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Well, yesterday I discovered that pressing F8 to access the boot options menu has been removed from Windows 8. I do this constantly to remove malware. But the geniuses at Microsoft decided to remove this simple troubleshooting and repair tool.
Safe mode is still available in Win8, but as far as I can find through searching Google, there's a couple of ways to get to it.
One way is that if Windows fails to boot a few times, it'll launch into a repair menu which has the startup options menu, although its buried nicely.
The main way to access safe mode requires being able to successfully boot into normal mode and exercise some control over Windows. This is not always possible with malware running around. So while Windows is booting (and won't trigger an automatic repair menu) you still might not be able to restart in safe mode.
Microsoft is obviously not thinking like someone who has to fix their products. This must be the brain child of the guy who created System Restore that only works if you can boot Windows.
Some web sites have said that pressing Shift+F8 instead of F8 works but I've had zero success with that. Another site said that booting from a Win8 DVD or flash drive can get you into safe mode. I followed the directions and found the right menu, but startup settings (where safe mode is found) wasn't an option. Another page said that making a Win8 recovery drive would work but it did the same thing as the full Win8 media.
If anyone knows of a sure fire way to boot Win8 into safe mode without first booting into normal mode, I'd really love to know it.
You have to put your anger towards Intel. This was well documented during the preview releases. During the UEFI boot process, there's not enough time to catch an F8 interrupt key.
Still, while I appreciate fast-booting systems, would it have killed Intel to give us a well-marked 1 second window to hit any bypass keys? They're thinking like people who expect their creations to work 100% as designed, not like people who actually deal with technology on a daily basis.
I'm still wondering what's going to happen the first time I see something like the FBI Moneypak malware that makes the system uncontrollable in normal mode. I'm thinking that using shift+restart from the CTRL-ALT-DEL screen will be the most reliable, but I've seen machines so borked you couldn't even get there. I supposed I could trigger an automatic occurrence of the Startup Settings screen if I pulled the power out a couple of times during bootup. Of course that won't be an option with laptops with sealed-in batteries. Argh, my hatred of tech companies that intentionally make fixing thing harder is really building.
BTW I tried F9 on my Asus. No dice. It won't even let me into the boot devices/firmware menu if I start the computer after shutting it down. It have to restart Windows and hit ESC while its restarting.
On laptops (and desktops), maybe you can just use the power switch to interrupt the boot. I'll have to try it out.
I just tried it during bootup, but it gets to the lock screen (so basically fully booted) just before the power cuts out. If I time it just right on a reboot, I can kill the power before the lock screen. I haven't been able to make the startup/repair screen appear. This is on an Asus laptop with an SSD which boots stupid fast.
Intel isn't always the first five letters of intelligence...
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