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Speaker 1: brain Stuff from how stuff works dot com, where smart happens.
Speaker 1: Whether you love or hate Microsoft, you do have to
Speaker 1: give them credit for at least one thing. They've built
Speaker 1: a gigantic and powerful operating system that can work even
Speaker 1: though there are thousands of different manufacturers installing new pieces
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Speaker 1: full operating system, there are times when it can be frustrating.
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Speaker 1: words safe mode in the four corners. What is this
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Speaker 1: special way for Windows to load when there's a system
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Speaker 1: you to troubleshoot Windows and try to figure out what's
Speaker 1: causing it not to function correctly. Once you've corrected the problem,
Speaker 1: you can then reboot Windows and it will load normally.
Speaker 1: There are several things that happen when Windows boots and
Speaker 1: safe mode that differ from a standard boot. First, safe
Speaker 1: mode does not run several special files that help customize
Speaker 1: the system. Next, most device drivers aren't loaded. A device
Speaker 1: driver is the software that Windows uses to interact with
Speaker 1: a piece of hardware like a printer or a scanner
Speaker 1: or a graphics card. Instead of the normal graphics device driver,
Speaker 1: Safe mode uses the standard v g A graphics mode.
Speaker 1: This mode is supported by all Windows compatible graphics cards.
Speaker 1: The Windows Desktop loads up in sixteen colors and at
Speaker 1: a resolution of six forty by four eighty, and the
Speaker 1: words safe mode appear in each corner of the screen.
Speaker 1: There are a number of other protective steps taken under
Speaker 1: the hood. The basic idea is that you're going to
Speaker 1: have this very very simple installation of Windows come up
Speaker 1: that's certain to work and allow you to do some troubleshooting.
Speaker 1: Then once you get it fixed, you can load up
Speaker 1: the whole system. Safe mode starts up automatically if Windows
Speaker 1: does not boot on a previous attempt. You can also
Speaker 1: invoke safe mode by pressing F five or by pressing
Speaker 1: F eight and selecting it from the boot menu. So
Speaker 1: what should you do when your computer boots the safe mode? First,
Speaker 1: try to determine what's changed on your system that could
Speaker 1: have caused Windows to fail to boot properly. If you've
Speaker 1: added any kind of hardware, go to the control panel
Speaker 1: and remove it and uninstalled the device driver software for
Speaker 1: that device, Then attempt to reboot. If Windows boots properly,
Speaker 1: you can be reasonably certain that there was some kind
Speaker 1: of conflict with that device, and you can try to
Speaker 1: resolve it, probably by getting better drivers. Use this same method.
Speaker 1: If you've loaded a new game or applications sometime recently,
Speaker 1: go to the control panel, click on ad removed programs
Speaker 1: and remove the software. Try a reboot, and hopefully you'll
Speaker 1: get a normal Windows boot. If the problem is definitely
Speaker 1: not new hardware or software, then you most likely have
Speaker 1: corrupted the registry or picked up a virus or something
Speaker 1: like that. Look into a feature called system restore, which
Speaker 1: takes the operating system back in time several days. You
Speaker 1: should be able to get back to a previous date
Speaker 1: and a version that operates correctly to eliminate the problem.
Speaker 1: For more on this and thousands of other topics, visit
Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com and don't forget to check
Speaker 1: out the brain stuff blog on the how stuff works
Speaker 1: dot com home page. You can also follow brain stuff
Speaker 1: on Facebook or Twitter at brain stuff hs W. Brain
Speaker 1: Stuff is sponsored by Harry's dot Com. Get a great
Speaker 1: shaving experience for a fraction of the price. The quality
Speaker 1: of the shave is so important that Harry's purchased the
Speaker 1: factory that makes their blades. Fifteen dollars gets you a
Speaker 1: set that includes a handle, three blades, and shave cream.
Speaker 1: Go to Harry's dot com use the code brain stuff
Speaker 1: to save five dollars off your first purchase.