Win 8.1 F8 interrupt startup

With all the info already  available on the internet regarding troubleshooting, it would be tough to keep up a catalogue…

Still I would like to post some basics, just for ease of access.

If you need to start Windows 8.1 in safemode one will find that the usual F8 or Shift+F8 break for the boot no longer works natively, even though they are correct commands.
-At least on faster computers with SSD and UEFI bios this is the case.

So in order to enable F8 startup menu for safe-mode boot etc, run this command from an elevated cmd:

bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy

This will give you access to the familar menu for troubleshooting.
But it also will delay the boot with some seconds, so if you want to revert the setting:

bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy standard

 

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