How To Fix Windows Startup Repair cannot repair this computer automatically

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If you are getting the message on Windows: "Startup Repair cannot repair this computer automatically" then following these steps may help fix the problem:

First you want to close the front "Startup Repair" window and then click on View advanced options for system recovery and support.

On the next screen take note of the operating system drive letter. It will probably be listed as (C:) or (D:). We may need to use this drive letter later on in the repair process.

Click on Command Prompt.

Type bootrec /fixmbr and press enter.

Then type bootrec /fixboot and press enter.

If the commands were successful then close the command prompt window and click on Restart and see if Windows starts normally.

If you receive the error The system cannot find the path specified then you may need to change a setting in BIOS. Close the command prompt window and click on Restart. Repeatedly press the key to enter BIOS. Sometimes the computer will display the key while restarting. The most popular keys to repeatedly press to get into BIOS is either the F2 or Del key.

In the BIOS we need to look for the SATA Mode. In some computers it is under Main and then Storage Configuration. If the SATA Mode is set to AHCI then change it to IDE. If the SATA Mode is set to IDE then change it to AHCI. The SATA Mode setting may also be under Advanced and then Onboard Devices Configuration and then look for the mode under Controller. Again, if it is set to AHCI then change it to IDE. If it is set to IDE then change it to AHCI. Save and Exit the BIOS, usually by pressing the F10 key.

If Windows still does not start normally and startup repair is unable to repair the computer automatically then click on View advanced options for system recovery and support.

Remember to take note of the operating system drive letter and click on Command Prompt again. If you haven't tried the commands bootrec /fixmbr and pressing enter and then bootrec /fixboot pressing enter then try those now.

Now we want to check the hard drive for errors:

Type

chkdsk C: /f /r

Replace C with the drive letter you noted before. Possibly D and press enter.

This will take a while. After it is finished, take note if their is any bad sectors. If there is then you will want to figure out a way to backup your data and either purchase a new computer or purchase a new hard drive to install Windows on. If you are purchasing a new hard drive then you will have to have made a Windows Recovery DVD or you will have to order one from Microsoft or from the manufacturer of your computer.

One way to backup your important data files is to connect an external hard drive or USB thumb drive and then type:

notepad

and press enter.

Once in notepad, click on File and then click Open. Change Files of type to All Files. Now click on Computer on the left and then go to your important data and copy and paste it to your external hard drive. For example, to copy your pictures folder click on your computers local disk drive letter, go to the User folder then go to your username and then right click on My Pictures and click on Copy. Click on Computer again and then go to your external hard drive letter and right click and click on Paste.

If there are 0 bad sectors on the hard drive then close Command Prompt and click on Restart.

If Windows still does not start normally and Startup Repair cannot repair the computer automatically then we have one more fix to try. Go to Command Prompt and type the following:

sfc /scannow /offbootdir=d:\ /offwindir=d:\windows

Replace d with the drive letter we noted before.

If your get the message "There is a system repair pending which requires a reboot to complete. Restart windows and run sfc again." then type in the following command:

takeown /f d:\windows\winsxs\pending.xml

Remember to replace d with the letter we noted before. Now type:

ren d:\windows\winsxs\pending.xml pending.old

Remember to replace d with the letter we noted before where your Windows OS is installed and press enter.

Now retype:

sfc /scannow /offbootdir=d:\ /offwindir=d:\windows

Replace d with the drive letter we noted before and press enter.

Hopefully after running System File Checker (sfc) you get the message that it "found corrupt files and successfully repaired them". Restart widows and hopefully this time Windows starts normally. If it does not then you may need to take out your hard drive and connect it to another computer to run some of these commands on it. Or you may need to have a professional computer technician look at your computer.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Q. Command Prompt is missing A. If you can't find Command Prompt from the Startup Repair menus then there are two other methods to find Command Prompt. This other video provides details: https://youtu.be/2OkI7jyhJco

Q. I can't remember my password. A. Try pressing Enter for the password. If that does not work then watch this other video for a couple more methods to get to Command Prompt: https://youtu.be/2OkI7jyhJco

Q. Sfc says "Windows resource protection could not start the repair service". A. In the Command Prompt window, Type "ICACLS C:\Windows\winsxs" and press Enter. Replace C: with the drive letter you noted in the video with the Windows installation. Possibly D: Then try the sfc command again. If that doesn't work then try typing these lines with enter key after each one. Replace c: with the drive letter you noted in the beginning:

c:
cd windows
cd system32
sc config trustedinstaller start= auto

Then try the sfc command again.

You can also try "Last Known Good Configuration" by pressing F8 over and over as soon as you turn on the computer. Then when the menu shows up select "Last Known Good Configuration".

