Will I still be able to use pre-loaded HP software products if I do a clean install of Windows 10?

[CherylG]

Sorry I don't have a clue why Safe Mode w/networking isn't working. I have never tried it in Windows 10 or Windows 8  for that matter- not since XP. Let us know if you get any good results from Microsoft forum.

Btw, just out of curiosity- why is Safe Mode w/networking so important to you?

[Glookie]

Thank you, CherylG, for trying to help. I'm hoping someone else DOES have a solution.

Although I'm very careful about where and how I surf, and I usually phone or text when I receive a suspicious email,  I once (a couple of years ago) accidentally opened a bad email attachment; a friend had sent it, and it must have been diverted and infected somewhere on the way to my email. I was only able to purge the resultant malware off my laptop by running Superantispyware in safe mode; in normal mode, it could not download updates. So I want to be prepared for the chance this could happen again.

Anyone else have a clue why I might be having this issue?

[Glookie · Accepted solution]

Because the rep on the Microsoft forum was not responding to my queries, today I called the Microsoft Windows 10 phone support number. After the rep wasted another hour of my (and her) time walking me through getting into Safe Mode via multiple methods, all of which I'd told her I had aleady tried; the rep suggested that account customizations I had applied might be the cause of the trouble.

She also informed me that, for security reasons, Windows 10 no longer allows wireless connectivity in Safe Mode; although, if your PC is physically connected to the modem/router, you should be able to get into IE (and maybe even into Edge) in Safe Mode.

So I added a new administrator local account (That is, I log in with a password and not with a Microsoft account.), to be used just for safe mode, and left all its settings at Microsoft's defaults. And lo and behold, it worked! When wired to my router, I was able to get into Safe Mode with internet connectivity via IE! Thanks to this rep, I have success at last.

[CherylG]

Thanks for coming back with your success story. I had not heard about Win 10 disabling wireless in Safe Mode.

For clarity- is this wired connection to internet only available through the Local account and still not possible with your MS account? If so I assume it is related to your personal settings as the MS rep stated.

One more question- have you tested (ot of curiosity) wireless as well using the Local acct?

[Glookie]

I can only get into the internet in Safe Mode when connected via wire, but not wirelessly (which is VERY inconvenient, as my home office is 2 flights away from the router); and I can only do it when logged in as the new local administrator, which does not have a Microsoft account related to it.

Were you able to get into the internet in Safe Mode wirelessly? Thanks.

[CherylG]

I have not tried it yet but did find several suggestions that you must Connect before logging in.

https://community.spiceworks.com/how_to/125006-how-to-restore-wi-fi-connection-in-windows-10-safe-mo...

Another here suggests that you use Ctr alt Del before connecting- then login:

http://www.tenforums.com/network-sharing/18909-wireless-not-working-safe-mode-some-windows-10-system...

Hopefully one of these will work for you.

[Glookie]

Thanks, Cheryl G, I had tried all those already. Understandably, they had not worked because they all assume that one sees a list of networks but is unable to access them. I don't even see a list of networks, neither when locked out nor when active. Only after trying the options you also had found, did I begun this post. For the rare times I actually use safe mode with networking, I guess I'll have to make do with a wired connection.

BTW, today I saw this, but both methods noted on this page did not work: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3084164

Maybe later in the week I'll try phoning Microsoft to see if they might know why.

P.S. I called MS, and all they could tell me is that safe mode with wireless networking does not seem to work with my hardware. I'll now consider this issue closed.