20 Fixes: Automatic Repair Couldn’t Repair Your PC

Were you unable to complete a pending work because an error message saying “Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC” prevented your Windows computer from starting? Such an error might lead to an Automatic Repair loop and prevent you from accessing your critical files and using your PC.

Our article will focus on basic troubleshooting steps that repair your system and bypass such error messages. But first, let us learn more about this error.

What does ‘Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC’ mean?

Suppose you are booting the Microsoft Windows 10 or 11 operating system on your PC, and the machine fails to start up consecutively more than two times. In that case, an automatic repair tool attempts to scan the error and restore the previous working state.

If the tool fails to run correctly, one of the following errors occur:

• An endless black screen saying: “Preparing Automatic Repair” or “Diagnosing Your PC.”
• Due to the automatic repair loop, the Preparing Automatic Repair progress percentage does not increase beyond a certain level.
• A blue screen shows the following message: “Automatic Startup Repair couldn’t repair your PC.” Press “Advanced options” to try other options to repair your PC or “Shut Down” to turn off your PC. Log file: C:\Windows\System32\Logfiles\Srt\SrtTrail.txt”

After the error message, you can either click on Restart Now to reboot your PC or access safe mode, bios settings, command prompt windows, chkdsk, and other handy tools through the Advanced options button.

What does the Automatic Repair Tool do?

The Automatic Repair Tool is a Windows system-recovery tool introduced in Windows 8 that diagnoses and troubleshoots commonly occurring boot errors. It is usually activated automatically after two failed boot attempts.

When turned on, this utility will check for and attempt to fix any issues that keep your device from booting up via a series of diagnostic tests. Unfortunately, this tool occasionally gets stuck in an automatic repair loop rather than addressing your default boot problems.

Why Automatic Repair Couldn’t Repair Your PC?

Your device might be stuck in an eternal loop of reboots, and any saved data will be lost when the automatic repair tool couldn’t repair your PC. Therefore, it becomes necessary to understand the reasons behind why the automatic repair tool couldn’t repair your PC, as given below:

• Missing system data files or corrupted file system or hard drive partitions
• Unusual error in the MBR and changes in the BIOS settings
• Unnecessary interference by recently-installed third-party software or malware
• Erroneous entry in the Windows Registry
• Problematic installation of the latest Windows Update files
• File corruptions in the Windows Boot Manager
• Windows Recovery Environment not found
• Change in drive letters of the primary boot partition
• Incompatible or faulty hard drives and USB devices

How to fix Automatic Startup Repair couldn’t repair your PC?

If you are receiving the “Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC” error, you are among several other Windows users who probably can’t think of any other method to repair startup difficulties and rely on automatic troubleshooters like this one.

Fortunately, this article provides several efficient troubleshooting solutions, as listed below. Follow them sequentially until Windows boots up:

1. Restart the Microsoft operating system
2. Restore default Windows registry configuration from RegBack directory
3. Rebuild MBR, fixboot, and repair MBR using the Bootrec Windows Recovery environment
4. Run chkdsk to scan disk partition and find file system errors
5. Execute the SFC Scannow and DISM utility in Safe mode
6. Rollback to a working Windows image using System Restore
7. Disable Automatic Startup Repair from BCD settings
8. Disable Early launch anti-malware protection in Startup Settings
9. Disable Driver Signature Enforcement
10. Delete the file causing the Automatic Repair loop
11. Check device and osdevice partition parameters in Boot Configuration Data
12. Check Windows boot priority in the BIOS boot menu
13. Modify the disk controller mode in BIOS
14. Turn on NX, XD, or XN Security Settings in BIOS
15. Disconnect and reinsert your hard drive
16. Remove the laptop battery
17. Remove external USB devices
18. Change the RAM slot
19. Reset your PC
20. Refresh Windows using Microsoft ISO File

Restart the Microsoft operating system

Restarting your Windows 10/11 desktop, which has been running for a long while, is often the easiest way to fix situations where Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC.

