For best results, log in to Safe Mode as the administrator if you are given the option of doing so. You will need administrative control over the PC in order to make system-level changes to it.

Help And Support. The fact is that you need help when your computer is in Safe Mode, and there's no better place to look for help than the part of Windows designed specifically for giving it. Microsoft Help And Support (referred to as the Help And Support Center in WinXP) provides numerous self-help articles and tutorials to get you through a variety of troubling situations.

If you use WinMe, the Help And Support utility will launch automatically whenever you go into Safe Mode. For all other versions of Windows, you must access it manually by opening the Start menu and selecting the Help (Help And Support in WinXP) option. The resulting page presents a list of tasks or topics for which assistance is available. All you have to do is select the one that seems most relevant and then follow the step-by-step prompts.

WinMe users have the most to gain from using Microsoft Help And Support, thanks to the collection of Windows Troubleshooters. These question-and-answer guides lead you step by step through the process of determining what's wrong with your system and how you can fix it. Access the Windows Troubleshooters in Safe Mode by opening the Help And Support index (click the Index button near the top of the window) and type troubleshooting in the keyword search field. Below the field you will see a list of troubleshooting topics. Peruse the list, paying special attention to any item that has the word Troubleshooter in its name. Those that may interest you most are the Hardware Troubleshooter, Memory Troubleshooter, Networking Troubleshooter, and Startup & Shutdown Troubleshooter. Use the Safe Mode Troubleshooter if your computer went into Safe Mode on its own.

The Windows Troubleshooters are a unique feature to WinMe. Nevertheless, you can still benefit from Help And Support even if you use another version of Windows. Try perusing the list of Help-related topics or search the index for articles about the suspected cause of your problem. You're bound to come away with some information that will help you easily get your PC back into Normal mode.

If you use Windows Me, you'll have access to Microsoft Help And Support each time you boot into Safe Mode. Take advantage of the Windows Troubleshooters to resolve your problem and get back to Normal Mode.

System Restore. Everything about technology is complex—or at least seems to be. That's why we suggest taking advantage of anything that can make your life easy. For example, you should consider using System Restore whenever you end up in Safe Mode. This utility easily reverses the effects of a recent system change by returning the computer back to a previous configuration.

You can access System Restore in WinMe/XP by opening the Start menu and burrowing through the Programs (All Programs in WinXP), Accessories, and System Tools folders until you see the System Restore option. Click the icon once. When the utility appears on-screen, select the Restore My Computer To An Earlier Time radio button and click Next. On the resulting screen, highlight the date and time of the last known good restore point and click Next. (Dates with restore points are bold.) Follow the remaining on-screen instructions to restore your PC to its previous configuration.

When the restore is complete, reboot your PC. Hopefully, you'll end up in Normal mode with all of your problems resolved. You then can try revising your computer configuration again. You might find that it works better the second time around.

(NOTE: You may lose information created after the System Restore point, such as system files [SYS], executable files [EXE], device driver files [DRV], and dynamic-link library files [DLL]. Using System Restore will not affect document [DOC], spreadsheet [XLS], or other user-created files.)

Device Manager. You're sure to spot hardware problems if you look for them inside the Device Manager. Why? Because it identifies any conflicting component with a bright yellow exclamation mark. You then have the option of removing the device from the system or updating its driver.

Restoring your PC to an earlier configuration is an easy way to repair a botched system setting. The System Restore utility is available in Windows Me and Windows XP.

You can access Device Manager in Win98/Me by right-clicking My Computer and selecting Properties from the pop-up menu. In the System Properties dialog box, click the Device Manager tab. If you use Win2000 or WinXP, however, you need to select the Hardware page in the System Properties dialog box and then click the Device Manager button. Either way, right-click the offending component in the resulting list—you'll recognize it by the big yellow exclamation point—and select Remove (Uninstall in Win2000 and WinXP) in the pop-up menu. Doing so eliminates all traces of the device from the computer's existing configuration. The hardware remains connected to your PC, of course, but Windows can't see it. The next time you start the computer, Windows will use its Plug-and-Play capabilities to recognize the device and install the drivers for it as if the component were new to the system. That's all it may take to get out of Safe Mode.

Another option is to update the driver for the faulty piece of hardware. The easiest way to do that is by right-clicking the component in the Device Manager and selecting Properties from the pop-up menu. When the device properties dialog box appears on-screen, select its Driver page and click the Update Driver button. You must have the new driver in your possession when you use this feature. Either download it from the Internet or, if you can't access the Internet because you're working in Safe Mode, contact the driver developer and request that it be mailed to you.

System Configuration Utility. In a perfect world, you would easily recognize the causes of your PC's problems. You then could boot into Safe Mode, fix whatever is wrong, and get back to computing in Normal mode. Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way. As a result, you often may end up in Safe Mode without knowing exactly why. That's when you need to access the System Configuration Utility, which lets you edit the commands and programs that load each time you start the computer. By systematically picking and choosing which items load during the startup routine, you can pinpoint the cause of your problems and then begin working on a solution. The System Configuration Utility is only available to Win98/Me/XP users.

To access the System Configuration Utility, open the Start menu and select the Run command. In the resulting dialog box, type msconfig in the Open field and click OK. When the utility opens, you'll notice that it consists of several pages (the pages vary from one OS to the next). Each page includes a list of commands and programs that run whenever you boot the PC. You'll also notice that each command and program has a box next to it. If a box has a check mark in it, the corresponding command or program is set to run when Windows starts.

The most important page in the System Configuration Utility dialog box is the General page. This page presents three startup options: Normal, Diagnostic, and Selective. You can forget about the Normal option; you wouldn't be dealing with Safe Mode if your computer were running just fine in Normal mode. Focus your attention on the Diagnostic and Selective options instead. The Diagnostic Startup gives you the chance to interact with Windows as it runs through the startup routine. If you run into a problem, the Diagnostic Startup will tell you the name and location of the file that caused it.

The Selective Startup, on the other hand, lets you figure out for yourself the exact cause of your PC problem. To use the Selective Startup most effectively, you need to deselect just one of the files or groups listed beneath it and reboot your computer. If the computer starts and runs without a hitch, you should return to System Configuration Utility and deselect another file or group from the startup routine. Repeat the process until you've fingered the file or group that appears to be responsible for your woes. The next step is to open the page that corresponds to the offending file or group and do the same thing—deselect an item from the list, reboot the computer, and repeat—until you pinpoint a particular command or program as the source of trouble.

You can expect to spend some serious amounts of time repeatedly rebooting your PC under different configurations. Nevertheless, the time invested in the procedure will be worth it if you end up correctly identifying the command or program that has forced you into Safe Mode. After using the System Configuration Utility, you can search for a permanent solution to your problem by reinstalling an offending program, removing a conflicting command from a system file, or contacting the computer manufacturer for further assistance.


Safe At Home

The important thing to remember is that Safe Mode, like an error message, is not a problem to be dealt with but a tool that can help you address troublesome issues when they crop up. Indeed, it's a much bigger problem if you can't access Safe Mode at all. Viruses, malfunctioning hardware, and faulty BIOS settings are among the most common reasons Safe Mode would be out of order. Contact your antivirus software developer or computer manufacturer for assistance in resolving such issues.

Hopefully you won't have to deal with that problem, though. When trouble strikes, working your way into Safe Mode and through the various troubleshooting utilities is enough to keep you busy for a while. It's also enough to make you appreciate Normal mode when you're able to get back there.

by Jeff Dodd View the graphics that accompany this article.
(NOTE: These pages are PDF (Portable Document Format) files. You will need Adobe Acrobat to view these pages. Download Adobe Acrobat Reader)