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How to Fix a "Stuck in Automatic Repair" Loop in

Windows 10
Windows 10

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By Zainab Falak – Updated Jun 4, 2023  Follow  Like Sign In To Your MUO Account 

If you ever encountered an error and don't know what to do, Windows 10 comes equipped with
troubleshooting tools to fix it for you. One of those convenient tools is the automatic repair
tool. It is a handy repair feature that can troubleshoot issues that stop you from booting
correctly.

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But, what do you do when the tool itself is the cause of the error? If your PC is stuck in an Ad
automatic repair loop, we have devised a list of solutions to fix your error.

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An automatic repair loop is an error that occurs when Windows 10 tries to boot and fails, then Useful AI Tools
18 hours ago
forcefully boots up the automatic repair tool and tries to repair itself. When Windows can’t
repair itself, it reboots and repeats itself in an endless cycle. See More

There isn’t a single cause for a Windows 10 automatic repair loop, and they can be hard to
figure out. The most common cause tends to be missing or corrupted system files, in which
Windows can’t boot or repair itself because these essential files it needs to run aren’t
available.

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Missing device drivers can also be one of the biggest causes of the error. If you have recently Weeks and Its Battery…
upgraded your PC, your new components will need device drivers to allow Windows to use
them. If the drivers are missing, out-of-date, or not supported, they could cause a repair loop. How to Fix the "Printer in
Error State" in Windows
New peripherals can also cause this error if their drivers aren't installed correctly.

Other possible causes tend to be related to faulty components, malware infections, corrupted
system registries, and even broken installation files. But, there is no need to worry as our
solutions will work for most causes of a Windows 10 automatic repair loop.

1. Run Fixboot and Chkdsk Commands

If you can’t identify any cause of a Windows 10 automatic repair loop, you can use some
system repair tools to try to fix it. The chkdsk command starts a low-level check of your
system drive for errors using the Check Disk utility. If it detects errors, it will automatically
repair them.

While Windows can’t boot, you can still force Windows to boot to a Command Prompt window
using the Advanced options menu screen.

To do this:

1. Restart your PC and press the F8 key on your keyboard before the Windows logo and
spinning icon appear. This will cause the Windows boot troubleshooting menu to appear.
Select See advanced repair options to begin.

2. From the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options >
Command Prompt.

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3. In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter:

chkdsk c: /r

4. If the chkdsk command fails, you can also try using the Fixboot command. In the same
Command Prompt window, enter the following command and press Enter:

fixboot c:

5. Once you are finished, close the Command Prompt window and restart your PC.

2. Perform a System Scan in Safe Mode

If system repair tools find corrupted files, Windows replaces those files with the local image.
However, if this image itself has become corrupted, Windows can’t repair itself and causes the
previous commands to fail. To repair this, we can use the DISM (Deployment Image Servicing
and Management) tool.

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To use this tool, we first must enable Safe Mode. This loads a basic version of Windows
without any third-party programs to help you fix your start-up errors.

1. The first step, like before, is to restart your PC and press the F8 key while booting to
open the Windows boot troubleshooting menu.

2. Select See advanced repair options > Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup
Settings > Restart.

3. Now, you will see a list of various restart options. Choose Enable Safe Mode with
Networking by selecting F5 on your keyboard.

4. Once Windows boots up in Safe Mode, right-click the Start menu and select Windows
PowerShell (Admin).

5. In the PowerShell window, type the following command and press Enter:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

. This will take some time to finish. When the DISM tool finishes running, reboot your PC
and follow the above steps to open the PowerShell window in Safe Mode again.

7. This time, type the following command and press Enter:

sfc /scannow

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. This will check the integrity of Windows system files and allow us to verify if Windows
is fully repaired.

3. Restore the Windows Registry

Sometimes, malware infections or disk issues can also end up corrupting the registry files. As
such, you need to head into the Windows registry and tweak some values there to get things
working once more.

To fix registry issues, you can restore it with the following steps:

1. Open the Windows boot troubleshooting menu.

2. Select See advanced repair options > Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command
Prompt.

3. Type the following command and press Enter:

C:\Windows\System32\config\\rregback* C:\Windows\System32\config\

4. If you are asked to overwrite files, type All and press Enter.

5. Once you are finished, restart your PC.

4. Disable the Automatic Repair Tool

If you believe that your Windows is functional, you can try to disable the automatic startup
repair system. This should allow you to boot into Windows without the repair loop taking
place. However, this will only work if your Windows system is working properly. You can use it
to determine if your Windows is really at fault.

To disable Windows 10 automatic repair tool, follow these steps:

1. Open the Windows boot troubleshooting menu.

2. Select See advanced repair options > Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command
Prompt.

3. Type the following command and press Enter: bcdedit

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4. Check the values for identi er and recoveryenabled. The identi er value should be
{default} and recoveryenabled should be yes.

5. Now, type this command and press Enter:

bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled no

. This will disable the automatic boot repair. If the command doesn't work, try the
following command:

bcdedit /set {current} recoveryenabled no

7. Once you are finished, restart your PC.

5. Disable Early Launch Anti-Malware

The Early Launch Anti-malware (ELAM) program protects computers from threats that start
up with the computer. It begins working prior to any boot-up drivers to analyze them and
assists Windows Kernel in deciding if it is safe to launch the drivers.

Although it typically works fine, sometimes it can incorrectly classify critical boot drivers as
malicious because of false alarms, which can then result in errors like the one under
consideration.

Follow these steps to disable ELAM:

1. Launch the Windows troubleshooting menu and navigate to Advanced options >
Startup Settings.

2. To disable the early launch anti-malware protection feature, press 5 or F5 on your

keyboard and then restart your PC.

If ELAM was causing the issue, disabling it should do the trick for you.

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6. Perform a Hard Reboot

If your system is not responding to any commands, you can also force shut it down using the
power button, and then turn it back on. This method is referred to as a hard reboot, and here is
how you can perform it:

1. Press and hold the power button till your computer shuts down completely.

2. Once the computer has shut down, unplug all the external peripherals and if you are
using a laptop with a detachable battery, remove the battery.

3. Wait for a few seconds before placing the battery back and use the power button to
restart the device.

Hopefully, you will not experience the automatic repair loop this time.

7. Reset Your Windows 10 Device

The last resort for a computer stuck in an automatic repair boot loop is resetting Windows 10.
You don't have to worry about losing your files and data as you have the option to proceed
with either a clean reset (deleting everything) or preserve your files.

To reset a Windows 10 PC, open the Windows boot troubleshooting menu and select
Troubleshoot > Reset this PC. Our detailed guide on factory resetting Windows 10 explains
this process in detail, so make sure to check it out.

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Dealing With the Automatic Repair Loop

It can be frustrating to deal with a never-ending loop due to a tool meant to resolve your
problems. It can be difficult to diagnose and understand, but our solutions will be sure to help
you out and return your PC to normal.

Windows Windows 10 Troubleshooting

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