Rebooting removes temporary files, refreshes memory, and restarts Windows processes. Follow the steps given below for performing a clean restart:

• If your Windows desktop is stuck on the “Preparing Automatic Repair” or “Diagnosing your PC” screen, a convenient way to begin the repair process is by forcing your computer to perform a hard reboot.

• Hold the Power button on the CPU cabinet or your laptop until the Windows error message disappears and the PC brand logo appears. The booting might resume without arriving at the automatic repair screen.

• Press the Shut Down button if you are at the blue screen saying Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC. Restart your computer by pressing the power button again.
• If a reboot fails to fix your Windows system, proceed to the step given below.

Restore default Windows registry configuration from RegBack directory

The Windows registry is a configuration settings database for various applications installed on your PC. If you are facing the Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC error after a recent installation or Windows Update, follow the steps below to restore the registry settings to its most recent backup:

Note: Windows silently disabled automatic registry backup since version 1803. So the RegBack folder might be either empty or containing multiple registry hives without any content in the latest versions.

• Firstly, we must access the RegBack folder inside the primary Windows partition.

• Select the Advanced options button from the error message screen.

• Click on Troubleshoot from the Choose an option screen to view an extended list of options.

• Select Advanced options again to view different options other than Reset this PC.

• Click the Command Prompt button to open the Command Prompt window for advanced troubleshooting.

• You might need to enter the username and password before opening the command prompt.

• Inside the command prompt terminal, we must navigate through the hard drives where Windows 10/11 is installed.
• Type c: and press enter to head to the C drive. Execute the dir command to list the directories.
• Repeat the above step for d: e: f: until you find hard drive partitions where the Program Files, Program Files (x86), Users, and Windows folders are listed as directories. This is the partition where your Windows was installed.

• Type cd \Windows\System32\config to navigate to the default registry folder.
• Perform a backup of your current registry entries by executing the commands given below if you have something to restore once your computer boots up:
  • MD backup
  • copy *.* backup
• Type cd RegBack to head to the Registry Backup folder, and type dir to list the saved entries.

• If there are no entries in RegBack or the number beside each entry is 0 (as shown in the screenshot above, type EXIT and proceed to the other methods.

• Otherwise, execute copy *.* .. to copy all directories from RegBack to the original registry.
• Type A to confirm the overwrite of all registry directories.
• Type exit and press Enter to Continue to boot the Windows operating system.
• If the Windows Startup error persists, proceed to the following method.

Rebuild MBR, fixboot, and repair MBR using the Bootrec Windows Recovery environment

Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC if your Boot Configuration Data (BCD) was configured due to a recent change or you have a corrupt Master Boot Record (MBR) due to the installation of malware or a separate operating system. Follow these instructions to fix the startup using the bootrec utility:

• Select the Advanced Options button from the “Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC” blue screen.

• Open the Troubleshoot menu and click Advanced Options to view an extended list of recovery options.

• Launch the Command Prompt window by clicking the icon as indicated above.

• Choose the user account name created for your computer, type the account password (not the PIN) and press Continue to access your disk partitions.

• The command prompt should be open in the Administrator mode.
• Type the following commands and execute them sequentially:
  • bootrec /fixmbr
  • bootrec /fixboot

• Note: If the fixboot command returned an error, try executing bootsect /nt60 sys and running fixboot again

• bcdedit /export C:\bcdbackup
• attrib C:\boot\bcd -h -r -s
• ren C:\boot\bcd bcd.old
• bootrec /rebuildbcd

• Note While executing the commands above, if you receive a message different from “The operation completed successfully”, exit from here and proceed to other troubleshooting methods to fix Automatic Repair couldn’t fix your PC.
• The bcdedit command will back up the existing BCD directory.
• The last bootrec command will scan for existing Window installation entries. If they are found, add them to the boot list by entering Y.and pressing Enter to complete.
• Type exit and press Enter two times to Continue using your Windows desktop.

Run chkdsk to scan disk partition and find file system errors

Apart from fixing the boot sector, you can also scan for bad sectors and corrupted chunks in the file system of your primary partition through the chkdsk command: Follow the instructions given here to restore bad sectors and fix the Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC error:

• If you are stuck in the automatic repair loop, force reboot your computer consecutively three times when the Windows logo appears. The recovery menu will appear on the third reboot.

