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

Anonymous
2014-01-02T16:49:35+00:00

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
2014-04-02T19:25:00+00:00

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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  1. Anonymous
    2014-09-10T12:08:36+00:00

    The cd%windir%\system32\config command returns: The system cannot find the path specified.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-09-10T07:42:05+00:00

    Hello Seth,

    Thank you for the reply.

    It is unfortunate that issue still persists. However, I appreciate your efforts towards resolving the issue.

    I would suggest you to follow suggestions provided in the following article and then try refreshing Windows and check if it helps.

    Refer this article:

    Unable to refresh or reset PC after Automatic Repair fails in Windows 8

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2823223/en-us

    Note: Apps you installed from websites and DVDs will be removed. Apps that came with your PC and apps you installed from the Windows Store will be reinstalled. Windows puts a list of removed apps on your desktop after refreshing your PC.

    I hope this information helps.

    Thank you

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-09-10T00:57:53+00:00

    I also have a computer with Windows 8.1 (factory installed Windows 8) stuck in the Automatic repair loop.  With the USB recovery drive I created prior to this issue I am able to access the recovery options.  I have tried all your suggestions, but none have fixed the problem.  Here is a summary of what happened:

    Sfc/scannow – returned: There is a system repair pending which requires reboot to complete.  Restart Windows and run sfc again.

    Bootrec/rebuildbcd - returns: Total identified Windows installations: 0

    DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth

    DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

    –        both commands returned: error:87 the Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth (or Restorehealth) option is unknown.

    I tried running System Restore - returned: No restore points have been created on your computer’s system drive.  To create a restore point open system protection. 

    I did create a restore point before this problem, so I don’t know why restore points are not found.

    Please help!

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-08-30T07:09:59+00:00

    MY SOLUTION (which will NOT work for you if you cannot boot to SAFE MODE):

    Summary:

    I was surprised to find that the problem was caused by using the default Microsoft Windows 8.1 (compatible) driver for my wireless Logitech mouse.  By installing the latest Logitech drivers for Windows 8.1, the problem was solved. It turns out that the Microsoft default driver is only partially compatible with my Logitech M185 wireless mouse - or so it appears in my case.  Although the mouse looked like it was working OK, the driver was in fact going to crash or freeze my computer at any moment, followed by a "repair loop" when I restarted my PC.

    HOW I GOT THE NEW DRIVER INSTALLED:

    First, I'll tell you what I tried, so we can be on the same page.

    I had this "repair loop" problem on my PC (not my laptop). My Windows 8.1 Pro was an online "store" upgrade from Windows 8.0 Pro. At some point after installing 8.1 Pro, I ran into the repair loop problem. I never had it with Windows 8.0 Pro.

    I couldn't get the PC to read any of the restore\recovery media that I had (a Windows 8.0 Pro disc [from Office Works], and Windows 8.1 disc [from a downloaded ISO], and a recovery USB stick created on another Windows 8.1 PC that was still working). The problem PC would say "invalid media" when I tried to boot from any of these media.

    I thought if I could start in SAFE MODE I could use a System Restore point to recover my PC. At some point (maybe it was after pressing F8 a few times just BEFORE booting, when the screen was still totally black), I found the option to start in SAFE MODE.

    SAFE MODE started OK. However, all my System Restore points were gone - don't know why.

    I left the PC in SAFE MODE and did considerable research (using my working PC). There were 2 areas to address: my mouse driver, and my system files. I downloaded the latest Logitech driver to a USB stick for later use.

    Then, I needed to get my system fixed, if it was messed up. There is (sort of) an alternative to System Restore:

    Still in SAFE MODE, I created a new desktop icon, as follows:

    1. Right-click an empty area on the desktop and select NEW, then SHORTCUT.  
    2. In the GENERAL tab name the shortcut CMD.
    3. In the SHORTCUT tab in the TARGET field type "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" without quotes.
    4. In the START IN field type "C:\Windows\System32" without quotes.  
    5. Then click OK.
    6. Right-click on the CMD icon and select RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR
    7. at prompt, type: "DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth" without quotes, and note the space before each forward slash. NOTE: This checks for component store corruption, records the corruption to C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log and FIXES the corruption using Windows Update.  This operation takes ~10-15mins or more depending on the level of corruption.
    8. Reboot the PC.  If lucky, it will boot into Windows 8.1 without any repair loop.
    9. Immediately plug in the USB stick with the updated Logitech driver, and install the driver.
    10. Reboot.  Hopefully the "repair loop" problem will never return.

    THE END

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