs without affecting personal files. Restore points and backups on Windows covers choosing a point and checking affected programs first.

Read the history. Control Panel › Security and Maintenance › Maintenance › View reliability history opens Reliability Monitor, which Microsoft's Reliability Monitor overview describes as a day-by-day record of application failures, Windows failures and warnings, with links to technical details and to the same events in Event Viewer. A red mark on the day a driver or app was installed is often the quickest clue you will get.

For malware, the Microsoft route is not safe mode but Microsoft Defender Offline: in Windows Security › Virus & threat protection › Scan options, choose Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan). Its Microsoft page says it restarts the PC and scans from the recovery environment, with results in Protection history. Third-party antivirus that will not uninstall usually has a vendor removal tool; the McAfee removal guide is one example.

Do not delete folders under C:\Windows or C:\Program Files by hand, disable services in bulk or run registry cleaners here. Nothing running stops you in safe mode, which is why these break the next normal start.

How to exit safe mode, and the msconfig trap

Restart from Start › Power › Restart; Microsoft says that should be enough to return to normal mode.

If the PC keeps coming back to safe mode, someone turned on safe boot in System Configuration, which many older guides recommend as a way in. That setting stays until you clear it. Press Win + R, enter msconfig, select OK, open the Boot tab and clear the Safe boot checkbox under Boot options, then restart. This is the fix both Microsoft safe mode articles give.

So avoid msconfig as a way in; the Settings and Shift + Restart routes affect only the next start.

Where Mole fits

Mole is not a boot tool. It does not start Windows in safe mode, add anything to the recovery environment or repair a PC that will not start, and it is not built or tested to run inside safe mode, so do not count on it there. Use the Windows steps above while you are in safe mode.

Once you are back in normal mode, Mole can help with what safe mode pointed at. The Apps tab's startup list lets you turn sign-in programs off and on again after checking each name and program path, marks an entry whose program no longer exists as Missing program, and keeps recognized security, VPN and proxy entries locked. Uninstall runs the app's own uninstaller first and only then offers leftovers, which go to the Recycle Bin with registry entries backed up. Run Doctor, from the Mole mark at the top left of the window, shows whether a restart is still pending from Windows Update or servicing and whether Defender real-time protection is on. The Windows help page describes each of these.

FAQ

How do I boot into safe mode in Windows 11?

Go to Settings › System › Recovery and choose Restart now next to Advanced startup. Then choose Troubleshoot › Advanced options › Startup Settings › Restart and press 4 for safe mode or 5 for safe mode with networking.

What is safe mode with networking?

It is safe mode plus the network drivers and services Windows needs to reach the internet. Use it when you need to download a driver or tool, or sign in with a Microsoft account password.

How do I get out of safe mode?

Restart the PC. If it keeps returning to safe mode, open msconfig, clear Safe boot on the Boot tab, and restart.

Why does safe mode not accept my PIN?

Safe mode sign-in works only with a password, so a PIN, fingerprint or face sign-in is not available. Use your Microsoft account or local account password.