Boot Windows Server 2012 in Safe Mode VMware

I am in an VMWare environment & have a 2016 Server that seems to be having issues with some 3rd party SW that is keeping me from being able to login to the Server correctly.  I would like to Boot the VM to Safe Mode.  My understanding is that if I get the VM rebooting, click in the Window to get the Focus on the VM & hit F8 during the VM Post mode it will bring me to Safe mode Menu.  What I actually get when I follow this procedure is Booting to Boot Manager, which does not help at all!!  

What am I missing??  I read a few articles & they all pointed to the simple F8 during Post, but that is not what I am seeing...

Suggestions?

Have you ever tried to boot Windows VM into safe mode easily ?. Let me show you how you can start your computer into safe mode.

Recently I installed the latest version of VMware workstation on my PC and set up ConfigMgr lab. I installed the latest Windows Server OS and Windows 10.

My lab setup was ready and since everything was setup correctly, I thought i won’t have any issues. But then one of my server showed up the BSOD.

Boot Windows Server 2012 in Safe Mode VMware
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I guess this could be probably due to a faulty update that got installed.

However when I attempted to boot my virtual machine into safe mode, it didn’t work. Maybe I was not quick in pressing F8 button, so I attempted again and still no luck.

I know booting a Windows guest operating system into Safe Mode is very easy. You restart the virtual machine and when the computer starts, you press and hold F8.

In my case when I pressed F8 it took me to the BIOS options and I tried multiple times but it didn’t help. So let me show you how to boot or start your PC in safe mode.

To know more about the safe mode, read the following article.

In this example, I will be booting Windows Server 2019 into safe mode. First login to Windows Server. Click Start > then click Settings icon.

Boot Windows Server 2012 in Safe Mode VMware
Windows 10 Settings

You will now see Windows Settings page, click Update & Security.

Boot Windows Server 2012 in Safe Mode VMware
Windows 10 update and security

On the Windows Update page, in the left pane, click Recovery.

Boot Windows Server 2012 in Safe Mode VMware
Windows 10 Recovery

Click Restart now on the Recovery window.

Boot Windows Server 2012 in Safe Mode VMware
Restart the Windows machine

You may specify a reason to restart the computer. Click Continue. The VM now restarts.

Boot Windows Server 2012 in Safe Mode VMware
Select a reason to restart the computer

The screen that you see now has got 4 options.

  • Continue
  • Use a device
  • Troubleshoot
  • Turn off your PC

Click Troubleshoot option.

Boot Windows Server 2012 in Safe Mode VMware
Boot Windows VM into Safe Mode

On the Advanced options screen, click Start Settings.

Boot Windows Server 2012 in Safe Mode VMware
Boot Windows VM into Safe Mode

On the Startup settings screen, you can click Restart to change several windows options.

  • Enable low-resolution video mode
  • Enable debugging mode
  • Boot logging
  • Disable automatic restart on system failure
  • Enable safe mode
  • Disable driver signature enforcement
  • Disable early-launch anti-malware protection

Boot Windows Server 2012 in Safe Mode VMware
Windows Virtual machine safe mode – Startup Settings

You will see Advance Boot options screen. Select Safe Mode and hit enter key to boot virtual machine into Safe Mode.

Boot Windows Server 2012 in Safe Mode VMware
Boot Windows VM into Safe Mode

I hope this post helps.

Boot Windows Server 2012 in Safe Mode VMware

Prajwal Desai is a Microsoft MVP in Enterprise Mobility. He writes articles SCCM, Intune, Configuration Manager, Microsoft Intune, Azure, Windows Server, Windows 11, WordPress and other topics, with the goal of providing people with useful information.