#1 – Use bcdedit to enable the BCD boot  menu

To display the boot menu that would normally appear when you pressed F8 you need use an elevated command prompt.

Once you have a Command Prompt (as an administrator) enter the following commands which are self-explanatory:

1. bcdedit /set {bootmgr} displaybootmenu yes
2. bcdedit /set {bootmgr} timeout 10

#2 – Use bcdedit to launch DSRM

On Windows Server 2008 or later you can run bcdedit inside of an administrative console:

1. To boot DSRM, type the command bcdedit /set safeboot dsrepair, then reboot: shutdown /r /f /t 5.
2. When you are ready to boot normally, type bcdedit /deletevalue safeboot, then reboot: shutdown /r /f /t 5.

You can use this procedure when a graphical user interface (GUI) is not available (e.g., on Server Core).

#3 – Use msconfig.exe to launch DSRM

You can configure Windows to boot DSRM using msconfig.exe:

1. Click on Start (or press WIN+X) -> Run.
2. In the Open box type msconfig and click OK. This will show the System Configuration dialog box.
3. Click on the tab Boot (top).
4. Under “Boot options” check the box Safe boot.
5. Select Active Directory repair and click OK.
6. Reboot the computer: Click on Start (or press WIN+X -> Shut down or sign out -> Restart.

This will boot the computer into DSRM.

To boot normally, reverse the procedure:

1. Click on Start (or press WIN+X) -> Run.
2. In the Open box type msconfig and click OK. This will show the System Configuration dialog box.
3. Click on the tab Boot (top).
4. Under “Boot options” uncheck the box Safe boot and click OK.
5. Reboot the computer: Click on Start (or press WIN+X -> Shut down or sign out -> Restart.

This will boot the computer back into normal mode.

If you want to boot into Safe Mode, run msconfig and select Minimal. Then reboot.