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After applying windows updates to a server we found that the server continually rebooted into safe mode.

Different methods were tried to force the server back to normal mode, including using the F8 prompt and using a Windows Repair from the original install CD but nothing worked.

Finally after a lot of searching we tried bcdedit /deletevalue safeboot typed into a command prompt on the server, and when we rebooted it came back up in normal mode.

We had to wait while the server reverted some of the changes to the windows updates but eventually we were able to log back in. We suspect that the server was reading the bcd and booting into safe mode instead of coming up normally.

After this we installed the windows updates 5 at a time until we were up-to-date and this time they all worked fine.

The Technet article “Restart the domain controller in Directory Services Restore Mode Remotely” has more information and is the source for the command above that disabled the bcd from forcing a safemode boot up.