How to fix ‘Your PC needs to be repaired’ error

When your PC’s screen displayed a message saying, “Your PC needs to be repaired…”, you got alarmed in a different way because you were probably expecting your system to start up and get you to your home screen. Many users are used to having issues with their PCs, but problems that are encountered during boot up are usually the most terrifying because these problems prevent them from accessing their valuable data or doing any work.

This error message is often displayed on systems running Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, or even the unpopular Windows Vista. The error message is usually accompanied by an error code. These error codes include 0xc0000098, 0xc000000f, 0xc0000225, 0xc000014C and so on.

Here is a list of some error codes and their meanings:

Error code: 0xc0000225: This error code is saying that your system failed to load Windows OS because some required files are missing or have been corrupted.

Error code: 0xc0000428: This means that the operating system could not be loaded due to failure in verification of the digital signature of a file.

Error code: 0xc000000f: When this error code is displayed, the Boot Configuration Data for your system cannot be found or the available one contains errors.

Error code: 0xc0000034: This indicates that the Boot Configuration Data is lacking some integral information.

Error code: 0xc0000098: This means that Windows operating system could not be loaded due to the absence of a critical driver or the available one containing errors.

Error code: 0xc0000225: This error code describes the occurrence of an unexpected (or simply unknown) error.

This list of error codes is not exhaustive; the error code displayed on your computer might be completely different. Also, this statement, “You’ll need to use the recovery tools on your installation media, If you don’t have any installation media…”, usually accompanies the error messages.

Why do these errors occur?

Either one of the following reasons or multiple ones in special scenarios could be the cause of these errors.

• File system on an integral partition becomes damaged or corrupted. This process may occur when a computer is shut down while the system is still writing data vital to the boot sector.
• Operating system files are destroyed or corrupted due to a mirage of reasons.
• Boot Configuration Data is absent. This is the most likely cause considering the volume of scenarios with this as a common problem. A virus, malware or simply any rogue program can cause issues leading to loss of data. There is also the possibility that Boot Configuration Data is damaged due to physical problems like disk failure, power failure. It could also occur when the system is turned off improperly.
• Unauthorized change in hardware or software. The software running on a system is introduced to new hardware or a different device to what it was previously used to.
• Boot manager might become outdated after an operating system update. This event rarely occurs.

How to solve this problem?

Now we would discuss easy solutions to these problems in details.

You would certainly need to make use of the Windows installation media. This Windows installation media could be in form of a Windows CD or bootable USB drive. If you do not have a Windows CD but have a flash drive, you can create a bootable USB drive using this tool from Microsoft.

Disconnect all external devices (especially new hardware) before attempting these fixes, and restart your system to see if the problem persists. If your system still cannot boot up properly or the error message was displayed anyway, you are free to attempt these solutions.

Using Start up repair:

Insert your Windows DVD or bootable flash drive into your computer and boot from it. Now follow these instructions.

1. Select Next when presented with Language options.
2. Click on Repair your computer
3. Click on Troubleshoot
4. Select the Advanced option
5. Now select Automatic Repair under Advanced options.

Windows should automatically detect and fix the errors causing issues with boot up.

Rebuilding the Boot Configuration Data manually:

Here, you by yourself are simply going to perform the action requested by the error message. First, boot up your system from the Windows installation media.

1. Select Next when presented with Language options.
2. Click on Repair your computer
3. Click on Troubleshoot
4. Click on Command Prompt

Now carefully enter these commands:

bootrec /FixMbr

Press Enter

bootrec /FixBoot

Press Enter

bootrec /ScanOs

Press Enter

bootrec /RebuildBcd

Press Enter

Wait until the end of the execution of this process. Write “exit” without the quotes and press Enter. Restart your computer and verify if the issue has been resolved.

Reinstall Windows:

It is extremely unlikely that both fixes above fail to resolve your problem, but we are leaving this almost fail-proof solution to account for such scenarios and for other events involving unknown error codes.

Before you proceed, you should know that this option might cause loss of all files or valuable data.

For Windows 10 users:

1. Begin by inserting the Windows installation media and booting up your system from it.
2. Select Next when presented with Language options.
3. Click on Repair your computer
4. Click on Troubleshoot
5. Click on Reset this PC and follow the instructions as desired.

For Windows 8.1, Windows 8 or Windows 7 users:

1. Insert the Windows installation media and boot your system from it.
2. Click on Install now and follow the presented instructions as appropriate.

After a fresh install of Windows, we recommend you to update your system and its drivers. We advise you to do this in order to avoid frustrating problems and ensure your system works at its optimal level.

Updating your system

is a relatively easy task. Updating your drivers, on the other hand, can be tedious and time-consuming. However, you can update your all drivers in a single click using this excellent piece of software.

Now enjoy using your system!