Whether you are looking for reasons to perform System Restore in Safe Mode on Windows 11 or assistance to carry out this task and recover from system malfunctions, no worries. This guide discusses everything, including when and how to boot in Safe Mode and conduct System Restore without hassle.
If you cannot start your computer running Windows 11, try booting up in Safe Mode and performing System Restore to restore your computer's state (including system files, installed apps, Windows Registry, and settings) to a previous configuration when it could start without errors. Since the safe mode starts your system with minimal drivers and services, it can help remove the source of the malfunction.
This article explains when and how to run a System Restore in Safe Mode on Windows 11. Keep reading for their details!
Multiple situations demand you to perform System Restore, the Windows built-in feature to restore your system to a stable state, called Restore Point, thus allowing you to repair your computer by backing up your operating system and registry files. Here is a list of all the scenarios to perform System Restore in Safe Mode:
But how to run System Restore in Safe Mode on Windows 11? You should first boot into Safe Mode.
Below are the four leading methods to boot into Safe Mode on Windows 11 computers. Let's explore:
Windows 11 has a built-in switch that triggers when it fails to start automatically. After three failed attempts to boot, Windows 11 loads into its Automatic Repair mode. Here is how to do it:
Step 1. Press the Power button for about four seconds to stop the computer from booting. Then, wait for a few minutes until it diagnoses your system. Once the "Automatic Repair" screen appears, click the "Advanced" options button.
Step 2. On the "Choose an option" window screen, select the "Troubleshoot" option and click "Advanced options" > "Startup Settings." If this option isn't available, tap the "See more recovery options" button.
Step 3. Windows 11 will load another screen of "Startup Settings." Choose "Enable Safe Mode" and click "Restart."
Step 4. After restarting, you can pick any option: press 4 or F4 for "Safe Mode," 5 or F5 for "Safe Mode with Networking," and 6 or F6 for "Safe Mode with a Command Prompt."
Step 5. Lastly, log in using your admin account and start troubleshooting.
If your computer running Windows 11 can reach the sign-in screen, press and hold Shift from your keyboard to enable Safe Mode. Here are the steps:
Step 1. Press and hold Shift from your keyboard while tapping the Power button. Next, select "Restart."
Step 2. Windows 11 will reboot instantly, giving you the "Choose an option" screen. Now, select "Troubleshoot."
Step 3. Next, tap "Advanced options" > "Startup Settings" > "Restart." Open the desired Safe Mode and start troubleshooting.
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Another way to start Safe Mode is by using a DVD or USB stick with Windows 11 installation. If you don't have one, create now to boot your system. Let's learn how:
Step 1. Connect the USB or insert the DVD into your computer. Once the Windows logo appears on the screen, choose the language and keyboard layout. Tap "Next."
Step 2. Hit the "Repair your computer" link from the corner of the "Windows Setup" window.
Step 3. From the "Choose an option" screen, opt for "Troubleshoot" > "Command Prompt."
Step 4. Run "bcdedit /set {default} safeboot minimal" this command, press "Enter," and wait for the "The operation completed successfully" message.
Step 5. Close the prompt and tap "Continue" from the next screen. Your computer will restart and enter into Safe Mode.
Step 6. To turn off this setting when needed, run "bcdedit /deletevalue {default} safeboot" this command. That's all!
You can also enter Safe Mode with a system recovery USB drive. For this purpose, you must use an already-made or make a new USB recovery drive on another PC.
Step 1. Boot your computer running Windows 11 with the USB recovery drive and choose your keyboard layout.
Step 2. When the "Choose an option" window screen appears, select "Troubleshoot" > "Advanced options" > "Startup Settings" > "Restart.
Step 3. Press F4, F5, or F6 to start the preferred Safe Mode and begin with troubleshooting.
When your computer enters troubleshooting mode successfully, it's time to perform System Restore to revert it to its previous stable state. Here is a detailed guide to performing System Restore in Safe Mode on Windows 11:
Step 1. From the "Troubleshoot" screen, click "Advanced options" > "System Restore," and hit "Next."
Step 2. Check the "Choose a different restore point" and press "Next." But if you select the "Recommended restore" option, click "Next" and follow Step 5.
Step 3. Checkmark the "Show more restore points," select the restore point, and tap "Scan for affected programs." Select the desired restore point and pick "Next."
Step 4. Next, you have to wait for its completion. Once done, click "Close" and press the "Next" tab.
Step 5. You need to hit "Finish" to confirm and tap "Yes" when ready to perform System Restore. When it is completed, hit "Restart," sign in to Windows 11, and tap "Close." You are all done!
The System Restore feature by Microsoft Windows is undoubtedly beneficial in creating restore points, which can restore your computer to a previous state when it experiences an accident. However, this backup creation and recovery process is very complex and takes too long to follow.
Booting into System Restore also requires advanced computer skills. Also, you can't restore to an earlier Windows version if you've upgraded to a new one. Sometimes, this feature won't work even with multiple restore points.
In contrast, a reliable alternative to System Restore, EaseUS Todo Backup, can protect your Windows operating system. It assists you in creating a system image, including files, emails, hard disk/partition, and everything else on your computer, saving it to internal/external hard drives, a network location, or Cloud storage. When necessary, you can restore the system image with simple clicks.
You can also access advanced backup options, like compressed backup, incremental backup, etc., to save your disk space and improve the backup and recovery speed. It even offers an automated backup feature to prevent you from forgetting to do a backup every day or week. Lastly, you can restore your computer to an earlier date by choosing the preferred restore point; it will not affect your current backup.
Now, download it and use it to create a system image and restore it with ease.
Step 1. On the main page, click "Select backup contents".
Step 2. Among the four available categories, click OS.
Step 3. EaseUS Todo Backup will automatically select your system partition, you only need to select the backup destination.
Step 4. Both Local Drive and NAS are available for you to save the backup file.
Step 5. After finishing the backup process, you can check the backup status, recover, open, or delete the backup by right-clicking the backup task on the left.
* To perform system recovery on a none-bootable machine, try to boot the computer through the EaseUS Todo Backup emergency disk.
Step 1. Launch EaseUS Todo Backup, click "Browse to Recover".
Step 2. Guide to your backup destination, choose the system backup file you need. (The backup file created by EaseUS Todo Backup is a pbd file.)
Step 3. Choose the recovery disk. Make sure that the partition style of the source disk and the recovery disk are the same.
Step 4. You can customize the disk layout according to your needs. Then click "Proceed" to start system backup recovery.
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Whenever you need to perform System Restore in Safe Mode on Windows 11, refer to the steps in this detailed post. However, you may also consider creating a backup image of your complete system using EaseUS Todo Backup to avoid any unexpected data loss. This backup image quickly reverts your computer to the last healthy state without hassle, even if Windows can't boot.
No, old tricks like pressing F8 or F8 + Shift do not work in Windows 11, as it needs the UEFI BIOS. Windows 11 requires you to shut down your computer manually three times during boot before it can enter Safe Mode.
To force your computer to enter into Safe Mode in Windows 11:
Without the display, you won't be able to start your computer in Safe Mode, as the prompts aren't visible. Turning your computer on and waiting for it to run smoothly may resolve the issue. Otherwise, press "Windows + P" or "Ctrl + Alt + Del" to reset the screen graphics system.
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