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I tried doing some repairs in the safe mode accessed by holding down shift while selecting the restart option.

I'm done with my work and now I'm stuck in safe mode no matter how I try and restart or boot from bios.

Under msconfig I tried selecting normal startup and then restarting yet I'm still booted back into safe mode.

I'm at a loss of what to do.

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  • I hate to say this but did you consider a factory reset/reinstalling windows 8? There's obviously something wrong with Windows, possibly corrupt system files. Maybe you should reinstall everything from scratch and this time create a good backup you can restore from.
    – LateralTerminal
    Commented Jan 23, 2018 at 18:24
  • @LateralTerminal I have so much software installed, specialty reg-settings and the like that redoing all that is almost not an option.
    – Stegathesaurus
    Commented Jan 23, 2018 at 19:45
  • Believe me I 100% understand. Same happened to me with Win10. It took me over a week to redo all my reg tweaks and reinstall programs.
    – LateralTerminal
    Commented Jan 23, 2018 at 20:09
  • @Ovaryraptor remove/install the CMOS
    – DRP
    Commented Jan 23, 2018 at 20:21
  • @Ovaryraptor You can possibly backup your reg too if you do need to reinstall everything.
    – LateralTerminal
    Commented Jan 23, 2018 at 20:28

5 Answers 5

Reset to default
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The following procedure might undo the Safe mode boot. Before starting, ensure just in case that you have the Windows 8 boot media or at least Create a Windows 8 Recovery Drive.

  • Run the Command Prompt (cmd) as Administrator

  • Enter and run the command bcdedit /enum /v

  • Right-click on the window and select Mark from the popup menu

  • Drag the cursor over the identifier under Windows Boot Loader

image1

  • Right-click on the window and select Copy from the popup menu
  • Enter the command bcdedit /delete with a space at the end. Complete the command by right-click on the window and select Paste from the popup menu

image2

  • Reboot. If you find yourself still in Safe mode, try again to turn off Safe Mode by unchecking it in msconfig.exe.

source

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Windows Automatic Recovery Method

  1. Obtain Windows 8 iso.
  2. Install to flash drive or DVD. You can use rufus
  3. You will have to make your BIOS boot to the flash drive or DVD drive first. (You'll have to look up how your computer make and model gets to the BIOS. Typically you can hammer the ESC key on boot but every computer is different.)
  4. Boot from storage then attempt automatic repairs. (This might be all you need to do.)

"I tried doing some repairs in the safe mode"

I think what you did had an adverse effect. So the automatic repair should might detect it and fix it. If it doesn't and the other answers here don't work you will need to do a full reinstall. You can try backing up some of the reg files before hand if you know where to look (google might help with the adobe ones).

Comment if this worked for you or not. I'm recalling this from memory. For some reason I can't find a good youtube video for you to follow. I've got other ideas that have worked for me.

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  • @Ovaryraptor did you give this a try?
    – LateralTerminal
    Commented Jan 24, 2018 at 17:31
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If you find yourself stuck in safe mode using Windows 8, the most common answer given is to restart and your system will go back to normal mode. If this does not work, it is most likely that the start in safe mode box in your boot configuration is checked. Here is how to quickly uncheck the box.

  1. Using the microsoft window key in the bottom left portion of your keyboard, tab out of your start screen to your desktop.

  2. In the desktop screen, you will notice there is no start button in the lower left corner. Even though there is no button, there is a hidden "poor man's" start menu. Placing your cursor in the very bottom left corner of your desktop, right click on that corner. It might take more than one click. A menu of sorts pops up. One of the options is the familiar "run"

  3. Left click on run. When the box pops up ....type in msconfig then hit the enter key on your keyboard.

  4. A system configuration box will pop up with several tabs including one that says "boot"

  5. Select the boot tab and you will see a safe mode box that has a check mark in it.

  6. Uncheck the safe mode box and hit the apply or ok button.

  7. You will then see a restart button. Click it to restart your computer.

  8. When your computer comes back up, sign in and you will now be in "normal mode"

From How to get out of safe mode in Windows 8

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  • 1
    As I stated in my initial post, I tried using msconfig but it just defaults. The safe mode box has been unchecked and never was checked in the first place. This was the first method I tried to use to escape it but nothing is working.
    – Stegathesaurus
    Commented May 18, 2017 at 10:35
  • Here's what my msconfig looks like: puu.sh/vTKLL/4d47c8aba2.png
    – Stegathesaurus
    Commented May 18, 2017 at 10:43
  • Try checking Normal Start and restart
    – Sam
    Commented May 19, 2017 at 4:26
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    You didn't read the post, "Under msconfig I tried selecting normal startup and then restarting yet I'm still booted back into safe mode." Already tried that avenue. When I select it and reboot it's still back in safe mode with selective startup. The problem might be that it never asks to apply, just ok. The apply button is always greyed out when I select normal start up.
    – Stegathesaurus
    Commented May 20, 2017 at 5:33
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Stop what you're doing and back up any data from the system to an external drive.

Try to do a system restore. (Microsoft Support)

Then follow online instructions for startup repair. And automatic system repair. (howtogeek link)

If those do not work, delve into the event logs and look for something to explain why your system is going into safe mode. Also check the device manager for errors and warnings. When searching the net for answers to the things you find, try to prioritize places like TechNet.microsoft.com and support.microsoft.com, then stack exchange, then blogs.microsoft.com then other sites. Answers.microsoft.com CAN have some good info, but the people delivering answers there are volunteers not paid experts.

If you do need a full reinstall, you will need to gather drivers, software installers, and other files. You'll want to use a second computer to download these. Be sure to keep all these files in one place. Make yourself a document that explains what each file is for and where you got it. Once you're up and running, put all those things on a thumb drive or DVD so that next time you need to refresh, you have everything ready to go.

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  • I'm not really "going into safe mode" as I'm stuck in it.
    – Stegathesaurus
    Commented Jan 23, 2018 at 21:24
  • @Ovaryraptor you've told the system to reboot in normal mode, when it boots to safe mode anyway, it's because there is a problem that prevents normal mode. The reason should be in the event log.
    – Jeter-work
    Commented Jan 23, 2018 at 21:33
  • Just curious about the downvote.
    – Jeter-work
    Commented Jan 23, 2018 at 21:35
  • I didn't downvote. Where is the event log?
    – Stegathesaurus
    Commented Jan 23, 2018 at 21:42
  • @Ovaryraptor You can find the event log in computer management console via commandline: compmgmt.msc There's also an event log icon in the control panel. I prefer the computer management console because it includes several useful consoles for troubleshooting, configuring Windows.
    – Jeter-work
    Commented Jan 23, 2018 at 21:46
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Maybe you're in test mode?

Test mode is similar to safe mode. It would say test mode in the bottom right corner. This could have happened if you were following a tutorial online but skipped the part of turning it off.

If so check this out https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2509241/how-to-disable-the-test-mode-message-that-is-displayed-in-windows

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