• Select the Advanced Options button and open Command Prompt.

• Select your username and enter the password to Continue.

• Type the following commands as given below, depending on the number of hard drive partitions you have.
  • chkdsk /f /r c:
  • chkdsk /f /r d:
• If you don’t know the drive volumes on your PC, execute diskpart in the command prompt and type list volume to display the complete partition list.
• Type exit and press Enter on your keyboard 2 times to restart your computer.
• If the Automatic Repair couldn’t fix your PC error is visible again, try out the method given below.

Execute the SFC Scannow and DISM utility in Safe mode

The System File Checker (SFC) and Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) utilities can help to scan and restore any corrupt system files or device drivers in the Windows partition:

• Open Advanced options from the blue error screen.

• Head to Troubleshoot > Advanced options.

• Click on Startup Settings to view the list of startup options.

• Press the Restart button to continue.

• On the following blue screen, press the number 6 or F6 to Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt.
• Windows will boot into the Safe Mode. Login using your password.

• Open a Command Prompt window using the Run as administrator mode from the Search menu.

• Execute the following commands simultaneously to check for errors in Windows image (DISM) and find if any system file is missing or broken (SFC):
  • DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
  • sfc /scannow

• The utilities will take significant time to complete the whole process.
• Restart your computer to see if Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC.

Rollback to a working Windows image using System Restore

Whenever any device driver or Windows Update installation starts, your computer automatically creates a system restore point before any critical changes are made.

You can use the System Restore point to restore Windows to its working version and fix the Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC error:

• Click the Advanced Options button from the error message screen.

• Navigate to Troubleshoot > Advanced option menu, and click on the System Restore button at the top-left corner.

• The System Restore window will open after some time. Click on Next to continue.

• The system restore points will be listed with the latest one at the top.
• Select the Restore point and click on Next.

• Finally, click on Finish to apply the changes. Select Yes to confirm.

• Wait patiently as the utility restores the files in the indicated Windows drive.

• Click the Restart button upon the completion of the process.
• If Windows fails to restart now, try using older versions of System Restore or follow other methods given below.

Disable Automatic Startup Repair from BCD settings

If Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC, the most logical solution is to disable the automatic startup repair from launching on boot. This can be achieved through the following procedure:

• Click on the Advanced options button from the error message.

• Head to Troubleshoot > Advanced options, and click on Command Prompt.

• Select your Microsoft account and enter the password to open the cmd window.
• Type bcdedit and press enter to list the existing BCD configuration.

• Note the values under Identifier and recoveryenabled options of the Windows Boot Loader.
• If recoveryenabled is set to Yes, proceed with the steps given here; else, follow other solutions.

• Type the following command and press Enter to disable automatic startup repair:
  • bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled no
• After the operation completes successfully, type exit and press Enter twice to restart your computer.

Disable Early launch anti-malware protection in Startup Settings

Windows enforces its anti-malware security before your computer boots up. Therefore if Windows finds any suspicious file, it may try to block the startup entirely and create an automatic repair loop.

Follow the steps given here to turn off this feature and fix “Automatic repair couldn’t repair your PC”:

• Firstly, click the Advanced options button from the blue screen.

• Head to Troubleshoot > Advanced option and click on the Startup Settings menu.

• Click on Restart to allow the modification of the list of options shown on the screen.

• After the computer restarts, you will see different modification options in the next Windows Startup.
• Press 8 or F8 to select the Disable Early Launch Anti-Malware Protection option, and Windows will automatically restart without enabling this feature.
• Check if the startup is successful. Follow the other methods if this solution fails.

Disable Driver Signature Enforcement

If a recent third-party application had installed a driver in Windows that Microsoft did not digitally sign, the “Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC” message might pop up.

The Windows OS verifies installed drivers before startup; any unknown driver file might prevent a successful boot. Here’s how to avoid it:

• Open the Windows recovery window and head to Troubleshoot > Advanced options.

