Turn on or restart your computer. To restart your computer, press Ctrl-Alt-Del, select Shut Down, and then, from the drop-down list, select Restart. Click OK.
After the memory test, the words "Starting Windows" will appear on a black background. When this happens, press and hold the F8 key. This will present a screen with the following options to choose from. The exact moment that F8 is pressed will determine the contents of the list, and the list may vary from computer to computer. For example, your computer may not do a memory test or it may have a SCSI BIOS to load in addition to the motherboard's BIOS. If you have trouble getting the list below to appear, restart the computer and then press F8 repeatedly while the computer is starting.
Safe Mode: Boots Windows with only the basic drivers needed to load the operating system. Uses basic drivers for mouse, keyboard, display (VGA), mass storage, and default system services and drivers, with no network components. In Windows 2000, a log file will be created to track the progress of the system boot, which is located in the Windows 2000 folder.
Safe Mode with Networking: Loads the Safe Mode configuration, but also enables network devices and services. In Windows 2000, a log file will be created to track the progress of the system boot, which is located in the Windows 2000 folder.
Safe Mode with Command Prompt: Loads Windows in Safe Mode, and, after logging in, opens a command prompt instead of the normal desktop. In Windows 2000, a log file will be created to track the progress of the system boot, which is located in the Windows 2000 folder.
Note: You should try booting to the command prompt only if you feel comfortable operating within the DOS environment.
Enable Boot Logging: Boots Windows with all of the normal files and drivers, but writes their status to a log file at each step. In Windows 2000, this log file is located in the Windows 2000 folder and is named ntbtlog.txt.
Enable VGA Mode: Boots Windows using a plain VGA 16-color 640x480 display driver for the highest level of compatibility with video cards
Last Known Good Configuration: Boots Windows using the last registry configuration that is known to work. This is a way of undoing problems created by installing incorrect drivers or possibly by registry corruption. It will not, however, fix problems caused by corrupted or missing files.
Debugging Mode: Boots Windows while sending debug information through a serial port to another computer. It's useful in the case of a persistent "blue screen" or "stop" error.
Use the arrow keys to move up or down this menu to make your selection, then press Enter. If you have to update software or access the Internet while in Safe Mode, select "Safe Mode with Networking".