If you used older versions of Windows for a significant period of time, the F8 key will be burned into your muscle memory as soon as you run into issues. Unfortunately, Microsoft has done away with the hotkey in recent times, leaving many confused. Thankfully, there's a way to enable F8 Safe Mode in Windows 10, which is officially referred to as Legacy Advanced Boot Options.
As well as invoking nostalgia, the simple black screen displayed when you open the Windows 10 boot menu with F8 is easier to navigate. Instead of large icons that can each have sub-options, everything you need is displayed in a simple list. As a result, many feel that, though less modern, the legacy advanced boot options are actually the better choice.
We've covered several ways to access advanced startup options in the past. This one takes a little pre-planning but works out much faster in the long run. Afterall, spamming F8 for safe mode at boot is much easier than manually clicking through interfaces or running PowerShell commands. That said, there are instances where you may want the modern menu, so we're going to show you how to disable F8 safe mode, too. Let's get into the tutorial:
How to Disable or Enable F8 in Windows 10 with the displaybootmenu Command
- Open Command Prompt as an administrator
Press the Windows key and type “Command Prompt”. Select the first option under ‘Best match' and choose “Run as administrator”. - Enable the Windows 10 F8 boot menu
In command prompt, type or paste:bcdedit /set {bootmgr} displaybootmenu yes
- Disable the Windows 10 F8 boot menu
Enter the following command and press “Enter”:bcdedit /set {bootmgr} displaybootmenu no
How to Disable or Enable F8 Advanced Boot Options with bootmenupolicy
Alternatively, you can use bcdedit to change your boot options if the above doesn't work.
- Open Command Prompt as Admin
Press the Windows key and type “Command Prompt”. Select the first option under ‘Best match' and choose “Run as administrator”. - Type bcdedit
Find the Windows Boot Manager heading and look for the “default” heading. Note its identifier, in this case, {current}. - Enable F8 Safe Mode in Windows 10
In Command Prompt, enter the command:bcdedit /set {current} bootmenupolicy Legacy
- Disable F8 Safe Mode in Windows 10
To turn legacy advanced boot options off again, enter the command:bcdedit /set {current} bootmenupolicy Standard