FIXED THE Windows 8.1 "Preparing Automatic Repair" Message [SOLVED].
Just had the dreaded "Preparing Automatic Repair" message
on my 7130 Dell Venue 11 Pro
- I hadnt done anything weird that day, no new installs, no updates, next morning get a message.
"Preparing Automatic Repair"
message dissapears after 30 seconds , to blank screen with mouse support ( no keys working)
- waited 1 hour nothing else happned.
- power cable was half-in overnight:- flat battery , might have had something to do with it? - recharged to 30%
Had a good look round the forums, lots of people have the problem,
no sure fire ways to fix it though.
So what did I do?
- Tried taking battery out / in several times - no luck
- tried BIOS tests ( VolUp+Power ) - no luck ( All tests passed OK)
- tried BIOS ( VolDown+Power ) then Exit - no luck
- tried BIOS Disable USB port , save , then exit - no luck
On a different Windows 8.1 PC
Created Recovery Drive on a sandisk 32GB Micro SD card
(NB it wipes the Micro SD card, so copy all the files to somewhere else.)
- Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Recovery > Create a recovery drive ( needs 16GB )
- slot in the Micro SD card
- Reboot , message appears again "Preparing Automatic Repair"
- then another message - Your PC did not restart Correctly ( no shirt sherlock!)
- select option to restart normally and up she comes no bother, as if nothing had happened!
- no messages or anything, just working as normal.
- no lost files
- Didnt have to reinstall anything
- Only took 5 hours!
Lots of good tips here to try:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows\_8-system/my-windows-8-is-stuck-in-automatic-repair/4b866eb1-394d-494f-bd2c-f43538e76b6e?rtAction=1403346638982
UPDATE Feb 11 2015:
Just got the "Preparing Automatic Repair" endless loop message again.
This time I took out the 64GB micro sd card that I had put in a few days before,
rebooted, and the message "Your PC did not restart Correctly" came up instantly.
I did not need to insert the recovery drive on a 32GB Micro SD Card.
There must be something on the 64GB micro sd card that windows doesnt like.
I then shutdown the tablet, reinserted the 64GB micro sd card, and it booted up perfectly.
Hope this helps someone.
Dell Venue 11 pro STUCK Preparing Automatic Repair [SOLVED] = REMOVE 64GB Micro SD Card.