Have your Windows Automatic Repair ever stopped working? How to fix it and recover the lost data when Windows cannot load correctly? In this post, I will show several ways to fix the “Windows Automatic Repair not working” issue, as well as how to recover lost data via
MiniTool data recovery software
quickly and easily.
Windows Automatic Repair Not Working
Windows systems like Windows 8 and Windows 10 include a recovery feature called
Automatic Repair
. When the operating system fails to boot, Windows Automatic Repair will try to
repair Windows
. However, it has some limitations and it doesn’t always work.
There are two most common causes for the Windows Automatic Repair not working issue based on user feedback:
Windows couldn't load correctly.
Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC.
Now, this article walks you through the two errors one by one.
Part 1. Fix: Automatic Repair Windows Couldn't Load Correctly in Windows 10/8
Have you ever encountered the Windows Automatic Repair fails to work issue? If you google "Windows couldn't load correctly" or visit some professional forums like
Windows forum
and
Windows seven forum
, you can find many users are talking about this error.
Many reasons can cause this error. For instance:
File system
integrity may become corrupted or damaged (That happens even more often if one turns off a PC while it is in the middle of writing crucial data to the
boot sector
).
Boot Configuration Data (BCD) is missing
or corrupt (This could happen because of disk write errors, power outages, boot sector viruses, or errors made while configuring the BCD manually).
How to fix this issue? If your Windows Automatic Repair fails to work because the Windows couldn't load correctly, you can try the following solutions.
Way 1. Restore the PC to a Normal System State Using System Restore Function
Generally speaking, the easiest and most effective way to fix the “Windows Automatic Repair not working” issue is to click the
Restore
button when you see the
Windows couldn't load correctly
error.
After restoring, Windows starts to revert to a previous system state and reboots. Finally, you have just one more thing to do:
recover the removed files
after the system restore!
Here you are suggested to try MiniTool Power Data Recovery to check whether it can find your lost data. You can download it on your computer by pressing the following button.
First, you need to launch this software and enter its main interface.
Second, you can click the
Scan Settings
button in the left panel to specify needed file systems as well as file types before scanning.
Third, under the
Logical Drives
section, select the target drive which contains the files you want to recover and then click the
Scan
button, or you can click the
Devices
tab and select the whole disk to scan.
Tip: While scanning, you can click the
Stop
button to stop the scan process once you have found all files to be recovered. However, to get the best recovery result, you had better wait patiently until the scan is completed. The scanning time is determined by data volume, disk capacity, and disk status.
Finally, preview and check the needed files, and then click the
Save
button to store them in a different path from the original files.
Tip: While saving data, you might receive a warning:
You have reached the file saving limit for the selected files
.
With the free edition of this software, you can only recover files no more than 1 GB. To break this limitation, you need to upgrade your edition of MiniTool Power Data Recovery. You can refer to the “
license comparison
” to know which license type is the best for you.
Way 2. Run CHKDSK Command to Fix Hard Disk & File System Issues
Sometimes, you may still get stuck in the startup repair infinite loop after using the System Restore function. In that case, you can try running
CHKDSK
to troubleshoot the “Windows couldn't load correctly” error, as shown in the following steps.
Step 2: Insert the
bootable media
into your computer which suffers the startup repair loop and boot from it.
Step 3: Select your language preferences, and click
Next
.
Step 4: Click
Repair your computer
.
Step 5: Choose
Troubleshoot
.
Step 6: Click
Command Prompt
.
Step 7: Type
chkdsk /r
and press
Enter
.
Step 8: Wait for the system to finish the operation. Then type
exit
and press
Enter
.
Step 9: Restart your computer and see if the Windows couldn't load correctly error disappeared.
Way 3. Run Bootrec Command to Rebuild Windows BCD
If you are still stuck in Automatic Repair with Windows couldn't load correctly error after trying the above 2 solutions, you can try rebuilding Windows' BCD.
Step 1: Insert the Windows bootable disk and boot from it.
Step 5: Type
bootrec /rebuildbcd
and press
Enter
.
Step 5: Restart your computer and see if the Windows automatic repair not working issue persists.
Part 2. Fix: Windows 10/8 Automatic Repair Couldn't Repair Your PC
Let's start with a true example from answers.microsoft.com:
I've tried every option in the boot options menu and cannot get Windows 8 to boot. I just get 'Automatic Repair couldn't repair your PC." And later: "Log file: D:\Windows\
System32
\Logfiles\Srt\SrtTrail.txt" with the Shutdown and Advanced options button, which just takes me to the boot options screen.
I have no installed media as this is originally a Win7 machine for which I downloaded Windows 8.
https://answers.microsoft.com/
Generally speaking, if your Windows Automatic Repair fails to work because of the Automatic Repair couldn't repair your PC error, you can try the following solutions to solve the problem.
Way 1. Repair MBR and Rebuild the BCD
As we know, once the
mbr
or Boot Configuration Data (BCD) is missing, corrupted, or not properly configured, Windows won't be able to start. Therefore, you can try repairing MBR and rebuilding BCD to fix the Windows Automatic Repair not working issue.
1) Insert the Windows bootable drive and boot from it.
2) Select your language preferences, and click
Next
.
4) Type the following commands and press
Enter
after each of them:
exe /rebuildbcd
exe /fixmbr
exe /fixboot
5) Type
exit
and press
Enter
after completing each command successfully.