• Click on Startup Settings, and you will see a list of changes you can make on the next boot.

• Click on Restart to continue.

• When Windows restarts again, press 7 or F7 on your keyboard to disable driver signature enforcement.
• Windows will attempt to boot again without checking for unknown drivers and see if the Automatic Startup Repair issue is fixed.
• If Windows boots up, open the Device Manager from the Start menu and delete, update or roll back any driver with a yellow error sign beside it.

Delete the file causing the Automatic Repair loop

The SrtTrail (Startup Repair Tool Trail) file found on the “Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC” error screen is a log file that stores verbose messages when the computer fails to boot up. A closer inspection of the log will help us find and delete the problematic file causing the error.

Note: If you receive any error message while deleting the problematic file from the command prompt, enable safe mode and try deleting the file again.

• Click on the Advanced options button, as seen in the error message.

• Navigate to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Command Prompt.

• Choose your username and type the password when required.

• Execute the following commands to find the log file:
  • C:
  • cd Windows\System32\LogFiles\Srt
  • SrtTrail.txt
• You will now see the error log created by the Startup repair tool.

• Find a line of code that is similar to:
  • Boot critical file C:\windows\system32\drivers\tmel.sys is corrupt
• The next step is determining the nature of the file causing the issue and how to fix it. For instance, our automatic repair loop was caused by the tmel.sys file, a corrupt driver called TrendMicro ELAM Driver.
• Given that this isn’t a critical Windows 10 system file, we may safely remove it.

• To remove a file, you must use the Command Prompt to go to the given location and execute the del command. In our case, the command would be as follows:
  • cd c:\windows\system32\drivers
  • del tmel.sys
• Again, this is just an example; you may need to remove a different file from another folder. Before deleting a file, ensure it’s not a fundamental Windows 10 file; otherwise, you risk harming your OS.
• Restart your computer, and uninstall the application that installed the driver if Windows successfully boots up.

Check device and oSdevice partition parameters in Boot Configuration Data

If Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC, the device and OSdevice partition values might not be set to the primary Windows partition in the BCD. Here’s how to fix it:

• Choose Advanced options > Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Command Prompt.
• Type the following command to display the Boot Configuration Data:
  • bcdedit

• Check if the values for device partition and osdevice partition under Windows Boot Loader are set to the disk where Windows was installed.

• If they are incorrect, enter these commands to set them to the correct partition:
  • bcdedit /set {default} device partition=c:
  • bcdedit /set {default} osdevice partition=c:
• Note: Replace C: with the partition where Windows is installed.
• Reboot Windows to see if the startup repair error is fixed.

Check Windows boot priority in the BIOS boot menu

If your hard drive is not set as the first boot device in the BIOS boot priority settings, the “Automatic Startup Repair couldn’t repair your PC” error might occur. Here’s how to fix it:

• Boot up your computer and continuously tap any of the following buttons until you enter the BIOS setup menu: F1, F2, F3, Esc, Del.
• Head to the Boot options menu.
• Make the hard disk the primary boot device. If your computer has more than one hard drive, the one with Windows 10 installed should be designated as the primary boot drive.
• Press F5 to Save changes, exit from the BIOS, and accept the confirmation window afterward.
• Check if the Automatic Startup Repair issue is fixed on the next boot.

Modify the disk controller mode in BIOS

Changing the disk controller mode in BIOS will change how your hard disk or SSD is accessed by your computer and solve the Automatic Startup Repair couldn’t fix your PC error:

• Open the BIOS menu using the key shown in the previous method.
• Find the disk controller mode in the bios and change it to Standard (IDE, SATA, or Legacy).
• Keep on changing the controller mode until your PC boots up correctly. If not, return the disk controller mode to the previous one and use other methods as given below.

Turn on NX, XD, or XN Security Settings in BIOS

NX (No eXecute), XD (eXecutive Disable), and XN is a hardware-level security feature of the CPU that is accessible in only a select few BIOS interfaces. So don’t panic if your PC doesn’t show them:

• Access the BIOS settings using the F2, Esc, or Del keys, and head to the Security tab.
• Search for CPU XD Support or Execute Disable, and enable it.
• If you can’t find that feature, search for NX or XN in the same menu and enable them.
• Press F5 to save BIOS settings and restart.

