8 Fixes To Solve The Bad System Config Info Stop Code in Windows 10

Working on your computer and suddenly encountering the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) can seem like a catastrophe. Given the fact that BSODs and stop codes are so hard to decipher, such a problem can really be frustrating. A lot of users have reported BSOD with an error message: BAD SYSTEM CONFIG INFO and are wondering what this might be.

The Bad System Config Info stop code can prevent your system from booting up and can be caused due to both software or hardware problems. In this article, we’ll explain what this error is and what are the possible causes behind it. Also, we’ll give you the top methods to successfully fix this error and get your system up and running in no time.

bad system config info stop code error

What is the “Bad System Config Info” error?

Windows Bad System Config Info error that is usually accompanied by a stop code 0x00000074 can arise due to several reasons. This usually stems from a faulty system configuration which can be due to anything ranging from a problem with the Windows Registry to faulty drivers and corrupt system files.

What causes the “Bad System Config Info” error?

There could be many reasons behind the Stop code: Bad System Config Info error. If it is due to a hardware problem, the possible causes could be – memory bark, loose wire winding, hard disk corruption, etc.

On the other hand, the software problems that can lead to this error are:

  1. Outdated or corrupt device drivers
  2. Faulty Boot Configuration Data (BCD) file
  3. Corrupt hard drive
  4. Faulty Windows Registry
  5. Corrupt system files or programs.
  6. Corrupted RAM or MBR
  7. Incompatibility between update and software, etc.

How to fix “Bad System Config Info” error on Windows 10

  1. Restart your system
  2. Run SFC and CHKDSK
  3. Restore the Windows Registry Via The Command Prompt
  4. Use System Restore to Fix the Windows Registry
  5. Fix Boot Configuration Data (BCD)
  6. Fix with bcdedit command
  7. Reset Windows
  8. Update or reinstall drivers

1. Restart Your System

This is the easiest way to fix the bad system config error. Start by switching your computer off and then turn it on again. Then, check if the issue has been fixed or not. Restarting your computer can fix several temporary issues and should be tried out before moving to other methods.

2. Run SFC and CHKDSK

Corrupt file systems can also cause a Bad System Config Info error that won’t go away. In such a situation you can run the Windows System File Check (SFC) that is an inbuilt Windows tool used for checking such errors. 

But, before you proceed with the SFC, we recommend you to run the DISM that can check if the SFC will run properly or not. Given below are the steps to do the entire procedure:

Step 1. Type Command Prompt (Admin) in the Start menu search box. Once the result comes, right-click on it and select Run as administrator.

Step 2. Enter the following command in the Command Prompt window:

DISM /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

Step 3. Wait till the process is finished which can take up to 20 minutes. 

Note: Don’t panic if the DISM cleanup seems to have gotten stuck at times. Wait for it to finish.

Step 4. Once the procedure is completed, type in “ sfc/scannow” and hit the Enter button.

For a change, you could also go for the CHKDSK command. This too is a Windows system tool but unlike SFC, it will scan your complete drive for errors. 

If you want to use the CHKDSK command instead of SFC, simply go to the command prompt again as explained earlier. Then type in chkdsk/r and press the Enter key.

3. Restore the Windows Registry Via The Command Prompt

You can also get the Bad System Config Info error due to some problem with the Windows Registry. Follow the steps given below to restore Windows Registry and solve the bad config info error:

Step 1. If there is some data in the files in the RegBack folder, go for a manual Registry restoration. First, boot into the advanced start-up.

Step 2. Go to Settings, click on Update & Settings, and then on Recovery.

Step 3. Click on Restart Now.

Another way of entering the Advanced Options is:

Open the Start Menu. Then, press and hold the Shift key and hit the Restart button.

Step 4. Once you have entered the Advanced Options section, select Troubleshoot followed by Advanced Options. And then, select Command Prompt.

choose the command prompt option

Step 5. Now, you need to change the directory and restore it. The command prompt defaults to the address X:\Windows\System32. This is not the real location of your Windows installation.

Windows installs in the C:\ drive by default. But, it can be installed elsewhere if you specify some other location. Remember that the Windows recovery mode usually boots the Windows installation under D:\.

Step 6. Type in dir D:\Win* to locate the correct address of the Windows. If this is the correct drive, then the command prompt will list down the directory’s contents.

command prompt gives the contents of D: \ directory

Step 7. Enter the following commands one by one and press Enter after each command:

cd d:\windows\system32\config
xcopy *.* C:\RegBack\
cd RegBack
dir 
copies all files into the backup folder
using regback to copy files

Step 8. Information about the files in the RegBack directory will be shown now. Check them out and if they are from before the time you started facing the Bad System Config Info issue, proceed with the following commands:

copy /y software ..
copy /y system ..
copy /y sam ..