You can also try this command:

bootrec /rebuildbcd

Choose Yes if it finds an installation.

If it still does not work then you may need to backup important data and reinstall Windows. You may need to contact your computer manufacturer about how to reinstall Windows with your model. You can also reinstall with Windows Installation Media. If you don't have Windows Installation Media then you can download and create it from a working computer at https://www.microsoft.com/software-download

Q. SFC says "windows resource protection could not perform the requested operation". Now what? A. In the Command Prompt window, Type "ICACLS C:\Windows\winsxs" and press Enter. Replace C: with the drive letter you noted in the video with the Windows installation. Possibly D: then restart. Then try the sfc command again. If that doesn't work then try typing these lines with enter key after each one. Replace c: with the drive letter you noted in the beginning:

c:
cd windows
cd system32
sc config trustedinstaller start= auto

Then try the sfc command again.

You can also try "Last Known Good Configuration" by pressing F8 over and over as soon as you turn on the computer. Then when the menu shows up select "Last Known Good Configuration".

You can also try this command:

bootrec /rebuildbcd

Choose Yes if it finds an installation.

Q. Chkdsk says the hard drive has X kb of bad sectors. A. If there are any bad sectors then you should probably get a new hard drive. The bad sectors will get worse and cause more data loss. Backup any important files as shown in the video at 5:23. When you get the new hard drive you can try copying the entire drive using software from the manufacturer of the hard drive. Sometimes that doesn't work. If so, then you can install Windows on the new hard drive and then copy important files from your backup.

Q. My path is different than in the video. It is x:\windows\system32. A. The path does not matter. It will be different for different versions of Windows and Boot disks. You can still type the same commands at the prompt.

Q. I can't find Storage Configuration or SATA Mode in the BIOS. A. You may have to contact the manufacturer of the PC or look up information on the Internet for your make and version of BIOS for changing SATA mode. But you only need to change the SATA Mode if bootrec was not successful. If the bootrec command stated they were successful and it still won't go into Windows then move on to the chkdsk step at 4:18 in the video.

Q. The bootrec commands said they were both successful but it still doesn't start Windows A. Move on to the chkdsk step in the video at 4:18

Q. bootrec /fixboot says "Access is denied". A. Try typing bootsect /nt60 sys and press enter. Then try bootrec /fixboot again and press enter. This sometimes happens with some versions of Windows Installation Media. You may need to try to boot with different Windows Installation Media. You can download Windows Installation Media at https://www.microsoft.com/software-download If you don't have another computer to make it from then you will have to ask a friend with a working computer to help you or you may be able to order Windows Installation Media for your PC from the manufacturer of your PC. Or try to move on to the chkdsk step at 4:18 in the video.

Q. I don't have a DVD Drive or another computer. A. If you don't have a DVD drive then you can make Windows Installation Media on a USB flash drive. You can download Windows Installation Media at https://www.microsoft.com/software-download You may have to look up how to boot to a USB flash drive for your make and model of PC. If you don't have another computer to make it from then you will have to ask a friend with a working computer to help you or you may be able to order Windows Installation Media for your PC from the manufacturer of your PC.

Q. Sfc says "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations". What now? A. If you have tried all the steps in the video and it still won't start Windows correctly then you may need to backup important files and reinstall Windows with Windows Installation Media. If you don't have Windows Installation Media then you can download it and create it from a working PC at: https://www.microsoft.com/software-download

If you think you might have a virus then you can try a virus rescue disk.

You can also try Last Known Good Configuration by pressing F8 over and over as soon as you turn on the computer and then select "Last Known Good Configuration" when the menu comes up.

You can also try this command : Bootrec /rebuildbcd

Select Yes if it finds an installation. Reboot afterward.

Q. My mouse and/or keyboard are not working A. Some USB ports do not work in Windows startup repair which is a special mode. Try plugging your device into other USB ports. Look on the front, back and side of the computer. Plug it into a different port and wait 10 seconds. Then try to use it. Do this with all USB ports until you find one that works. If your device is cordless then you might need to use a device with a cord in these special modes.

