How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 10 to Troubleshoot Software Conflicts
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.
A clean boot is performed to start Windows with 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.
You may also troubleshoot or determine what conflict is causing the problem by performing a clean boot.
This tutorial will show you how to perform a clean boot to start Windows 10 using a minimal set of drivers and startup programs for troubleshooting application conflicts.
You must be signed in 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.
Contents
- Part One: To Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 10
- Part Two: To Troubleshoot Software Conflicts in a Clean Boot
- Part Three: To Restart Computer to Normal Startup after Finished Troubleshooting
1 Press the Win + R keys to open Run, type msconfig into Run, and press Enter to open System Configuration.
2 In the General tab of System Configuration, select (dot) Selective startup, and only uncheck Load startup items. (see screenshot below)
3 Click/tap on the Services tab in System Configuration, check the Hide all Microsoft services box, and click/tap on Disable all. (see screenshot below)
4 Click/tap on the Startup tab in System Configuration, and click/tap on the Open Task Manager. (see screenshot below)
5 Disable all startup items, and close Task Manager. (see screenshot below)
6 Click/tap on OK in System Configuration. (see screenshot below step 4)
7 Click/tap on Restart to restart the computer with a clean boot at startup, and go to step 8 below. (see screenshot below)
8 After the computer has restarted now in a clean boot environment, do step 9 or step 10 below for what is appropriate in your situation.
9 If you could not install or uninstall a program or an update before you performed the clean boot, try to install or uninstall the program or update again.
If you receive the "The Windows Installer service could not be accessed" error during the installation or uninstallation, manually start the Windows Installer service, and then install or uninstall the program or update again.
A) If the installation or uninstallation is successful, you have resolved your issue. Go to step 19 below to reset your computer to normal startup.
B) If the installation or uninstallation still fails, that means this issue is not caused by application or service interference. Please post in the appropriate forum here to get further support for your issue.
10 If you could not run a program before you performed the clean boot, try to run the program again.
A) If the program runs correctly, this issue is caused by application or service interferences. Go to step 11 below to determine which application or service causes the issue.
B) If the program still does not run as expected, this issue is not caused by application or service interference. Please post in the appropriate forum here to get further support for your issue.
11 Press the Win+R keys to open Run, type msconfig, and press Enter to open System Configuration.
12 Click/tap on the Services tab in System Configuration, check the Hide all Microsoft services box, check the upper half of check boxes in the Service list, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)
13 Click/tap on Restart to restart the computer. (see screenshot below)
14 After the computer finishes restarting, determine whether the problem still occurs.
A) If the problem still occurs, repeat steps 11 through 13, but uncheck the lower half of the check boxes in the Service list that you originally checked in step 12.
B) If the problem does not occur, repeat steps 11 through 13, and check only the upper half of the remaining check boxes that are cleared in the Service list at step 12. Repeat step 14 until you have selected all the check boxes in the Service list at step 12.
C) If you still experience the problem when only one service is selected in the Service list at step 12, this means that the selected service causes the problem, and you should go to step 18. If no service causes the problem, go to step 15 below.
15 Repeat step 11 and then step 4 to open your startup items list.
16 Enable the upper half of items in the Startup list, close Task Manager, and restart the computer. (see screenshot below)
17 After the computer finishes restarting, determine whether the problem still occurs.
A) If the problem still occurs, repeat step 15 and step 16, but disable the lower half of the items in the Startup list that you originally enabled in step 16.
B) If the problem does not occur, repeat step 15 and step 16, and enable only the upper half of the remaining items in the Startup list at step 16. Repeat step 17 until you have enabled all startup items.
C) If you still experience the problem after only one Startup item is enabled in the Startup list, this means that the selected startup item causes the problem, and you should go to step 18. If no startup item causes this problem, a Microsoft service probably causes the problem. To determine which Microsoft service may be causing the problem, repeat steps 11 through 14 without checking the Hide all Microsoft services box in each step.
18 After you determine the startup item or the service that causes the problem, contact the program manufacturer to determine whether the problem can be resolved. Or, leave the problem startup item disabled in Task Manager or service unchecked in msconfig until it can be resolved. Stop here.
19 Press the Win + R keys to open Run, type msconfig into Run, and press Enter to open System Configuration.
20 In the General tab of System Configuration, select (dot) Normal startup. (see screenshot below)
21 Click/tap on the Services tab in System Configuration, uncheck the Hide all Microsoft services box, and click/tap on Enable all. (see screenshot below)
22 Click/tap on the Startup tab in System Configuration, and click/tap on the Open Task Manager. (see screenshot below)
23 Enable all startup items, and close Task Manager. (see screenshot below)
24 Click/tap on OK in System Configuration. (see screenshot below step 22)
25 Click/tap on Restart to restart the computer back to a normal startup. (see screenshot below)
That's it,
Shawn
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