Boot Mode Options

In the next section, we look at Recovery Environment (RE), which might be the solution in the event of a problem. However, before you try to repair an environment, you have other options. The OS Loader for Windows Server 2008 has an advanced boot menu. The boot menu gives numerous boot options that can be useful to a troublesome system. These options are essentially unchanged from earlier versions of the OS, so if you are familiar with 2003, the 2008 advanced options should be familiar. And, in many cases, it will help you resolve a problem before you need to use RE, which requires a more “hands-on” approach that might make your situation worse.

To access the boot menu, first hit F8 at the Windows Boot Manager screen when you select the OS to boot. If you have only one OS configured, the boot menu might not display for any amount of time (because there is no choice to make). After the BIOS stage has completed the system startup, press F8 when the screen goes black. Keep pressing every second until the menu appears, as shown in Figure 20-1. If the Windows logo screen is displayed, you missed it and need to restart the computer. (If this happens, try pressing F8 more often and earlier after your computer restarts.)