THIS WAS A POST I DID AWHILE AGO. WITH THE NEW ANNIVERSARY WINDOWS 10 1607 UPDATE, THIS METHOD WIPES OUT THE "REGEDIT" VERSION OF F8 SAFE MODE. I JUST RE-ENTERED THE BELOW DOCUMENTATION AND NOW THE NEW WINDOWS 10 1607 SAFE MODE WORKS AGAIN. HOPE THIS HELPS... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I don't know if this issue came up or was addressed, so I'll add it again. Windows 10 took away the old "F8" safe mode boot key. To re-install it go to Windows 10 Start, All Aps, scroll down to Windows System, right click on Command Prompt, and run as administrator. You should see C:\WINDOWS\system32\ Type Regedit it will open a windows for you. Go to the following: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Configuration Manager You should see a "BackupCount" as a DWORD. If there is no BackupCount, right click on Configuration Manager, then click on New DWORD(32-bit) call it "BackupCount", and set its value to 2. Now go back to Configuration Manager and right click and go to New KEY and type "LastKnownGood" this will create the key. Now Right click on "LastGoodKnown" then click on New DWORD(32-bit) and type "Enabled". Set the value to 1. Now exit out of regedit and stay in C:\WINDOWS\system32\ Type "BCDEdit /SET {Current} BootMenuPolicy Legacy" and hit the enter key. You should see successful. Now power down your Windows 10 system and Restart it, lightly tapping the "F8" key like you use to for windows XP,7,or 8. Now you should be able to have all the controls like in the old operating system days. I hope this will help you as it has saved me numerous times with Windows 10
Until W10 1607 it was possible to simply use "bcdedit /set {bootmgr} displaybootmenu yes" on a non-uefi system. If "Time to display list of operating systems was disabled", pressing F8 would call the old menu. Now for some reason, F8 stopped working that way since the Aniv Update but setting a fixed time will still pop up the menu. Edit: Thanks for the heads up, "bcdedit /set {current} bootmenupolicy Legacy" makes it possible to use F8 to call the menu again. The first "displaybootmenu yes" command is still required to enable some System\Advanced\Startup and Recovery\Settings>System Startup options, such as having a fixed timer to display the boot menu everytime.
That's just one of the first things an user should do after the installation of any windows newer than w7. Anyway easybcd sets it by default, unless you chose to explicitly enable the metroish thing. Given how practical and useful it is, is better to use it to to do the job
From what I had read, at least up to the AU the F8 method would work in theory, but booting is so fast that you can’t catch it in practice, which is probably the reason they’ve taken it away, a bad reason if you ask me, because someone fast or with a slowish boot could still use it. But what gets on my nerves is that the new method they’ve introduced for this essential function is unnecessarily complex and almost impossible to remember. I’d add that the analogous of pressing Del or Esc to enter the Boot menu still works despite the fast start-time, which makes removing the F8 method even less convincing.
And why all this is necessary, if rebooted simply hold Shift and get to the menu, where a lot of the right, including the safe mode.
Of course, use it if you have such a method. For example, I'll tell that to the next, please in safe metod.
on my pc with windows 10 AU works fine the old f8 key i dont test on uefi mode but if you want try this open cmd with admin and run this. Code: bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy if you want disable run this bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy standard
True it is that every day we find more and more similar wisdom... It was only few days ago, when one told that he has a big problem after updating Windows, it starts now so slowly. Now is 6 seconds, but before had been faster. (Of course, faster, if at all do not turn off). The human mind has limits, idiocy is endless.
If the old method worked fine for Windows XP, 7, 8, why take a chance like the MDL Guru says. It only takes less than a few minutes to update the registry and use the BCDedit command to test it. I see to many laptops and desktops having a problem with Windows 10 and they don't have the old F8 way of coming back in either Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking. Better to take these few minutes to install it, or risk losing valuable data off of your "C" drive.
If I have a big problem on my PC, nothing except LiveCD/DVD/flash or new windows install/ backup dont help me
The best way behave with a problem is to net have it. A bullet proof safe mode and, one or more, parallel systems are surely better ways to behave with an unexpected unbootable system than a bootable media from the DOS days.