To access the Advanced Boot Options menu in Windows 7:
Accessing the Advanced Boot Options Menu
Restart your computer.
As your computer is booting up, repeatedly tap the F8 key before the Windows logo appears. You may need to tap it rapidly, especially if you have a solid-state drive (SSD) that boots quickly.
If the Advanced Boot Options screen appears, use the arrow keys to select the desired option and press Enter.
Some common options include:
Repair Your Computer – Provides access to system recovery tools to repair startup problems, run diagnostics, or restore your system.
Safe Mode – Starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and services. You can also select Safe Mode with Networking or Command Prompt.
Enable Boot Logging – Creates a file listing all drivers installed during startup for troubleshooting.
Last Known Good Configuration – Starts Windows with the last registry and driver configuration that worked successfully.
If the Advanced Boot Options menu doesn’t appear after repeatedly tapping F8, try these troubleshooting steps:
Troubleshooting Advanced Boot Options Menu Issues
Check if the menu is disabled in System Configuration. Open System Configuration (msconfig.exe), go to the Boot tab, and ensure “Safe boot” is unchecked.
Ensure the bootstat.dat file is present in C:\Windows. If not, create a new text file named bootstat.dat and copy it to that location.
Remove all devices except the mouse and keyboard when booting to eliminate potential conflicts.
Increase the “Time to display list of operating systems” in System Properties > Advanced tab > Startup and Recovery settings. Set it to 10 seconds or more.
As a last resort, use the bcdedit command in an elevated Command Prompt to check and potentially repair the Windows Recovery Environment.
If none of these steps work, you may need to create a Windows 7 System Repair Disk to access recovery tools offline.