How to Fix the “Your PC Needs To Be Repaired” Blue Screen Error on Windows

Unfortunately, you’ve likely experienced seeing the dreaded blue screen as a recovery error on Windows that displays the “Your PC needs to be repaired” message repeatedly when you try to boot or restart your computer. Below, we’ll examine the causes and what you can do to rectify this when it occurs.

What causes the “Recovery: Your PC needs to be repaired” error?

The following error codes are associated with this blue screen message:

• 0xc0000225
• 0x0000098
• 0xc000000f
• 0xc0000034
• 0xc000014C
• 0xc000000d
• 0xc0000605

These error messages appear due to one major problem — Windows is unable to find the system files needed to boot the PC, also known as Boot Configuration Data (BCD). If the system files are missing or corrupted for any reason, something like one of the above errors will pop up, informing you that “your PC needs to be repaired.”

The error codes might differ for various reasons, but the trouble remains the same with all of them — the blue screen is letting you know that something has gone amiss. If any file that is caught up in the process is missing, the error message and code mentioned above will show up, and Windows will not be able to boot the system at all. This can be due to a number of factors:

• BCD is corrupted or missing. The missing or corrupt BCD is a common reason this error occurs, which is a repercussion of power outages, disk write errors, and other similar reasons.
• File system’s integrity is compromised. The file system is damaged or corrupted, leading to the ‘Your pc needs to be repaired” blue screen and the error code. Occurrences of this will be more frequent if your computer is powered off while vital data is written to the boot sector.
• System files are corrupted. Corrupted or tampered system files will lead to “PC device needs to be repaired” and cause an unbootable window.
• A wrong partition. It might be set as active, which can lead to the error message.
• Outdated drivers. It’s possible that these might also cause the error. If you have not been using your PC with the latest updated versions, this blue screen is likely to appear and cause you trouble.

Methods to solve the “Your PC needs to be repaired” blue screen error

1. Create a Recovery Disk

The easiest way of fixing the “Your PC needs to be repaired” error is by creating a recovery disk. This reverts your PC to its default settings, which could ultimately and hopefully repair the blue screen error. Keep in mind that in the case of a Windows 10 OS, you can create a recovery disk from another Windows 10 system.

The steps to create a recovery disk on a working Windows 10 system are as follows:

1. Plug in a USB drive into a PC that you can access.
2. Go to Start and type ‘Create a recovery disk‘ and open the first tab that appears.
3. After creating the Recovery Drive, boot your faulty PC with the USB plugged in, follow the pop-up window that appears, and the error should be solved.

2. Run Startup Repair

If the recovery disc approach fails to fix the blue screen error, the following should help you further troubleshoot. This method will allow your computer to boot into Windows without any errors. You must create a Windows bootable USB or DVD drive before proceeding with the startup repair.

To complete the startup repair, follow the steps below:

1. Access the official Microsoft website to create a bootable device for Windows 10.
2. Insert the bootable USB or DVD and then boot Windows from there.
3. You’ll see a Windows Setup window where you can select the language to install, the time and currency format, and the keyboard or input method.
4. Next, click on Repair Your Computer and then select Troubleshoot.
5. Click on the Advanced Options, select Automatic Repair, and then select the Operating System.

When you’ve completed these steps, boot up your Windows PC by following the prompt window that appears.

3. Run a Disk Check and System File Check

As cited above, the root reason for the error code 0xc0000225 is that the system files are corrupted. However, this can be fixed by running a disk check and a system file check, and it will quickly rectify the problem.

Steps to run a disk check and a system file check:

1. Insert the Windows bootable drive into your computer and boot from it.
2. Choose your language preference and tap over the Next button to proceed.
3. Click on the Repair Your Computer to boot into the Advanced options page.
4. Click Command Prompt.
5. First you need to run the system file check. Type “sfc / scannow” and press the Enter button.
6. Once that command has completed, continue with the disk check. Type “chkdsk c: /f /r” and press the Enter button.

These steps will help you begin the system file check and then the disk check to troubleshoot the problem. You can also check other disks if your boot files are not found on the C: drive.

Note: If you run into an SFC /Scannow error when starting the scan, don’t worry. We have written dedicated articles on what to do if SFC scannow is not working, including:

• Windows Resource Protection Could Not Perform The Requested Operation
• Windows resource protection could not start the repair service

4. Set Active Partition with Diskpart Command Line

Some users experience the dreaded blue screen because a wrong partition is set as active. To fix this, you need to set the partition that has the Windows OS located on it as active. You can follow the steps below using the Diskpart Command Line to set the correct partition active:

1. Press Windows+R to open the RUN box and then type “diskpart“.
2. When the window opens, type “list disk” into that window.
3. Diskpart will display all the disks you have installed.
4. Type “select disk [disk number]“. You need to substitute [disk number] with the numeric identifier of the disk you want to select.
5. Type “list partition”.
6. Type “select partition [partition number]“. You need to substitute [partition number] with the numeric identifier of the partition you want to select.
7. Type “active“.

5. Use Command Prompt to fix the Master Boot Record

You must use the previously created bootable disk with this method again to proceed successfully.

1. Insert the bootable drive and then start your PC.
2. Proceed with Windows Setup until you see the option to Repair Your Computer. Click it.
3. Then select Troubleshoot.
4. Select the Command prompt and enter the following commands in the following order:
   1. bootrec /fixmbr
   2. bootrec /fixboot
   3. bootrec /scanos
   4. bootrec /rebuildbcd
5. After entering the commands, hit the Enter button and wait for the commands to function. This process may take some time.
6. Restart your PC to boot into Windows.

6. Disable Driver Signature Enforcement

You can perform this by changing the startup settings temporarily, however permanent fix can be done using command prompt by following the steps below:

1. Use a bootable disk to start Windows Setup.
2. Follow the on-screen instructions until you can select the Repair Your Computer option. Click it.
3. Next, click on Troubleshoot, and then open the Command Prompt.
4. Type in the following command and hit Enter: bcdedit.exe /set nointegritychecks on

7. Run System Restore

Running System Restore can also help repair the error. You can do this in what is called Safe Mode, which boots up your PC with only essential files and drivers that are functional in a limited state. This method will restore your PC to the point where you were before the problem occurred.

Note: You need to have a valid restore point saved in order to use this fix.

Follow the steps below to run System Restore:

1. Press and hold the power button until the PC shuts down, then switch it on again.
2. Navigate to the Run in Safe Mode option.
3. Go to Start and then search for System Restore, and open the first window that appears.
4. Follow the options to return to a specific restore point you were at before the error occurred.
5. Wait for your system to process and then select Reboot.
6. Check if you’ve returned to the point you were at before the issue arose.

8. Replace Your Hard Drive Disk

If you find no success with the above troubleshooting methods, it might be because your hard drive disk is faulty or damaged. You can determine if this is the case by connecting your hard drive disk to another PC and checking whether the PC boots from there or not.

Frequently Asked Questions