The Windows Advanced Boot Options menu, also known as Windows Startup Menu, includes various system repair and troubleshooting modes which help users fix system startup problems, access command line interpreter, and run Windows in safe mode, along with Windows boot debugging option to initiate step-by-step identification of Windows boot process issues. Like previous Windows versions, Windows 8 Startup Menu can be accessed by pressing F8 key before Windows starts loading. Along with the changes in Windows Desktop, Start Menu, Start Search, Control Panel, and Task Manager, the Windows 8 Startup Menu has also been revamped with new metro look.
The Windows 8 Startup Menu user interface includes two useful Windows repair options, namely, Windows Reset and Windows Refresh, while all the other essential advance system repair options are also available, such as, Automatic repair, System Image Recovery, System Restore, and Command Prompt. In this post, we will discuss latest additions to Windows 8 Startup Menu and how to access the classic troubleshooting utilities.To open the menu, reboot or turn on your PC and press F8 function key repeatedly repeatedly) to enter into Windows 8 Startup Menu. In case you’ve dual-booted Windows 8 with Windows 7, you will see Use another operating system along with 3 default Windows 8 Startup Menu options, namely, Continue, Turn off your PC, and Troubleshoot.
The Use another operating system lets you choose operating system you want to boot. It also shows the source path where the operating system is currently residing. In order to change the default operating system, click Change defaults. A new window will open where you can select the operating system that you want to load each time the system starts. Apart from changing default OS, it lets you specify the amount of time before default operating system runs automatically; you can select 5 minutes, 30 seconds, or 5 seconds boot delay options.
Under Troubleshoot window, you will find two new repair tools; Refresh your PC and Reset your PC. We have already covered these options in our guide here.
Clicking Advance option will reveal all Windows 8 repair tools, including, System Restore, System Image Recover, Automatic repair, and Command prompt.
The System Restore option shows all previously saved System Restore Points.You can choose restore point with last stable configuration to revert all the changes made to system back to selected restore point. The System Image Recovery option allows recovering Windows using system image file. When you attempt to restore your system through this option, it will ask you to attach an external storage device or optical disk having recovery image to begin the process. The Re-image your Computer wizard will guide you through the process.
The next utility in Advanced Options is Automatic Repair. In comparison with other provided options, this options is relatively less useful, as it is capable of identifying only basic Windows startup problem. When you select Automatic Repair, it will start finding problems with your PC. On finding issues with your PC, it will ask you to select fixes amongst the list to repair your system.
The Command Line Interpreter utility is accessible through Command Prompt option. You can use the CMD console to find, copy, move, remove files, replace files with newer versions, run other command line utilities to fix the problems with your PC and so on.
Although Windows 8 Startup Menu looks like a simplified version of the good-old Startup Menu that we’ve grown used to, we did face some issues while recovering our system from Startup Menu. As of now, we can’t say whether it is due to limitations of Windows 8 Developer Build or because of some internal unaddressed bugs. We will keep this post updated with upcoming improvements and additions to Windows 8 Startup Menu.
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