1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,560 Speaker 1: Brain stuff is sponsored by Harry's dot com. Get a 2 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:04,840 Speaker 1: great shaving experience for a fraction of the price. The 3 00:00:04,920 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: quality of the shave is so important that Harry's purchased 4 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:10,080 Speaker 1: the factory that makes their blades. Fifteen dollars gets you 5 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:12,799 Speaker 1: a set that includes a handle, three blades, and shave cream. 6 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:15,280 Speaker 1: Go to Harry's dot com use the code brain stuff 7 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:18,639 Speaker 1: to save five dollars off your first purchase. Welcome to 8 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:22,320 Speaker 1: brain Stuff from how stuff works dot com, where smart happens. 9 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,280 Speaker 1: Whether you love or hate Microsoft, you do have to 10 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:36,280 Speaker 1: give them credit for at least one thing. They've built 11 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: a gigantic and powerful operating system that can work even 12 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:46,559 Speaker 1: though there are thousands of different manufacturers installing new pieces 13 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:49,440 Speaker 1: into the operating system all the time. When you buy 14 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: a new device driver or a new application and install 15 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: it in Windows, chances are it'll work, and that is 16 00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:00,040 Speaker 1: pretty amazing. But while Windows is a versatile empower a 17 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,800 Speaker 1: full operating system, there are times when it can be frustrating. 18 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:07,959 Speaker 1: This frustration is particularly evident when you install a new 19 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:12,480 Speaker 1: software application or ad drivers for some new hardware and 20 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,800 Speaker 1: the whole thing seems to blow up in your face. Suddenly, 21 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 1: the computer crashes or locks up. You reboot the computer 22 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: and it loads this strange looking Windows Desktop with the 23 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: words safe mode in the four corners. What is this 24 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 1: and how does it help you? Safe Mode is a 25 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,880 Speaker 1: special way for Windows to load when there's a system 26 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:37,080 Speaker 1: critical problem that interferes with the normal operation of the 27 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:40,759 Speaker 1: operating system. The purpose of safe mode is to allow 28 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:43,960 Speaker 1: you to troubleshoot Windows and try to figure out what's 29 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: causing it not to function correctly. Once you've corrected the problem, 30 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: you can then reboot Windows and it will load normally. 31 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 1: There are several things that happen when Windows boots and 32 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 1: safe mode that differ from a standard boot. First, safe 33 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 1: mode does not run several special files that help customize 34 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 1: the system. Next, most device drivers aren't loaded. A device 35 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 1: driver is the software that Windows uses to interact with 36 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:12,119 Speaker 1: a piece of hardware like a printer or a scanner 37 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 1: or a graphics card. Instead of the normal graphics device driver, 38 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 1: Safe mode uses the standard v g A graphics mode. 39 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: This mode is supported by all Windows compatible graphics cards. 40 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: The Windows Desktop loads up in sixteen colors and at 41 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 1: a resolution of six forty by four eighty, and the 42 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:34,280 Speaker 1: words safe mode appear in each corner of the screen. 43 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 1: There are a number of other protective steps taken under 44 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: the hood. The basic idea is that you're going to 45 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:43,799 Speaker 1: have this very very simple installation of Windows come up 46 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: that's certain to work and allow you to do some troubleshooting. 47 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 1: Then once you get it fixed, you can load up 48 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 1: the whole system. Safe mode starts up automatically if Windows 49 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:57,160 Speaker 1: does not boot on a previous attempt. You can also 50 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 1: invoke safe mode by pressing F five or by pressing 51 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,640 Speaker 1: F eight and selecting it from the boot menu. So 52 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:08,080 Speaker 1: what should you do when your computer boots the safe mode? First, 53 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:11,639 Speaker 1: try to determine what's changed on your system that could 54 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: have caused Windows to fail to boot properly. If you've 55 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 1: added any kind of hardware, go to the control panel 56 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,359 Speaker 1: and remove it and uninstalled the device driver software for 57 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:25,919 Speaker 1: that device, Then attempt to reboot. If Windows boots properly, 58 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:28,399 Speaker 1: you can be reasonably certain that there was some kind 59 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: of conflict with that device, and you can try to 60 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:35,640 Speaker 1: resolve it, probably by getting better drivers. Use this same method. 61 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 1: If you've loaded a new game or applications sometime recently, 62 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 1: go to the control panel, click on ad removed programs 63 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: and remove the software. Try a reboot, and hopefully you'll 64 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: get a normal Windows boot. If the problem is definitely 65 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: not new hardware or software, then you most likely have 66 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: corrupted the registry or picked up a virus or something 67 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: like that. Look into a feature called system restore, which 68 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: takes the operating system back in time several days. You 69 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: should be able to get back to a previous date 70 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 1: and a version that operates correctly to eliminate the problem. 71 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: For more on this and thousands of other topics, visit 72 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com and don't forget to check 73 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:19,040 Speaker 1: out the brain stuff blog on the how stuff works 74 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:21,679 Speaker 1: dot com home page. You can also follow brain stuff 75 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:28,599 Speaker 1: on Facebook or Twitter at brain stuff hs W. Brain 76 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 1: Stuff is sponsored by Harry's dot Com. Get a great 77 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:33,640 Speaker 1: shaving experience for a fraction of the price. The quality 78 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:35,919 Speaker 1: of the shave is so important that Harry's purchased the 79 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 1: factory that makes their blades. Fifteen dollars gets you a 80 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:41,119 Speaker 1: set that includes a handle, three blades, and shave cream. 81 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:43,599 Speaker 1: Go to Harry's dot com use the code brain stuff 82 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:45,599 Speaker 1: to save five dollars off your first purchase.