Q. Chdksk says "Cannot open volume for direct access" A. Are you running chkdsk from command prompt in Windows startup repair mode? If so then it should not give this error unless the wrong drive letter is being used. Make sure that you are using the drive letter that Windows startup repair said that Windows was installed on. Even though normally in Windows your drive might be C: in Windows Startup Repair it might be another drive letter. You might be able find out which drive letter is correct by using Notepad. If you are using the correct drive letter and you still receive this message then you may have to download and use a utility from the manufacturer of the hard drive to check for errors. Or you can try running command prompt and chkdsk after booting from Windows Installation Media as shown in this video: https://youtu.be/2OkI7jyhJco

Q. Chkdsk says "chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process" A. Are you running chkdsk from command prompt in Windows startup repair mode? If so then it should not give this error unless the wrong drive letter is being used. Make sure that you are using the drive letter that Windows startup repair said that Windows was installed on. Even though normally in Windows your drive might be C: in Windows Startup Repair it might be another drive letter. You might be able find out which drive letter is correct by using Notepad. If you are using the correct drive letter and you still receive this message then you may have to download and use a utility from the manufacturer of the hard drive to check for errors. Or you can try running command prompt and chkdsk after booting from Windows Installation Media as shown in this video: https://youtu.be/2OkI7jyhJco

Q. Sfc says "Windows resource protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them" A. You can open the CBS.log file that SFC created in Notepad. Then you can do a find for "Cannot repair" to see the files it could not repair. Then you can try to replace them or move them or delete them. You might need help from a computer repair tech. If you can't figure out how to replace the files with good copies then you might need to backup important files and reinstall Windows.

If you don't have Windows Installation Media then you can download it from a working computer at https://www.microsoft.com/software-download

You can also try Last Known Good Configuration by pressing F8 over and over as soon as you turn on the computer and then select "Last Known Good Configuration" when the menu comes up.

You can also try this command : Bootrec /rebuildbcd Select Yes if it finds an installation. Reboot afterward.

Q. How do I install Windows? A. You boot your PC to Windows Installation Media and follow the instructions. If you don't have Windows Installation Media then you can download Windows Installation Media at https://www.microsoft.com/software-download You may have to look up how to boot to a USB flash drive or DVD for your make and model of PC. If you don't have another computer to make it from then you will have to ask a friend with a working computer to help you or you may be able to order Windows Installation Media for your PC from the manufacturer of your PC.

Q. bootrec /rebuildbcd says "Total identified Windows installations: 0" A. Type the following commands and press ENTER after each one:

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

In these commands remember to replace c: with the drive letter you noted that Windows is installed on earlier. If it identifies an installation then type Y and press Enter key.

Q. bcdedit osdevice says unknown A. Try using notepad to find out which hard drive letter is your Windows hard drive. Look for the Program Files folder and the Users folder and see if it has your login accounts and documents. If it does then that is probably the drive letter to use in the commands.

Q. It says it cannot find pending.xml A. It sounds like you might be using the wrong drive letter. Are you replacing the drive letter in all the commands with the drive letter that Startup Repair said Windows was installed on? It might be different then the drive letter assignment you are used to in Windows. You can also use Notepad and try to navigate to the correct drive letter and then to the Windows folder and then the WinSxS. Search for and delete pending.xml files. You can also delete reboot.xml

You can also try Last Known Good Configuration by turning off the computer and then as soon as you turn it back on try pressing F8 over and over. Then select "Last Known Good Configuration".

You can also try the command: bootrec /rebuildbcd If that doesn't work you may need to backup important files and reinstall Windows. If you don't have Windows Installation Media then you can download it at https://www.microsoft.com/software-download

Q. Will these steps delete my data? A. These steps do not delete any data. But you should always make backups of important files. Data can be lost at any time for various reasons. If you have not made a backup then you can follow the steps at 5:23 in the video to do so.

Q. It says my Windows is installed on a different drive letter than C: or D: A. In this special mode of Windows your drive letter may be different then what you normally see in Windows and it may be different than what you see in the video. Just remember to type the drive letter that you noted at 0:58 in the video when typing the commands.

Q. How do I find my product key to download Windows 7? A. You can try using the produkey utility at https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html

You can put it on a flash drive after extracting it from the zip file. Then you'll have to do File > Select Source > Load the product keys from external software registry hive. You may have to browse to Windows\System32\config\SOFTWARE

It can be difficult. You might need help from a computer repair technician.

Q. chkdsk says "Windows cannot run disk checking on this volume because it is write protected." A. Try typing this: chkdsk C: /x /r /f and press Enter. Replace C: with the drive letter you noted for Windows.

Q. cmd is missing A. You might be in the wrong drive letter. It probably will not be C in this special mode. Try one of the other drive letters and then Windows > System32. Scroll down the list of files and look for cmd. It should be in alphabetical order. If you still can't find it then try Windows folder and then SysWOW64 and see if it's there.

If you can't find in it there then you may need to try the Windows Installation Media method as shown in the video at 2:38 to get to command prompt.

Last updated on September 13, 2020
Created on June 21, 2017