Note: The two periods are part of the commands. So, don’t exclude them.

Step 9. Now, manually reboot your computer.

You can also try out this alternate method to repair the Windows Registry files:

Step 1. Insert the Windows 10 bootable flash drive and boot into your system from it.

Step 2. Click on Troubleshoot and then go to Advanced Options and choose Command Prompt.

choose the troubleshoot option

Step 3. Enter the following commands in the Command Prompt window:

cd C:\Windows\System32\config
ren C:\Windows\System32\config\DEFAULT DEFAULT.old
ren C:\Windows\System32\config\SAM SAM.old
ren C:\Windows\System32\config\SECURITY SECURITY.old
ren C:\Windows\System32\config\SOFTWARE SOFTWARE.old
ren C:\Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM SYSTEM.old

Press enter after each command to execute it. 

Note: As you execute each of the above commands, they will be renamed and Windows 10 won’t use them anymore.

Step 4. Given below is the second set of commands that you need to enter:

copy C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\DEFAULT C:\Windows\System32\config\
copy C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\DEFAULT C:\Windows\System32\config\
copy C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SAM C:\Windows\System32\config\
copy C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SECURITY C:\Windows\System32\config\
copy C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\config\
copy C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SOFTWARE C:\Windows\System32\config\

This will copy the backup files of the registry and replace all the old files. Once done, close command prompt window and restart your computer for the process to take effect. 

4. Use System Restore to Fix the Windows Registry

Step 1. Press the Windows key + S. Type in restore and select the result that says create a restore point. 

Step 2. Then, click on System Properties and then on System Protection. Here, you can check if protection is turned on. You can also configure various settings and create a restore point too.

Step 3. To use a certain system restore point, click on System Restore and then select the restore point you need to use. Follow the instructions after that.

choose system restore option

Step 4. A great feature of the Windows System Restore feature is the ability to scan for affected programs. First, you need to choose a restore point, then you can click on Scan for affected programs to get a list of all the programs that will be affected or deleted.

Step 5. Click on Next and then on Finish.

5. Fix Boot Configuration Data (BCD)

Step 1. Insert the bootable DVD or USB flash drive. Then, boot your PC from the inserted DVD or flash drive.

Step 2. Select the Next option when the welcome screen comes up and then, click on Repair your computer.

Step 3. Click on Troubleshoot followed by Advanced Options. Then, click on Command Prompt.

Step 4. Enter the following commands one after the other:

bootrec /repairbcd
bootrec /osscan
bootrec /repairmbr
bootrec /repairbcd and bootrec /repairmbr commands
enter the osscan command and close command prompt window

Don’t forget to press the Enter button after typing in every command for it to execute. 

Step 5. Close your computer and restart the system. If you had any BCD issue, the Bad System Config Info error should be resolved after the restart.

6. Fix With bcdedit command

Step 1. Insert the Windows 10 bootable flash drive or DVD.

Step 2. Boot the computer from the bootable drive and click on Next.

Step 3. Choose Repair your computer

Step 4. Choose Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Command Prompt

Step 5. Type in the commands given below one by one and don’t forget to press Enter after each of these:

bcedit/deletevalue {default} numproc
bcdedit/deletevalue {default} truncatememory

Step 6. Once you have executed the above commands, close the Command Prompt and then, restart your system.

7. Reset Windows

Step 1. Click on the Windows Start button

Step 2. Click on Power option

Step 3. Press the Shift button and while pressing it, click on Restart

Step 4. Click on Troubleshoot and then select “Reset this PC” option

click on reset this PC option

Step 5. Click “Remove everything” followed by “Only the drive where Windows is installed.” Then click on “Just Remove my files.”

choose remove everything option

Step 6. Click on Reset and then wait for the process to be completed.

8. Update or Reinstall Drivers

Step 1. Press Windows key + X to open the Start menu. Choose the Device Manager option.

Step 2. Now, locate the Display adapter option and expand it. Right-click on the specific driver and click on the Update driver option.

Step 3. Do the same for the Disk drives.

Step 4. In the pop-up window, click on Search automatically for updated driver software.

Step 5. Follow along the screen instructions to download and install the updates.

If you have noticed that the bad system config info error has occurred after you installed certain driver updates, then uninstall those updates and check whether the problem has been solved.

Conclusion

Since the exact reason why you might be facing the Bad system config info error is hard to pin down, we can’t use any specific fix to try and resolve it. In this article, we have attempted to jot down all the efficient fixes to solve this error. We recommend you try these out in order one by one, and your bad system config info error should get resolved.