6) Restart your PC to see if the Windows Automatic Repair couldn't repair your PC error disappeared.
Way 2. Boot to Safe Mode and Run Command Prompt
Some users reported that the reason why Windows 10 Automatic Repair couldn't repair your PC could be a bad driver. In this situation, you can try the following solution to solve the Windows Automatic Repair not working issue.
4. Download the updated version of the driver that's giving you trouble when Safe Mode starts.
5. Press
Windows + X
key combinations and choose
Command Prompt (Admin)
from the list.
6. Type
DISM
/Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and press
Enter
.
7. Restart your computer.
8. Install the driver that you've downloaded and the Windows Automatic Repair fails to work issue should be resolved.
Way 3. Disable Early Launch Anti-Malware Protection
Some users recommend disabling early launch anti-malware protection to fix the Windows 10 Automatic Repair couldn't repair your PC loop.
Choose to
Troubleshoot
>
Advanced Options
>
Startup Settings
. After that, the computer should restart, and then you can see a list of options. Next, choose
Disable early launch anti-malware protection
. After that, restart your PC and check if the Windows Automatic Repair not working issue has been resolved.
Way 4. Delete the Problematic File
Sometimes, certain files like
VMW
can cause the Windows 10/8 Automatic Repair couldn't repair your PC issue. Now, do the following to check the log files.
1. Boot your computer and select your language preferences. Then press
Shift + F10
to open
Command Prompt
(The steps are the same as Way 1. Repair MBR and Rebuild the BCD).
2. Type these commands in order (Press
Enter
every time you enter a command):
C:
cd \WindowsSystem32LogFilesSrt
txt
.
3. When the file opens, you will see "
Boot critical file c:\windows\system32\drivers\tmel.sys is corrupt".
4. Now, type the following commands in
Command Prompt
to delete the problematic file.
cd c:\windows\system32\drivers
del vsock.sys
Note: You might need to navigate to a different folder and delete a different file in your case because the file can vary in different situations. Make sure the file you want to delete isn't a core Windows 10 file before deleting it. Or, you can cause damage to your operating system.
5. Restart to see if the issue is fixed. If not, continue to the next method.
Way 5. Disable Automatic Startup Repair
Sometimes, you just need to disable Automatic Startup Repair when you are stuck in the loop of Windows 10 Automatic Repair couldn't repair your PC.
1. Open
Command Prompt
and type the following command and press
Enter
to run it:
bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled No
2. Type
exit
and press
Enter
.
3. Restart your PC and Automatic Startup Repair should be disabled.
4. Type the following command in Command Prompt if you need to re-enable it.
bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled Yes
5. Restart your computer to apply changes.
Way 6. Perform Refresh or Reset
If the Windows Automatic Repair loop issue still exists, you might have to try to perform a Reset or Refresh to troubleshoot the Automatic Repair couldn't repair your PC issue.
To perform a Refresh or Reset, you need to do the following:
In the
Windows Boot Options
menu, choose
Troubleshoot
. Choose
Reset your PC
or
Refresh your PC
as shown in this picture.
If you choose the
Refresh
option, your installed applications will be removed but your installed universal apps and settings will be saved. If you choose the
Reset
option, your data, files, and apps will be deleted.
It is recommended to recover all your important files before taking this step. Because writing new data may cause the original data to be overwritten, which cannot be recovered.
MiniTool Power Data Recovery is recommended here. This professional data recovery software can help you effectively recover lost data. Besides, even if all solutions cannot help you, you also can try using this tool to get lost data back because it offers a feature called
Bootable Media Builder
which can help you
recover data when your PC won't boot
.
Tip: Free edition doesn't offer MiniTool Bootable Media Builder. It is recommended to choose the
Personal
or above editions to get it.
3. Click
MiniTool Power Data Recovery
in the main interface of the
MiniTool PE Loader
interface.
4. Now, you will see the main interface of this professional data recovery software, and then double-click the target drive to scan.
5. After scanning, check all needed files and click
Save
to save them in a safe place different from the original path.
Thus, all work has been done.
Bottom Line
Now you have probably learned everything about how to fix Windows Automatic Repair when it is not working.
If you still have any questions regarding this Windows Automatic Repair loop, please feel free to write them in the comment section or send your email to
[email protected]
.
Windows 10 Startup Repair Not Working FAQ
How do you fix Windows 10 when it fails to boot?
Repair MBR and Rebuild the BCD.
Boot into Safe Mode and Run Command Prompt.
Disable Early Launch Anti-Malware Protection.
Delete the Problematic File.
Disable Automatic Startup Repair.
Perform Refresh or Reset.
How do I fix the windows automatic repair loop?
Restart the PC.
Restore Windows Registry.
Delete the Problematic File.
Disable Automatic Startup Repair.
Run Bootrec Command to Rebuild Windows BCD.
Restore the system and data recovery.
Why does my computer keep saying preparing automatic repair?
Automatic Repair can fix some PC issues when the computer cannot boot properly. However， sometimes it fails to work, and you will get stuck on a black screen with the "Preparing Automatic Repair" or "Diagnosing your PC" error message. HP, Lenovo, Asus, Dell, and Acer users are the most common victims of this issue -
Laptop Stuck on Preparing Automatic Repair during Startup
.
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