In this post, we will take a look at the Windows Startup Settings, or Advanced Startup options Windows 10 and also see how to change Boot defaults when you are dual-booting your computer.
Apr 20, 2017 Editing Boot Options.; 2 minutes to read; In this article. This section is a practical guide to editing the boot options on a computer running Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows 7, or Windows Server 2008. It suggests a step-by-step procedure for customizing the basic elements of boot options.
When you dual-boot Windows 10 with an earlier version of Windows like Windows 8.1 or Windows, before you log in, you will see the following screen offering you the available operating systems. You can choose the operating system you wish to boot in, or by default, you will be booted you into default operating system after 10 seconds.
If you wish to change some of your default boot and login options and settings, you may click on the Change defaults or choose other options link, which you will see towards the bottom.
If you have only one OS installed, you may start your computer and then keep pressing the F8 key before Windows starts. You will see the Advanced Options screen.
Change Windows 10 Boot default settings
Once you do this, you will see the following Options screen. Here you can change the Timer settings, set the default operating system to boot into and set other options too.
Clicking on Change the timer will bring you to the following screen, where you can set the boot timer to 5 seconds, 30 seconds or 5 minutes. This is the time you have to wait before the default OS is automatically loaded. The default setting here is 10 seconds.
Clicking on Choose a default operating system will let you set the operating system you want to automatically load, after waiting for the set amount of time. The setting in my case is Windows 10.
Clicking on Choose an option will present you with the following options.
- You can click on Continue and exit to your default OS
- You can use another installed operating system
- you can troubleshoot your PC by opening Advanced Options
- Or you can Turn Off your PC.
Advanced Startup options Windows 10
If you need to troubleshoot problems with your Windows computer, you can click on Troubleshoot. When you do this, you are offered:
- Reset This PC option
- Advanced options.
If you wish to reset your PC, select Reset the PC option. If you need to access other troubleshooting and repair tools, click on Advanced Options, to arrive at the following screen.
Here you will see:
- System Restore: Useful if you want to restore your Windows 10 PC.
- System Image Recovery: Lets you recover your Windows using a system image file.
- Startup Repair: Fixes startup problems
- Command Prompt: Using the CMD you can access the more advanced built-in Windows tools
- Startup Settings: It lets you change Windows startup options
- Go back to the previous build.
Repair Windows 10 Boot Manager
If you wish to directly access these Advanced startup options when working on your Windows 10, you can do so via the Settings app of Windows 10 > Update & Security > Recovery > Advanced startup and click the Restart now button.
Clicking on Startup Settings will let you change the preset startup settings and options.
Here you can:
- Enable low-resolution mode
- Enable debugging mode
- Enable boot logging
- Enable Safe Mode
- Disable driver signature enforcement
- Disable early-launch anti-malware protection
- Disable automatic restart on system failure.
Windows 10 users may want to especially note that this is where you can enable Safe Mode.
Clicking on the Restart button will bring you to the following Startup Settings screen:
You have to press the keys to bring up the options. Clicking on F10 will show you some more options including Launch recovery environment.
Pressing Enter will bring you back to your operating system.
These settings are useful to know as, not only can you change your boot defaults here, but they can also be very useful to you if your computer will not start or you need to troubleshoot and fix other Windows problems.
Related reads:
- Windows 10 fails to boot; Automatic Repair, Refresh, Reset PC also fails.
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Windows 8 and 10 consolidate various boot options into a single screen named the “Advanced Options” menu. This menu provides access to repair tools and options for changing Windows startup behavior—such as enabling debugging, booting into safe mode, and launching into a recovery environment.
Note: We’re showing screenshots from Windows 10 in this article, but the process is largely the same in Windows 8. We’ll point out any differences.
What You Can Do on the Advanced Options Menu
The “Advanced Options” menu provides a number of actions you can take to troubleshoot or repair your PC:
- System Restore: Launches the System Restore utility, which lets you fix certain types of crashes and errors by restoring your settings, drivers, and apps to a restore point that was created earlier. Check out our guide to using System Restore for more information.
- System Image Recovery: Lets you restore a backup image of your PC. Check out our guide on restoring system image backups in Windows for details.
- Startup Repair: Launches Windows’ integrated startup repair tool, which tries to automatically fix startup problems. Check out our guides on fixing startup problems with the Windows startup repair tool and on what to do when Windows won’t boot for more information.
- Command Prompt: Restarts your PC and loads a simple Command Prompt window for troubleshooting.
- Startup Settings: Lets you access alternative startup modes and tools, like Safe Mode, Low-Resolution Video Mode, and boot logging.
- Go back to the previous version: Lets you uninstall Windows and downgrade back to the previous version you were using, as long as you’ve upgraded within the last 30 days. Check out our guide to uninstalling Windows 10 and downgrading to Windows 7 or 8.1 for more details.
After choosing most of these options, Windows restarts and then loads into the mode (or starts the tool) you selected.
And now that you know what you can use the “Advanced Options” menu for, let’s take a look at how to get to it.
Option One: Hold Down Shift While Clicking Restart
If your PC can start Windows normally, you can get to the “Advanced Options” menu quickly by just holding down the Shift key while clicking the “Restart” option. You can do this either on the sign in screen (shown above) or on the Start menu (shown below).
How To Edit Windows 10 Boot Manager Options
When you do this, your PC doesn’t immediately restart. Instead, it shows you a menu that lets you continue in your Windows session, access troubleshooting tools, or turn off your PC. Click the “Troubleshoot” button.
On the “Troubleshoot” screen, click the “Advanced Options” button.
And, finally, you’ll arrive at the “Advanced Options” menu.
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Note that if your PC can’t start Windows normally twice in a row, it should show you the “Advanced Options” menu automatically. If it doesn’t, you can try booting your PC with a USB recovery drive.
Option Two: Use the Settings App
If you’d like to jump through a few extra hoops rather than just hitting Shift+Restart, you can also launch the “Advanced Options” menu through the settings app. Press Windows+I to open the Settings app, and then
Click the “Update & Security” option.
In the left pane, switch to the “Recovery” tab. In the right pane, scroll down a bit, and then click the “Restart Now” button in the “Advanced Startup” section.
If you’re using Windows 8, you’ll switch to the “General” tab instead, and then click the “Restart” button in the “Advanced Startup” section.
Option Three: Issue a Command with PowerShell (or the Command Prompt)
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You can also reach the “Advanced Options” menu by issuing a simple command using PowerShell or the Command Prompt. We’re going to use PowerShell here, but it’s the exact same command either way. You could also create a batch script with this command, so that you could access the “Advanced Options” menu in the future more easily.
Start PowerShell as administrator by hitting Windows+X, and then clicking the “Windows PowerShell (Admin)” option on the Power User menu.
At the prompt, type (or copy and paste) the following command, and then hit Enter:
A message pops up, warning you that you are about to be signed off.
Windows then restarts automatically about a minute later, and delivers you to the “Advanced Options” menu.
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