Safe Mode is most commonly used for troubleshooting purposes of Windows operating system including Windows XP and Vista.The traditional way of booting to Safe Mode in Windows XP, is to press the F8 key during the boot process, to display a list of available boot options.The problem with this procedure is finding just the right place to hit the F8 key to avoid the regular boot sequence doesn’t initiating.If you find yourself booting to safe mode often.You may find it helpful to include the option for safe mode in your Windows XP boot menu.By a simple method you can add Safe Mode option to the Windows XP startup menu that displays other available operating systems and save yourself from having to press F8 during startup.
*Press [Windows]+[Break] to open the System Properties dialog box.
*On the Advanced tab, click the Settings button in the Startup And Recovery section.
*In the System Startup section, click the Edit button.
*The Boot.ini file opens in Notepad as follows:
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS=”Microsoft Windows XP Professional” /fastdetect
*Copy the line that reads as follows: multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS=”Microsoft Windows XP Professional” /fastdetect.
*Paste the line you just copied after the original one.
*Change the copied line from “Microsoft Windows XP Professional” to “Microsoft Windows XP Professional Safe” or something similar.
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS=”Microsoft Windows XP Professional” /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS=”Microsoft Windows XP Professional Safe” /fastdetect
*At the end of this line add the following: /safeboot:minimal /sos /bootlog.So the file has something similar to this:
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS=”Microsoft Windows XP Professional” /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS=”Microsoft Windows XP Professional Safe” /safeboot:minimal /sos /bootlog
*Save the boot.ini file by clicking File then Save.
*Restart your computer and Safe Mode should be available at the boot menu.
Note:
*Your actual Boot.INI may vary to a small degree.The above is an example only.Be sure to copy your boot.ini file prior to making any changes to it.
*This trick only works for Windows XP and not for Windows Vista,because Vista has no Boot.INI.
*It is better to backup the Boot.INI file before editing.
Warning:
*Be very cautious when editing your Boot.INI file in Windows XP because a small mistake can disable your computer from booting!