Disconnect and reinsert your hard drive

Several Windows users have previously mentioned reconnecting their hard disk solved the “Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC” problem, so you might want to try that:

Note: We aren’t responsible for opening internal hardware parts that might void your warranty. So please proceed with caution and only if you know what you are doing.

• Turn off the PC and unplug it from the power socket.
• Open the CPU cabinet and remove the SATA and power cables from the back of the hard drive. Wait for a few minutes and insert them again in their usual slots.
• Turn on the power to see if the computer boots without any error.
• If there are multiple hard drives, repeat the above step for each of them.
• You also have to reconnect those disks where you don’t have Windows installed.
• Keep only one disk connected to the computer and try booting it up. Reconnect the disconnected ones if the issue is fixed.

Remove the laptop battery

• If you have a removable laptop battery, you can try running the laptop without the battery and see if it fixes the Automatic Repair couldn’t fix your PC error.
• Simply disconnect the battery, plug in the AC charging cable, and turn on your laptop.
• If your computer boots up, use it for some time before turning it off properly and reinserting the laptop battery.

Remove external USB devices

• Unplug any USB device connected to your computer, which might eliminate their interference in the startup repair process.
• Simply pull out their cable from the USB port, restart your computer and check if the error is fixed.

Change the RAM slot

Few customers have claimed that removing the RAM memory and changing their slots was sufficient to resolve the Windows 10 Automatic Repair Loop:

• To do this, you must power down your computer, remove the CPU cabinet or laptop panel, and gently wiggle out the RAM cards. Exchange their places with the RAM slots and try turning on the computer.
• If your computer has more than one RAM slot, try booting up with only one RAM module removed.

Reset your PC

Suppose you don’t have any issue with losing out on the installed Windows app and settings without erasing other precious files (pictures, videos, documents, downloads). In that case, you can try to reset the Windows PC through Windows Recovery:

• From the error message, open the Advanced options section.
  • Select the Troubleshoot menu to view ways to fix your computer.

• Click on Reset This PC.

• Click on the Keep my files button (If you want to keep your essential personal files) or Remove everything (All files will be deleted permanently).

• On the next screen, select either Cloud download (To download Windows ISO from WiFi and reinstall Windows) or Local reinstall (To use Windows Image from your device).

• After waiting, Windows will remind you what files will get deleted. Click on Reset to continue.

• After Windows completes resetting your PC, the Windows OS will boot up automatically.

Refresh Windows using Microsoft ISO File

Reinstalling Windows on your PC is the ultimate troubleshooting method for fixing the Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC error and other Startup problems, provided that your crucial data and files are backed up.

Note: This method will delete everything on your PC.

Creating Windows Installation Media on Another PC

• If you don’t have an official Windows ISO file, download the Windows Media Creation Tool from the Windows 10 Download Page.

• Accept the license agreements and click on Create installation media for another PC.

• Select your preferred language, architecture (depending on the PC), and edition.

• Select ISO file if you have a DVD and want to use it as an installation media.
• Select USB flash drive if you want to use your USB drive to Refresh Windows.

• Ensure that the removable media is already inserted.
• The setup will download and continue with USB or burn the downloaded ISO on the DVD.

Reinstall Windows on Your PC 

• Insert the DVD or USB drive into the PC with the startup error, and restart the device.
• To open the Boot menu, keep pressing F11 when the boot logo appears (F12, F9, or F10 may also work, depending on your motherboard).

• Select a USB flash drive or DVD–ROM as the boot device. Save modifications and restart the computer.

• Your Windows installation files should now begin to load. Follow the directions to have a brand-new system up and running in no time.

Conclusion

Last but not least, if none of the preceding measures helped, and you’re sure the fresh installation of the operating system didn’t fix the “Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC” error, then there must be a hardware issue and consulting a PC technician is your only option.