How to Add Safe Mode to Boot Menu Options in Windows 11

Safe Mode is a powerful diagnostic tool that Microsoft provides on Windows 11 . It starts your system with only the essential drivers and services which help you diagnose and fix various issues. Adding Safe Mode to your Windows 11 boot menu creates a permanent troubleshooting option for startup issues.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to add Safe Mode to Boot Menu, Safe Mode with Networking, and Safe Mode with Command Prompt in Windows 11. This method takes your system directly into Safe Mode -no need to enter recovery or use keyboard shortcuts during startup.

Add Safe Mode to the Boot Menu via Command Prompt

Adding Safe mode to the boot menu using Command Prompt allows you to select Safe mode at startup without pressing F8 key or go into recovery options. This is helpful if you’re troubleshooting and want easy access to Safe Mode.

Step 1: Press Windows + S, type cmd, then right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.

Step 2: Type the following command to clone your current boot configuration and modify it to enable booting into Safe Mode.

bcdedit

Note :In the Windows Boot Loader section, locate your active Windows 11 installation and take note of the identifier—typically listed as {current} or {default}.

Step 3: To create a copy of your boot entry for Safe Mode, replace {identifier} with the actual identifier you noted earlier, and assign a clear description.

For standard Safe Mode, run:

bcdedit /copy {identifier} /d “Windows 11 Safe Mode”

This command creates a duplicate of your current boot entry and labels it “Windows 11 Safe Mode”.

After executing it, you’ll get a GUID (e.g., {xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx}); make sure to copy this ID for use in the next steps.

Step 4: To configure the new boot entry to launch in minimal Safe Mode, run the following command, replacing {GUID} with the ID you received earlier:

bcdedit /set {GUID} safeboot minimal

Add a boot entry for Safe Mode with Networking

Step 1: Run this command to create a copy of your current boot entry:

bcdedit /copy {current} /d “Windows 11 Safe Mode with Networking”

Step 2: Copy the New GUID shown by the command.

Step 3: Then run this command, replacing {GUID} with that new ID:

bcdedit /set {GUID} safeboot network

Add a boot entry for Safe Mode with Command Prompt

Step 1: Create a copy of your current boot entry

bcdedit /copy {current} /d “Windows 11 Safe Mode with Command Prompt”

Step 2: Copy the New GUID shown by the command.

Step 3: Set it to launch in Safe Mode with the Command Prompt interface by running:

bcdedit /set {GUID} safeboot minimal

bcdedit /set {GUID} safebootalternateshell yes

Set Timeout for Boot Menu

When you add multiple boot entries (like Safe Mode), your PC needs to display a boot menu so you can choose which one to load: normal Windows or Safe Mode. If the timeout is not set or is 0, the boot menu might flash too quickly or not appear at all.

Step 1: Run bcdedit /timeout 15

bcdedit manages boot configuration data, and /timeout 15 sets the boot menu to display for 15 seconds before automatically selecting the default entry.

Restart your PC to see a boot menu with options like Windows 11, Windows 11 Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Networking, and Safe Mode with Command Prompt, then use your keyboard or mouse to select the Safe Mode you want to start.

Want to Remove Safe Mode from the Boot Menu

If you have finished troubleshooting, want to clean up the boot menu, or accidentally created multiple or duplicate entries, you should remove the Safe Mode entries.

Step 1: Press Windows + S, type cmd, then right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.

Step 2: Run bcdedit This will list all boot entries. Copy the identifier (GUID) for the one you want to remove, then run You’ll see a line above it that looks like:

Identifier: {ad1b5ea2-0ae6-11f0-9eab-80c6196773a5 }

Step 3: Copy the {identifier} associated with the Safe Mode entry you want to delete.
Run the Following command to delete Safe mode entry:

bcdedit /delete {identifier}

You’ll see a confirmation like: The operation completed successfully.

Final Thought: How to Add Safe Mode to Boot Menu Options in Windows 11

Adding Safe Mode to the Windows 11 boot menu is a great move if you frequently troubleshoot system issues or want a quick recovery option. A few commands are all that’s needed to automate some of the necessary steps, and you will always have access to essential recovery tools—no matter how badly Windows is misbehaving during startup.

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