Reboot to Safe Mode in Win XP

Sometimes in the course of troubleshooting you need to reboot and start Windows in Safe Mode, which is a minimal start-up that loads only those Windows components that are absolutely essential. In theory, you can enter Safe Mode by restarting and then either holding down the Ctrl key or pressing the F8 key at the right moment. In practice, it can be difficult or, with a USB keyboard, impossible (the USB drivers aren't available in the DOS start-up environment). To configure Windows XP so its next restart will enter Safe Mode, launch the System Configuration Utility (msconfig) from the Start menu's Run dialog. Click the BOOT.INI tab and check the box titled /SAFEBOOT. Don't touch the other settings. When you reboot, XP will start in Safe Mode and will keep doing so until you uncheck that box.