Ch 09.15.6 Windows Boot Options

Disable Automatic Restart on System Failure

By default, Windows is configured to reboot whenever a critical system error occurs (Blue Screen of Death). +When the error occurs, you will have only a short time before the system reboots. This might not be sufficient time to read and record the error information. +If the error occurs while you are away from your computer, you will see a message that the system has restarted, but won't have seen the error. +If the error occurs during startup, the system might continually reboot. Use the Disable automatic restart on system failure option on the advanced boot menu to stop the automatic reboots.

Disable Driver Signature Enforcement

Safe Mode with Command Prompt starts the computer in Safe Mode and displays a command prompt.

Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt

Safe Mode with Networking is a variation of Safe Mode that also loads a network driver and protocol so the system can communicate on the network. This option is useful in situations where an updated driver needs to be downloaded from the Internet and installed on the system to correct a problem.

Enable Boot Logging

This option creates a log file named Ntbtlog.txt in C:\Windows during startup. This file contains an entry for each driver loaded during the boot process. If the system does not complete a regular boot, you can look at this file to see the last driver to load before the failure occurred.

Enable Safe Mode

This option loads Windows using your current video driver, but configures it to use low resolution settings and a slow refresh rate. This option is useful when the wrong video configuration settings have been used, causing the screen to be unreadable. Selecting this option gives you the ability to restore the correct video settings.

Enable Debugging

This option starts Windows in an advanced troubleshooting mode. This option is typically used by programmers, not system administrators.

Disable Early Launch Anti-Malware Protection

This prevents the early launch antimalware driver from loading when the system is booted. This could increase the system's exposure to rootkit malware packages.

Launch Recovery Enviroment

Use this option to access system recovery tools, such as: +Reset This PC +System Restore +System Image Recovery +Startup Repair +Command Prompt +Go Back to the Previous Build

Enable Safe Mode with Networking

When a computer boots in Safe Mode, only essential drivers and services are loaded (e.g., generic mouse, monitor, base storage device, keyboard, video drivers, and the Event Log service). This allows you to troubleshoot misbehaving applications, services, and drivers.