Summary
A clean boot is performed to start Windows by using a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. This helps eliminate software conflicts that occur when you install a program or an update or when you run a program in Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, or Windows Vista. You may also troubleshoot or determine what conflict is causing the problem by performing a clean boot.
Note If the issue you are having prevents you from booting into Windows, you won't be able to follow the steps in this article. After the device tries to reboot a few times, you should get Windows Recovery Options, which you can use to try to resolve the issue.
- Windows 7: What are the system recovery options in Windows?
- Windows 8.1: How to refresh, reset, or restore your PC
- Windows 10: Recovery options in Windows 10
Why software conflicts occur
When you start Windows by using a normal startup operation, several applications and services start automatically, and then run in the background. These programs include basic system processes, antivirus software, system utility applications, and other software that has been previously installed. These applications and services can cause software conflicts.
How to perform a clean boot
Notes
- You must log on to the computer as an administrator to be able to perform a clean boot.
- Your computer may temporarily lose some functionality when you perform a clean boot. When you start the computer normally, the functionality returns. However, you may receive the original error message, or experience the original behavior if the problem still exists.
- If the computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may prevent you from following these steps. We strongly recommend that you do not use the System Configuration utility to change the advanced boot options on the computer unless a Microsoft support engineer directs you to do this. Doing this may make the computer unusable.
After you have done the clean boot:
- If you were trying to install, uninstall, or run an application, see Install, uninstall, or run an application.
- If you were trying to fix an error or problem, see How to determine what is causing the problem after you do a clean boot.
- When you are finished with the troubleshooting steps, make sure to Reset the computer to start normally after clean boot troubleshooting.
Use the following steps to perform a clean boot:
- From Start, search for msconfig.
- Select System Configuration from the search results.
- On the Services tab of the System Configuration dialog box, tap or click to select the Hide all Microsoft services check box, and then tap or click Disable all.
- On the Startup tab of the System Configuration dialog box, tap or click Open Task Manager.
- On the Startup tab in Task Manager, for each startup item, select the item and then click Disable.
- Close Task Manager.
- On the Startup tab of the System Configuration dialog box, tap or click OK, and then restart the computer.