How do I fix automatic repair

Daniel Mwaura 0 Reputation points
2026-09-11T14:23:39.6266667+00:00

Context

Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC

Press “Advanced options” to try other options to repair your PC, or “shut down” to turn off your PC.

Log file : D:\WINDOWS\System32\Logfiles\Srt\SrtTrail.txt

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures
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  1. AI answer

    2026-09-11T14:23:58.2733333+00:00

    Try these recovery options in order:

    1. On the Automatic Repair screen, select Restart.
      • If Windows starts, install the latest Windows updates.
    2. If that does not work, select Advanced options > Continue.
      • This exits the recovery screen and tries to continue into Windows.
    3. If Automatic Repair appears again, go to Advanced options > Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Repair.
      • Follow the on-screen steps.
      • After it finishes, restart and check whether Windows starts normally.
    4. If Startup Repair does not fix it, try System Restore:
      • Go to Advanced options > Troubleshoot > Advanced options > System Restore.
      • This restores Windows to an earlier working state.
      • Personal files are not changed, but recently installed apps and drivers might be removed.
    5. If Windows can still open Command Prompt from recovery and the issue is caused by corrupted system files, run these repairs from an elevated Command Prompt after Windows starts normally: 
         DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
   sfc /scannow
      • Run DISM first, then SFC.
      • Do not close the Command Prompt window until sfc /scannow reaches 100%.
    6. If the PC is stuck in a startup issue and recovery options on the device are not enough, start from Windows installation media and open recovery from there:
      • Boot from the installation media.
      • On Install Windows, select Next > Repair your computer.
      • Then select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Repair.
    7. If the startup issue is severe and Refresh your PC or Reset your PC fails in Windows 8 because of damaged registry hives, Command Prompt can be used to rename the System and Software hives before retrying recovery. Warning: Reset your PC removes all files on the hard drive, and renaming the Software hive can prevent Refresh your PC from working.

    If recovery options continue to fail and files need to be copied off first, open Command Prompt, run notepad.exe, then use File > Open as a basic file browser to copy files to a USB drive.

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  2. DaveM121 929.6K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-11T14:55:14.0166667+00:00

    Start your PC, just as Windows attempts to load (spinning dots), press and hold Power Button for 5 - 10 seconds to perform a Hard Shut Down

    Do this twice

    On the third start Windows will boot into the Recovery Environment and from there you can access System Repair, Safe Mode, Command Prompt... etc.

    Please try each option one at a time, then see if Windows will start borrectly.

    1

    If there is an option to uninstall the latest update, that may be the best option.

    2

    Go to Troubleshoot - Advanced Option - Startup Repair

    See if Windows startup can repair itself

    3

    Go to Troubleshoot - Advanced Option - System Restore

    Check to see if you have a restore point you can go back to

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  3. Mathanraj 0 Reputation points
    2026-09-11T15:00:16.7533333+00:00

    The “Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your PC” screen with SrtTrail.txt means Windows 11 has detected a startup failure and the built-in Startup Repair could not fix it.

    The safest next step is to diagnose the startup problem from WinRE (Advanced options) rather than immediately resetting Windows or deleting anything.

    1. First try System Restore

    From the blue recovery screen:

    Advanced options → Troubleshoot → Advanced options → System Restore

    If a restore point exists from before the problem started, select it and let Windows restore the system.

    2. If System Restore is unavailable, open Command Prompt

    Go to:

    Advanced options → Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Command Prompt

    Your recovery environment is currently showing Windows on D:, because the log is:

    D:\WINDOWS\System32\Logfiles\Srt\SrtTrail.txt

    At Command Prompt, first run:

    dir D:\Windows

    If you see folders such as System32, SystemApps, etc., D: is your Windows partition.

    Then run:

    chkdsk D: /f

    Let it complete.

    After that:

    sfc /scannow /offbootdir=D:\ /offwindir=D:\Windows

    This checks Windows system files offline.

    3. Check the boot configuration

    Still in Command Prompt:

    bcdedit

    Then:

    bootrec /scanos

    If it finds your Windows installation, tell me the output before making changes to the boot records.

    4. Check the SrtTrail log

    You can also examine the repair log:

    type D:\Windows\System32\Logfiles\Srt\SrtTrail.txt

    If it is too long:

    notepad D:\Windows\System32\Logfiles\Srt\SrtTrail.txt

    Look near the bottom for entries such as:

    • Root cause found
    • Boot critical file is corrupt
    • Corrupt file
    • Boot manager
    • Bad driver
    • Registry
    • Disk failure

    Do not run bootrec /fixmbr, bootrec /fixboot, or delete/rebuild the BCD yet. On a modern Windows 11 UEFI installation, those commands can be unnecessary or produce additional problems if used blindly.

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