How to Fix the Automatic Repair Loop in Windows 11

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Ankit Kumar
Windows 11BootTroubleshootingFix

The Problem

Windows 11 keeps cycling through Preparing Automatic Repair → Diagnosing your PC → Automatic Repair couldn't repair your PC → restart → repeat. It cannot fix itself and never reaches the desktop. The cause is usually corrupt boot configuration, damaged system files, a bad update or driver, or a failing drive.

Seeing a clean blue screen with INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE instead? Use that fix. A black screen with no logo at all? See black screen on boot.

Before You Start: Two Warnings

  • Get your BitLocker recovery key first. Any boot repair can trigger a recovery prompt. Sign in at account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey on your phone and save the key. If you are already stuck at that prompt, see fix the BitLocker recovery key loop.
  • Your files are almost certainly fine. This is a boot problem, not data loss. Do not jump to a clean install.

Quick Fix: Disconnect Everything External

Unplug USB drives, external disks, card readers, and dongles, then power on. A removable drive earlier in the boot order traps the PC in this loop surprisingly often—and it costs nothing to rule out.

Step 1: Reach Advanced Options

On the Automatic Repair couldn't repair your PC screen, click Advanced options.

If the loop restarts before you can click anything, force it: hold the power button for five seconds during boot, three times in a row. The fourth boot enters the recovery environment.

Step 2: Uninstall the Latest Update

If the loop started right after Patch Tuesday, this is the highest-probability fix.

  1. Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Uninstall Updates.
  2. Choose Uninstall latest quality update.
  3. If that fails or does not apply, try Uninstall latest feature update.
  4. Restart.

Step 3: Run Startup Repair Once

Advanced options → Startup Repair. Let it run to completion—it can take 20 minutes or more. Run it once; if it fails twice, it will not succeed on the third attempt and you should move on.

Step 4: Rebuild the Boot Configuration

Open Advanced options → Command Prompt.

First find the right drive letter—in the recovery environment, Windows is often not on C:. Run diskpart, then list volume, note which volume holds Windows (usually the large NTFS one), then exit.

bootrec /fixmbr

bootrec /fixboot

bootrec /scanos

bootrec /rebuildbcd

If bootrec /fixboot returns Access is denied (common on UEFI systems), rebuild the boot files instead:

bcdboot C:\Windows /s C: /f UEFI

Substitute the correct drive letter for C: if list volume showed something different.

Step 5: Repair System Files and Check the Disk

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

chkdsk C: /f /r

chkdsk /r on a large drive can take hours—leave it running. If it reports bad sectors, the drive is failing and the repair is a temporary reprieve at best; back up as soon as you can boot.

Step 6: Turn the Loop Off to See the Real Error

Automatic Repair hides the underlying failure. Disabling it lets Windows show the actual stop code, which is far more actionable.

bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled No

Restart. You will now either boot normally, or get a specific blue-screen code you can look up—see use Event Viewer to find why your PC crashed once you are back in.

Re-enable it afterwards:

bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled Yes

Step 7: Boot Safe Mode and Undo the Change

Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart → press 5 for Safe Mode with Networking. From there:

More on Safe Mode: how to enter Safe Mode.

Step 8: Rescue Your Files Before Anything Drastic

If nothing above works, copy your data out before reinstalling. From Command Prompt in the recovery environment:

notepad

Use File → Open, set the file type to All Files, and browse to C:\Users\<you> with a USB drive attached—Explorer's file dialog lets you copy and paste. It is clumsy but it works without any extra tools.

What Not to Do

  • Don't run bootrec /fixmbr on a UEFI/GPT system expecting a fix. It targets the legacy MBR; bcdboot is the correct tool there.
  • Don't reset the PC as step one. Work through the repairs first; reset is recoverable but slow and loses installed applications.
  • Don't reinstall Windows over a failing drive. Test the disk first, or you will repeat the whole exercise in a fortnight.

Still Looping?

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