How to boot in safe mode

Ever been hit with a computer virus that you haven’t been able to identify with normal anti spyware and malware programs?

It’s a real pain. But some viruses and malicious software kits are designed to hide themselves from well known programs.

However, sometimes this can be stopped in safe mode. If you boot a Windows machine in safe mode, and then run antivirus programs, sometimes you’ll be able to catch viruses you couldn’;t before.

To boot in safe mode, reboot your computer, and hit the F8 key repeatedly. After the first few loading screens, you should see a few options to either boot in safe mode, boot in safe mode with networking, or boot in safe mode with command prompt. Either of the first two will do.

After that, the computer will boot. It will look a little different to your usual Windows setup, but you’ll be able to run some programs well and hopefully identify the virus that is causing you trouble.

Note: When attempting to boot in safe mode some things can go wrong. It’s best that you have a trained IT professional with you to guide you through the process. Don’t necessarily attempt to run everything yourself.