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Accessing the Control Panel in Safe Mode

By default, as of Windows Vista Control Panel items are not shown when Windows is run in safe mode. To allow a new Control Panel item to be viewed in safe mode, registry values appropriate to the item type can be set. The values are interpreted as follows:

Value Meaning
1 The item should appear in minimal safe mode only.
2 The item should appear in safe mode only if networking is enabled.
3 The item should always appear in any form of safe mode.

 

This example shows the entries required for an item implemented as a .cpl or .dll file. It specifies that the item should appear in safe mode with networking.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
   Software
      Microsoft
         Windows
            CurrentVersion
               Control Panel
                  Extended Properties
                     System.ControlPanel.EnableInSafeMode
                        %ProgramFiles%\MyCorp\MyApp\MyCpl.cpl = [REG_DWORD] 2

This example shows the entries required for an item implemented as a .exe file. It specifies that the item should appear in any form of safe mode.

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
   CLSID
      {0052D9FC-6764-4D29-A66F-2F3BD9E2BB40}
         System.ControlPanel.EnableInSafeMode = [REG_DWORD] 3

Control Panel Items

User Experience Guidelines

Registering Control Panel Items

Using CPLApplet

Control Panel Message Processing

Executing Control Panel Items

Extending System Control Panel Items

Assigning Control Panel Categories

Creating Searchable Task Links for a Control Panel Item