My Windows 8.1 is stuck in an automatic repair loop, how can I fix this?

Anonymous

my laptop will not boot at all, when I turn it on the screen shows 'preparing automatic repair' then 'diagnosing your PC'. After this, the screen shows 'your PC did not start correctly' and it doesn't work when I restart it so I selected advanced options. After this, if I click continue the repair screen appears again and I am redirected back to the same page. I can't access my desktop at all and an administrator hasn't been set on my laptop, so after clicking troubleshoot I can't refresh or reset my PC.After this I clicked on advanced settings and I cannot choose system restore, command prompt, system image recovery or startup repair because they either don't work or need an administrator and I haven't set one as I mentioned before. My last resort was startup settings which requires restarting the PC. 9 options are to choose from and I tried almost all and it won't boot up in safe mode. Help!

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Anonymous

I've inserted the System Recovery disc 1 that came with the computer. No change.

Usually that means that that device is not higher than the hard drive in the boot device order. You would probably need to get into your BIOS screen to change that. See your User Guide or contact HP for more information. Post your product id (e.g. what details you need to use HP's site to find your particular documentation and downloads but not your serial number) if you need someone to help interpret your user documentation. In W7 HP had a nice tool that gave me those details. I never found anything analogous from W8, except in bits and pieces.

HTH

Robert Aldwinckle

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156 additional answers

Anonymous

2014-01-21T11:04:12+00:00

Hi,

Since Automatic Repair fails to repair your PC, now select "Advanced options" and then "Troubleshoot" and try these steps:

b.Select "Advanced options" and then select "Command Prompt".

c.If prompted, enter in the password for the user name.

d.At the Command Prompt, type the following commands and hit enter.

bootrec /fixMBR bootrec /Fixboot bootrec /rebuildBCD

Restart the computer and check the issue.
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Anonymous

2014-07-09T14:31:54+00:00

Hello , Robert .

If I have the same problem , and I don't want to lose all of my files after going back to factory setings and fixing the problem , my question is , Can I run a second windows (7 for example) and use it to acces my hard drive and save my files on an external memory ?
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Anonymous

2014-01-21T06:16:59+00:00

I've tried what you have suggested because I am having the same problem. I've inserted the installation DVD but doesn't do anything. It just loops back to "automatic repair" loop. Any other suggestions. Really regret upgrading from Windows 7.
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Anonymous

2014-01-03T05:32:15+00:00

Hi Rachael,

If you have the Windows 8 installation media (DVD or USB drive) then using the same perform a Startup Repair and check if that helps.

This is an alternate way to boot the PC and run recovery tools when something goes wrong with the Operating System.

a) Insert the installation DVD or USB and boot Windows 8 from it.

b) In the ‘Windows setup’ page select the language to install’, ‘Time and currency format’ and the ‘keyboard or input method’ and click on ‘next’.

c) Click on ‘Repair your computer’ and select **‘Troubleshoot’.**d) Click on ‘Advanced options’ and select ‘Automatic Repair’ and select the operating system.

Please post with the issue status.
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