Bring Back the Old “F8” Safe Mode Shortcut in Windows 8

Windows 8 has a new bootloader designed for UEFI devices, and with it, they’ve removed the F8 shortcut for quickly booting into safe mode. Here’s a quick way to bring it back.

The new tiled bootloader is pretty, but it has its annoyances. For example, if you want to boot into a different OS or boot into safe mode, you have to boot up your computer, thenreboot into the option you choose—unlike the old bootloader, which would just take you straight to your alternate OS or boot right into safe mode.

To bring back the faster, simpler, old school bootloader from Windows 7 and before, you just need to run a simple command:

1. Open up the Start menu or screen and type “cmd.” Right-click on the Command Prompt selection and choose “Run as Administrator.”
2. Run the following command:

   bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy

3. Restart your computer. You can now press F8 before the blue Windows logo appears to see your advanced boot options.

You can still enter Windows 8’s new tiled Repair menu by choosing “Repair Your Computer” at this menu, which is nice. If you want to reverse this process just run:

bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy standard

Restart your computer and it’ll go back to Windows 8’s newfangled way of doing things.