How To Boot Windows 11 in Safe Mode: 5 Effective Methods

When Windows behaves weird—like slow startups, crashes, or even just refusing to load properly—booting into Safe Mode can be a lifesaver. It’s basically Windows stripped down to just the essentials, no extra fluff, making it easier to troubleshoot what’s really going on. Sometimes, you can’t even get to the desktop or login screen, which makes Safe Mode your best bet to fix stuff without reinstalling everything from scratch. You might think, “Okay, cool, but how do I get there if Windows won’t start normally?” Don’t worry, there are a few tricks, and some are pretty straightforward while others are a tad more technical. The goal here is to show some reliable methods you can try—whether by settings, command lines, or even forcing Windows into recovery mode—to get into Safe Mode and figure out what’s messing up your PC.

How to Boot Windows 11 into Safe Mode

Open Safe Mode from Settings

This one’s the easiest if your PC is still somewhat responsive. Only thing is, you gotta be able to see the screen and navigate a bit. Basically, you go into Windows settings, restart into recovery, and then choose Safe Mode. It’s a good starting point, especially if Windows is just being stubborn but still somewhat functional.

Hit Windows key + I to open Settings.
Scroll down to Recovery in the sidebar (or find it via search if yours looks broken).
Under Advanced Startup, click Restart Now. When the prompt pops up, hit Restart again.
When your PC boots into the recovery menu, select Troubleshoot >> Advanced options.
Choose Startup Settings. You’ll see a dialog box with all sorts of options. Hit Restart at the bottom.
After reboot, you’ll see options listed with numbers. Press 4 (that’s Safe Mode), or 5 for Safe Mode with Networking if you need to go online. Make sure Num Lock is on if you’re using the keypad for the number 4.

Use the Start Menu to get into Safe Mode

If Windows still sorta works, this method is faster—just a quick shift + restart combo. It’s pretty reliable because it’s built into the OS, and you don’t need to dig through menus or command prompts.

Click the Start button.
Hold Shift and click Restart. The system will reboot into the recovery mode.
Follow the same path: Troubleshoot >> Advanced options >> Startup Settings, then click Restart.
Once back at the menu with options, press 4 to boot into Safe Mode.(Again, ensure Num Lock is enabled.)

Go old-school with Command Prompt

For those comfortable with a terminal, this one’s a bit sneaky but works in most situations. Basically, you tell Windows to reboot into recovery mode using a simple command, then pick Safe Mode from there. Kind of weird, but it’s worked on several setups, especially if the GUI is totally dead.

Press Windows + R to open the run dialog. Type cmd but don’t hit Enter yet.
Press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open an elevated Command Prompt (run as admin).Confirm if prompted.
Type in this command:
```
shutdown.exe /r /o
```
and press Enter.
The system will reboot shortly and go into Windows Recovery Environment (winRE).Wait patiently, this can take a minute.
From there, go to Troubleshoot >> Advanced options >> Startup Settings. Hit Restart.
At the startup options, press 4 for Safe Mode, or 5 if you want Safe Mode with Networking. This method is kind of a shortcut around the menus, and sometimes it just feels more direct.

Use msconfig for a quick fix

If you plan to keep Windows in Safe Mode for a bit longer, or want it permanent until you review stuff, msconfig is handy. But beware: your PC will keep booting in Safe Mode until you turn this off, so don’t forget to switch back when done. Why it helps? Because it bypasses the recovery process and keeps your Windows in Safe Mode on restart, which is super useful for ongoing troubleshooting.

Press the Windows key and search for msconfig, then open the app.
Head to the Boot tab.
Check the box for Safe boot and select Minimal underneath.
Click Apply, then OK. The system will ask you to restart—do so.

Force Windows into Automatic Repair and then Safe Mode

This’s a bit more aggressive but pretty reliable if nothing else works. Basically, you kill the machine’s startup process three times fast—which forces Windows to load into recovery mode automatically. From there, you can select Safe Mode easily. It’s kind of an awkward workaround, but it’s good to know if your PC is totally bricked.

Force shutdown by holding down your power button. Do this three times — power off before Windows fully loads each time.
On the third try, Windows will boot into Automatic Repair mode.
Click Advanced options, then Troubleshoot >> Advanced options.
Select Startup Settings, then click Restart.
On the restart, press F4 to enable Safe Mode. Easy as that.

And that’s pretty much everything you can try without doing a full reinstall. Each of these methods has its pros and cons, depending on how stubborn or broken the system is. Sometimes, just a quick setting change does the trick; other times, a deep dive with commands is needed.