safemode

Have a pc with WINXP on one hard drive and
WINME on the other. When I boot up I am given a dual option of OS but I can go into safemode by
hitting F8 and then choosing from a number of options. Choosing safemode under WINME gives me nothing but a normal startup and choosing safemode
under XP will give me safemode sometimes and other times a screen filled with file listings that mean nothing. Is there a way to access safemode with a dual boot? Thanks.