How to exit safe boot without display Windows 11
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ryan davies
0
Reputation points
Recently my laptop started only showing bright flashing colours over the whole screen. Looking online this seems to be a problem with either the display drivers or the display. Connecting to an external monitor worked and I was able to use this to try to fix it.
I looked at rolling back the display drivers, however this option was greyed out. I was preparing to do a factory reset but saw some people mention trying to start in safe mode. Using the shift-restart method didn't work so I used sysconfig to always boot into safe mode.
The problem is now I cannot get the display to show on the external monitor and cannot find any guide on how to exit safe boot without a functioning display. Is there a way to navigate safe mode to a point I can do a factory reset/ not boot in safe mode using arrow keys.
Thanks
Windows for home | Windows 11 | Settings
{count} votes
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Leina Abdelgalil 0 Reputation points2025-12-06T21:11:22.7133333+00:00 1. Boot the laptop and wait ~1 minute
(Wait until Windows has fully reached Safe Mode login/desktop.)
2. Open Run dialog
Press: Windows key + R
3. Launch System Configuration
Type blindly:
msconfig
Press:
Enter
Wait 5 seconds for the window to open.
4. Go to the "Boot" tab
Press:
Ctrl + Tab to move between tabs Repeat 2–3 times until you're on the Boot tab. (If you overshoot, keep pressing — it loops.)
5. Turn off “Safe boot”
Press:
Alt + B This selects the "Boot" tab and highlights the Safe Boot checkbox.
Then press:
Spacebar This toggles OFF the “Safe boot” checkbox.
6. Apply and Restart
Press:
Alt + A (Apply) Alt + O (OK)
If that doesn’t restart automatically, then press:
R (Windows will ask if you want to restart now; "R" selects Restart.)
After reboot:
Your laptop will start normally (not in Safe Mode), and the external monitor will work again.
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