Advanced startup options
With the extended start options, which appeared up to Windows 7 when you started the system with “F8”, many users should have come into contact at some point. They also appear if, for example, Windows 10 was “involuntarily” closed several times (3x).
With the advanced start options you can start Windows in safe mode, boot the system in a low resolution, activate a start logging or just let it start up to the command prompt. Starting in safe mode is often the only way to get into the system in emergencies.
This mode is also still available under Windows 8.x and Windows 10. Only the way there has changed somewhat, which we describe below.
In addition, Windows 7 offers the creation of a system repair disk, which is independently bootable and offers advanced system recovery options. This Windows 7 emergency window can also be started via the advanced start options behind the item “Repair your computer”.
Advanced startup options Windows 7
The command prompt contained there is particularly useful if, for example, Windows did not boot itself and this had to be initiated manually via bootrec.exe or bootsect.exe .
System recovery options
Another use case for the command prompt is the possibility to bypass a forgotten password under Windows with a trick that we have found in the article ” Forgot user password for logging on to Windows 7, 8x or 10 ” under the point “With any installation DVD and the Utilman.exe “is described.
Changes since Windows 8.x
Since Windows 8.x ff, the extended start options no longer appear when pressing F8 during the boot process. The background is very trivial: Microsoft has summarized all help in the “extended start” and changed the combination of actions to CTRL + F8 !
But that’s not all. New systems boot so quickly that you can hardly find the time when the boot process was transferred from BIOS to Windows in order to press the key combination in time.
The way to the extended start options is not blocked – they can be reached on different paths.
If Windows is still starting, you can click on the “Restart” link when logging in while holding down the SHIFT key. Restart with the shift key
You can also force the extended start from Windows by holding down the SHIFT key and clicking on “Restart”.
The start mode can also be forced from Windows 8.x or Windows 10 by going to Windows 8 in the settings under “Update / Restore” -> “Extended start
Recovery on Windows 8.1 or under Windows 10 in the settings under “Update and Security” -> “Recovery” -> “Advanced Start”.
Advanced startup Windows 10
Whose system does not boot can also use the installation disk and boot the system from it. Before starting the installation, there is a button for the repair environment with the extended start options at the bottom left. With the key combination SHIFT + F10 you can also start the command prompt here .
Computer repair options
You can also create and boot from your own system repair disk. We have described the way to the data carrier separately for Windows 8.x and Windows 10: Create system repair data carrier for Windows 10 , create a USB recovery drive under Windows 8.1 .
After several unsuccessful start attempts, Windows automatically offers the extended start options . You only need to switch off the PC three times in a row while Windows is still booting (press and hold the power button).
Regardless of how you initiate the “Advanced Start”: Windows 8.x or Windows 10 will restart and then offer an option menu for selection.
Extended start
After “Troubleshoot” you will find the advanced options, which differ between Windows 8.x and Windows 10 only in the point “Return to the previous build”, which is not yet available in Windows 8.x.
Advanced options Windows 10
System Restore
Restore system allows you to reset the system to one of the previous restore points, of which Windows usually creates some before major operations (installation of software, drivers or updates), provided that System Restore has been activated in the system under computer protection . We discussed this topic separately in the “ Windows System Restore and Reset ” article along with “Going back to the previous build”.
Recovery points
System image recovery
The system image recovery is used to restore a system image created by Windows itself .
System image
You can also find a detailed description of this rescue option in the above-mentioned article ” System restore and reset under Windows “.
Jump start
The start-up help analyzes the Windows start-up environment and tries to independently correct any errors for which a changed or deleted boot loader or autostart entries in Windows may be responsible.
command prompt
The command prompt enables the direct entry of CMD commands, as we have described, for example, in the articles ” The command line under Windows ” or ” Forgot Windows login password “. A very good overview of possible commands in the command line is provided by Microsoft’s command line reference , for example .
The old tricks of manually restarting a Windows that does not start using bootrec.exe or bootsect.exe are also possible. But this can also be done with the newer command bcdboot .
bcdboot
Startup settings
Behind Start Settings you will find the text menu with the “advanced start options”, which has been known since Windows XP.
Startup settings
This is only started after a message about the functionality and offers the functions known from Windows XP times such as safe mode or starting with a standard VGA graphics card driver.