Windows 7 will not boot into safe mode, log on screen appears and computer instantly reboots into normal start up.

Hi CheyenneDonna,

Welcome to Microsoft Answers Forum!

1. Are you trying to uninstall a program in safe mode?

2. Are you trying to get in safe mode?

You can try to Download Windows Installer CleanUp Utility from the Microsoft Download Center to uninstall a program.

“Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility”

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

There could be some issue with the driver and that is the reason you are not able to get into Safe Mode.

 

Shalini Surana
Microsoft Answers Support Engineer.
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Hello,
Yes I did get the program off by using the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility, that was no longer my issue. My Problem is figuring out what keeps me from booting into safe mode. How do I figure out what driver may be the issue and fix the problem. There are many reasons to need safe mode, virus cleaning, system restore etc.

I have the same problem as CheyenneDonna that I cannot boot into Safe Mode after upgrading my Windows Vista to Windows 7...  This was not an issue untill after Windows 7 was installed...   I do not have a reason to go into Safe Mode at the moment (thankfully), but want to be able to do so if needed... 

In my case I have a HP Pavilion DV6000 with 4 Gigs of RAM and Windows 7 Ultimate 32-Bit.  (CheyenneDonna, what is your hardware?)

In a pinch, one can use a tool like The Ultimate Boot CD for Windows to boot into a Win PE type environment, but the built in Safe Mode is much prefered...

Thanks,

Sony Vaio VGN-FZ260E Windows 7 Home Premium, 3GB Ram 32 bit operating system Intel core T7250 2GHz
And I still can't figure out the solution.

Hmmm...  Mine is a Duo Core 64-Bit AMD processor...   (I still use 32-Bit OS.)  The only thing I see in common is that we both updated from Windows Vista...   I am guessing It must be an OEM Driver for something like a Flash Drive Reader, Video, or Network...

I will experiment this weekend...   If you want to try some stuff too, start by doing a full backup...  Install latest Windows 7 or Vista drivers available from Sony (not MS) and test Safe Mode.  Try unpluging any Flash Cards, Expansion Cards, USB devices, etc. and test Safe Mode...  If Stiff not working, go into BIOS, write down any settings, then try disabling everything possible that will still let the PC boot...  (Disable Plug and Play, Network Cards, Modems, etc.)  Also reduce the memory footprint of the Video to the minimum....  Test Safe Mode again...  If it works, start turning things on one by one, testing in between to figure out the problem device, and replace its driver with MS driver to see if if can be fixed permanently...  (In general, the OEM drivers have better performance, but if they havn't been certified for Windows 7, you might find the generic MS drivers more stable.)

If none of the above work, It is probably the video driver...   Try replacing it with the generic MS version...  (Your system might need to re-activate if you replace this driver.)  All else fails,  replace all the drivers with MS versions...   (MS version will usually show up in Microsoft Update as a hardware driver.)

If none of this fixes your machine, or makes it worst, restore from the backup you made...

I have an Acer Aspire 5536 (updated from win vista to 7 but it wouldn't boot in safe mode on vista either and the fault has been carried across to 7) and I have the same problem, I cannot boot in safe mode. I have been in touch with Currys and they say that they don't know what the fault is and they cannot rectify it so they gave me the support number for Microsoft after going to Microsoft I was told by a member of the customer support team that I have an OEM Acer therefore they will not help me. He told me to go to Acer and ask them, Acer then told me to go to Currys.

As you can see the fault will not get fixed like this so has anyone discovered the cause of the problem and is able to share the cure?

Thanks for reading the rant but I had to give the information up front

Hydo1, this is a very old thread and this might not be seen. You might be better off starting again with a new question.

I finally found out my laptop did not like having 4 Gig of RAM...  When I reduced the memory to 2 Gig, it worked in safe mode...   I still suspect it is a video driver issue, as my system shares ther system RAM for the video card, but my machine is not made for Windows 7, so is not offically supported...   :(  Anyway, try reducing the RAM in your system to 2 gig or less, then booting in Safe mode...

Yes I could make a new thread but I have exactly the problem described.

My laptop is as it came from Acer so I assume that it is a unique problem to me?

There is another way to boot into safe mode. I needed to use it before I figured out the eccentricities of my ASUS motherboard and BIOS. First, open the Start Menu, type msconfig, and enter. Open the 'Boot' tab and check the box for 'Safe Boot'. When you restart your system it will boot in Safe Mode. Remember to un-check the box when you are finished with Safe Mode.