Safe Mode Not Working with Windows 11 64bit

Hello
Just noticed today when i decided to do for a change display driver uninstaller, except discovered on Windows 11 64bit safe mode not working today, only update installed recently was the one released last night that brought Windows 11 22000.652.

I believe it worked prior to that but not entirely sure as i don't enter safe mode much at all, maybe once or twice a month to sometimes run display driver uninstaller prior to installing newer video drivers

How are you trying to enter safe mode? And what exactly happens when you try it?

Well when i try it, via using Shift+ Restart, Troubleshoot options after signing in, turns into blank taskbar, and Flashing Screen of black & all white taskbar, no start menu or anything is what happens

No idea when it offically started though not sure if was present prior to .652 update or what, as i don't usually enter safe mode except to use Display Driver Uninstaller occasionally

Video card works fine in Normal Desktop and Gaming
System does have a bit of a heat problem due to CPU Stock fan, but is planned for deepest cleaning i can do tomorrow of system, cpu fan, video card fan, check rear exhaust fan direction offically, loosen front case cover to access behind the plastic like glass part, and cleaning dust off that, cleaning the 3 front intake fans as best i can with my electric duster little machine. At least hopefully can get that all done with my annoying Real life that happens off and on.

As family states will have to take it into local shop that originally built it to get cpu cooler upgraded, as will not provide a gift card so i can buy the needed supplies myself to do it myself, so working on File backups today, and tomorrow major dust cleaning, and then wait til day they can transport it to local shop, and then wait til they finish installing proper LGA 1200 Air cooler

bikemanI7 said:

Just noticed today when i decided to do for a change display driver uninstaller, except discovered on Windows 11 64bit safe mode not working today, only update installed recently was the one released last night that brought Windows 11 22000.652.

Click to expand...

Yes, everyone with the 22000.652 update has that same problem.

Bree said:

Yes, I have confirmed this on two different machines now.

......What appears to be happening is that explorer is trying to populate the taskbar with Start and the other icons (there's nothing there yet). It seems to then get stuck in a fail/restart loop, the screen going black each time explorer restarts.

The only thing that works properly is Ctrl+Alt+Del to bring up the Security screen, so at least you can still shut it down correctly.

I have also confirmed that there was no such problem on 22000.613.

Click to expand...

KB5012643 Cumulative Update Preview for Windows 11 Build 22000.652 - April 25 - post #31

There does seem to be a problem with ver 652 as I have the same problem as the OP. Just rolled back to ver 631 and safe mode works as it should.

One more here with that problem, hopefully MS will issue a fix soon. At least I know it's not a problem specific to my machine.

I used safe mode last week, it was working then. I think that was build .651

Good to know not specific to the machine now. Guess will wait for MS fix, or if family wants to take PC to local shop prior to the fix, i guess attempt rollback at that point, but for now just relaxes, and continues working on file backups

There are multiple continuous errors while in Safe mode, all are DistributedCOM event 10005 while attempting to start one service or another....

I got the errors shown by @Bree in the System log, but also these in the Application log at the same time when I was in Safe Mode

Bree said:

Yes, everyone with the 22000.652 update has that same problem.

KB5012643 Cumulative Update Preview for Windows 11 Build 22000.652 - April 25 - post #31

Click to expand...

Interesting...using Shift+Restart I have this problem, but when I load it through my boot menu I have no problems.



I'm going to try it as @NavyLCDR suggested and see what happens.

EDIT: Using the msconfig method didn't cause the issue, Safe Mode running normally. So only Shift+Restart affected (for me anyway).

Scott said:

Interesting...using Shift+Restart I have this problem, but when I load it through my boot menu I have no problems.

View attachment 27752

I'm going to try it as @NavyLCDR suggested and see what happens.

EDIT: Using the msconfig method didn't cause the issue, Safe Mode running normally. So only Shift+Restart affected (for me anyway).

Click to expand...

I had the problem using the msconfig method

BrianInEngland said:

I had the problem using the msconfig method

Click to expand...

Weird, only Shift+Restart affecting me...

I can confirm that the latest build breaks the safe mode. The screen keeps flashing and so does the task manager. The computer is completely unusable at this point. However, uninstalling the latest update fixes the problem.

Scott said:

Interesting...using Shift+Restart I have this problem, but when I load it through my boot menu I have no problems.

View attachment 27752

I'm going to try it as @NavyLCDR suggested and see what happens.

EDIT: Using the msconfig method didn't cause the issue, Safe Mode running normally. So only Shift+Restart affected (for me anyway).

Click to expand...

The problem does happen using msconfig to enter into safe mode.

bikemanI7 said:

Hello
Just noticed today when i decided to do for a change display driver uninstaller, except discovered on Windows 11 64bit safe mode not working today, only update installed recently was the one released last night that brought Windows 11 22000.652.

I believe it worked prior to that but not entirely sure as i don't enter safe mode much at all, maybe once or twice a month to sometimes run display driver uninstaller prior to installing newer video drivers

Click to expand...

The same problem with Build 22000.651 or 22000.652 that apply the same KB#.
The problem with Safe Mode happens when using the F4 option (Safe Mode without network) it works fine with F5 option (Safe Mode with Networking).

SherKaan79 said:

The problem does happen using msconfig to enter into safe mode.

Click to expand...

I does if I select Minimal. No problems if I select Network.

Scott said:

I does if I select Minimal. No problems if I select Network.

Click to expand...

Check this out. The problem was fixed on my desktops on 04/30/2022, but my Lenovo Yoga 920 Laptop still fail even if the Diagnostic settings is the same.
I don't understand why they can roll back a buggy change on one machine and not the other even if they have the same feedback settings?

fg2001gf11F said:

I don't understand why they can roll back a buggy change on one machine and not the other even if they have the same feedback settings?

Click to expand...

The change is made by Known Issue Rollback. Your Windows Update needs to have checked for updates before it will be aware of a new KIR, either with the once a day automatic check, or by you clicking 'Check for updates'.

How Known Issue Rollback works for the end user​

When Microsoft decides to rollback a bug fix in an update because of a known issue, we make a configuration change in the cloud. Devices connected to Windows Update or Windows Update for Business are notified of this change and it takes effect with the next reboot.

Click to expand...

KIR is not dependent on your Feedback setting, you should get it whatever you use. Any extra telemetry is only for Microsoft's benefit.

Devices that have opted into providing Microsoft with diagnostic data then send very scoped information about which code path is being exercised. This data helps us learn how well the rollback is succeeding in the ecosystem.

Click to expand...

Bree said:

The change is made by Known Issue Rollback. Your Windows Update needs to have checked for updates before it will be aware of a new KIR, either with the once a day automatic check, or by you clicking 'Check for updates'.

Known Issue Rollback: Helping you keep Windows devices protected and productive

Today I'm sharing details about Known Issue Rollback (KIR), a new capability that can quickly return an impacted device back to productive use if an issue arises during a Windows update. In this blog, my engineering partner, Vatsan Madhavan, and I will walk you through this new capability. In...

techcommunity.microsoft.com

KIR is not dependent on your Feedback setting, you should get it whatever you use. Any extra telemetry is only for Microsoft's benefit.

Click to expand...

@Bree,
Well, something is fishy, the problem is fixed in 2 Desktops, but still failing on the Lenovo Laptop.
For some reason they are not doing the rollback on that one.
Trying to figure out why the different behavior on 2 Dell Desktops (XPS 8930 and XPS 8940) which are fixed versus the Lenovo Yoga 920 that keeps failing regardless of what I try.
Yesterday they were all failing the same way, today 2 are fixed and one has still the same bug.
Typical MS inconsistency!