Windows Stuck on Preparing Automatic Repair: How to Get Past It
If your PC shows Preparing Automatic Repair or Diagnosing your PC every time it starts, Windows has failed to boot several times in a row and is trying to fix itself. Sometimes it succeeds. Often it loops: the screen goes black, the PC restarts, and the same message returns. The steps below go from least to most invasive, and none of the early ones touch your files.
Why it happens
Windows starts Automatic Repair after two or three failed boots. The usual causes are:
- An update or driver that was interrupted or did not install cleanly.
- Damaged boot configuration data or system files.
- File system errors on the drive, often after a power cut.
- A failing hard drive or SSD.
- Less often, a hardware change such as new RAM or a USB device the PC tries to boot from.
1. Do a full power reset
Unplug every USB device except the keyboard and mouse, including flash drives, external drives, printers, and docks. Shut the PC down by holding the power button for ten seconds. On a desktop, unplug the power cord and wait a minute. On a laptop, unplug the charger as well. Then power on. A surprising number of loops end here, especially when a USB drive was confusing the boot order.
2. Get into the recovery environment
If the loop continues, wait for the Automatic Repair couldn't repair your PC screen and choose Advanced options. If the PC never reaches that screen, force it: power on, and as soon as the Windows logo appears, hold the power button to shut down. Do this twice. On the third start Windows should open the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), the blue screen with options.
Everything below starts from Troubleshoot > Advanced options.
3. Run Startup Repair
Choose Startup Repair. It is the same tool that runs automatically, but running it manually from here sometimes completes when the automatic attempt did not. If it reports that it could not repair the PC, move on.
4. Uninstall the latest update
If the loop started right after Windows updated, choose Uninstall Updates. Try Uninstall latest quality update first (the monthly patch), restart, and see if Windows boots. If not, return and try Uninstall latest feature update. Your files are not affected.
5. Use System Restore
Choose System Restore and pick a restore point from before the problem began. This rolls back drivers, updates, and system settings but leaves documents and photos alone. It only works if restore points were being created, which is not always on by default.
6. Try Safe Mode
Choose Startup Settings > Restart, then press 4 for Safe Mode or 5 for Safe Mode with Networking. If Windows starts in Safe Mode, the problem is likely a driver or startup program. From there you can uninstall a recently added program or driver in Device Manager or Settings > Apps, then restart normally.
7. Repair files from the Command Prompt
Choose Command Prompt. In recovery, drive letters can differ from normal, so first find your Windows drive. Type bcdedit and look for the osdevice line, or type dir C:\ and dir D:\ until you see the Windows and Users folders.
Assuming Windows is on C:, run these one at a time:
chkdsk C: /f— checks and repairs the file system. If it reports bad sectors or cannot finish, stop and read the section on drive health below.sfc /scannow /offbootdir=C:\ /offwindir=C:\Windows— repairs protected system files on the offline installation.bootrec /rebuildbcd— rebuilds the boot configuration if Windows is not being found.
Type exit, choose Continue, and see if Windows starts.
8. Check whether the drive is failing
A drive that is dying produces exactly this loop, and repeated repair attempts can make data recovery harder. Warning signs include clicking or grinding from a hard drive, chkdsk reporting bad sectors or hanging at one percentage for hours, the drive not appearing in the BIOS, or the PC being very slow for weeks before the loop started.
If you see any of those and your files are not backed up, stop running repairs. Getting the data off comes first, and that is easiest while the drive still partly works.
9. Last resort: Reset this PC
If nothing else works and the drive is healthy, Troubleshoot > Reset this PC reinstalls Windows. Keep my files preserves personal files in your user folder but removes installed apps. Remove everything wipes the drive. Before either one, make sure anything important is backed up. If you cannot reach your files, you can copy them off by booting from a Windows installation USB or by connecting the drive to another computer.
If BitLocker asks for a recovery key
Many newer laptops encrypt the drive automatically. If recovery asks for a BitLocker key, sign in to your Microsoft account on another device and look under your devices for the recovery key. Without it, the data on the drive cannot be read, so do not reset or reformat until you have it.
Things to avoid
- Do not keep force-restarting for hours hoping it clears. If it has not cleared after the steps above, something specific is wrong.
- Do not reinstall Windows over the top of a drive that may be failing.
- Do not use random boot-repair downloads from unknown sites.
Getting it fixed in Marion
If the loop will not clear, or the drive may be failing, LuxuriousComputers in Marion can test the drive, recover your files first if needed, and repair or reinstall Windows. Bring the computer in or contact us to describe what you are seeing.