Your PC needs to be repaired: Fix for Windows 8, 8.1

Get the fix to “Your PC needs to be repaired” boot error for Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 operating systems.

About the “Your PC needs to be repaired” error

The following information on this error has been compiled by NeoSmart Technologies, based on the information gathered and reported by our global network of engineers, developers, and technicians or partner organizations.

Description and Symptoms

The error messages, alerts, warnings, and symptoms below are tied to this error.

Symptom 1: Your PC needs to be repaired error screen on startup

The “Your PC needs to be repaired” screen appears on Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 systems only and it’s identified by a specific error code.

These errors can also happen on Windows Vista and Windows 7 systems, but without the “Your PC needs to be repaired” title on your screen.

The error screen always has the error code mentioned. You can use that error code to troubleshoot why your computer doesn’t work. You can find the error code on the “Your PC needs to be repaired” screen below the File: row, at the Error code: row.

Here’s the same screen with the error code as specified as 0xc000000f:

The screen text is:

Recovery

Your PC needs to be repaired

The Boot Configuration Data for your PC is missing or contains errors.

File: \boot\bcd
Error code: 0xc000000f

You'll need to use the recovery tools on your installation media. If you don't have any installation
media (like a disc or USB device), contact your system administrator or PC manufacturer.

Press Enter to try again
Press F8 for Startup Settings
Press Esc for UEFI Firmware Settings

Depending on the error the screen text can be different, but the screen will still be called “Your PC needs to be repaired”:

This error code is “0xc0000225”:

Recovery

Your PC needs to be repaired.

An unexpected error has occurred.

Error code: 0xc0000225

You'll need to use the recovery tools on your installation media. If you don't have any installation
media (like a disc or USB device), contact your system administrator or PC manufacturer.

Press Enter to try again
Press F8 for Startup Settings
Press Esc for UEFI Firmware Settings

Causes of this Error

The most common causes of this error are:

Cause 1: BCD is missing or corrupt

One of the most common causes of this error is the BCD that became missing or corrupt. That could happen because of disk write errors, power outages, boot sector viruses, or errors made while configuring the BCD manually.

Cause 2: File system integrity compromised

For the same reasons, the file system itself may become corrupt or damaged. That happens even more often if one turns off a PC while it is in the middle of writing crucial data to the boot sector.

Cause 3: System files are damaged

The system files may also become corrupt or damaged for the same reasons.

Fixing “Your PC needs to be repaired” on Windows

Windows Setup CD/DVD Required!
Some of the solutions below require the use of the Microsoft Windows setup CD or DVD. If your PC did not come with a Windows installation disc or if you no longer have your Windows setup media, you can use Easy Recovery Essentials for Windows instead. EasyRE will automatically find and fix many problems, and can also be used to solve this problem with the directions below.

Fix #1: Use Easy Recovery Essentials

Easy Recovery Essentials can fix many errors such as this automatically using its built-in Automated Repair option. EasyRE is currently available for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11 and can be downloaded and created on any PC.

1. Download Easy Recovery Essentials. Make sure to note your Windows version (XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, or Windows 11) before you download EasyRE. This guide can help you identify what version of Windows you have installed.
2. Burn the image. Follow these instructions on how to burn the bootable ISO image very carefully, as making a bootable CD can be tricky! Alternatively, these instructions explain how to create a bootable EasyRE recovery USB stick/drive.
3. Boot up your PC from the Easy Recovery Essentials CD or USB you created.
4. Once EasyRE is running, choose the “Automated Repair” option and click Continue.
   

   Choose “Automated Repair” in Easy Recovery Essentials

5. After EasyRE scans your computer’s drives, identify and select the drive letter for your Windows installation from the list, and then click on the Automated Repair button to begin.
   

   Choose the drive associated with the Windows installation you’re trying to repair.

6. Easy Recovery Essentials will start analyzing the selected drive for problems. EasyRE will test for and attempt to automatically correct errors with the disk, partition, bootsector, filesystem, bootloader, and registry. No intervention is required, as EasyRE’s repair is fully automated:
   

   Easy Recovery Essentials searches for errors and makes corrections to the selected Windows installation.

7. Once the process is complete, EasyRE will report its findings. Click on the Restart button to reboot your PC and test the changes.
8. The “Your PC needs to be repaired” error should now be fixed as your PC begins to load:

You can download Easy Recovery Essentials from here.

Fix #2: Troubleshoot the error code

In order to fix and remove the “Your PC needs to be repaired” error that’s preventing you to start Windows 8, you need to identify the error code:

• If you have “Error code: 0xc0000225”, read the 0xc0000225 guide
• If you have “Error code: 0xc000000f”, read the 0xc000000f guide
• If you have “Error code: 0xc000014c”, read the 0xc000014c guide
• If you have “Error code: 0xc0000098”, troubleshoot the 0xc0000098 code
• And so on

The error code can be found at the Error code: row. Once you’ve identified the error, troubleshoot it to find specific solutions for it.

If no specific solutions will fix the identified error, follow these instructions:

• Fix with Easy Recovery Essentials
• Fix #2: Remove peripherals and hardware
• Fix #3: Rebuild the BCD
• Fix #4: Set correct partition

Fix #3: Remove peripherals and hardware

Remove unnecessary peripherals from your computer, except your mouse and keyboard, and restart the computer.

Make sure you don’t have any CDs, DVDs or USBs plugged-in.

If you recently added new hardware to your computer: remove it, restart the computer and check if the error screen appears again.

Fix #4: Rebuild the BCD

On certain errors the “File:” row mentions “\boot\bcd” as a potential damaged or corrupt file that’s causing the “Your PC needs to be repaired” screen to appear, along with the exact error code at the “Error code:” row.

In these cases, you can rebuild the BCD as your computer’s BCD file might be damaged or corrupted.

To do so, follow these steps:

1. Insert the original installation DVD or USB Drive

   If you don’t have the original disc, go to Fix Your PC needs to be repaired with Easy Recovery Essentials

2. Restart your computer
3. Boot from the disc/USB
4. At the Install screen, click Repair your computer or press R
5. Click Troubleshoot
6. Click Command Prompt
7. Type these commands:

   bootrec /FixMbr
   bootrec /FixBoot
   bootrec /ScanOs
   bootrec /RebuildBcd

8. Press Enter after each command
9. When the bootrec /RebuildBcd command finished the process, remove the installation DVD/USB
10. Type exit and press Enter
11. Restart your computer

Fix #5: Set correct partition as active

If the error screen appears because an incorrect partition is set as active, you can use the diskpart utility to set the correct partition:

1. Insert the original DVD/USB install media and boot from it

   If you don’t have the original disc, go to Fix Your PC needs to be repaired with Easy Recovery Essentials

2. Click Repair your computer at the Install screen
3. Navigate to Troubleshoot > Command Prompt
4. Type this command:

   diskpart

5. Press Enter
6. Type this command:

   list part

7. Press Enter
8. Determine which partition must be set as active.

   Not sure? Easy Recovery Essentials can automatically detect problems with your active partition and automatically reconfigure the correct partition for you. No command line needed.

9. Type this command:

   select partition x

   Where x is the partition that must be active.

10. Press Enter
11. Type this command:

    active

12. Press Enter
13. This this command:

    quit

14. Press Enter

More Information

Linked Entries

• bootrec
• diskpart

Support Links

• Easy Recovery Essentials for Windows – our repair and recovery disk.
  
  It’s an easy-to-use and automated diagnostics disk. It’s available for Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista. It’s also available for Windows XP and Windows Server.

  Read more at Windows Recovery Disks.

• The NeoSmart Support Forums, member-to-member technical support and troubleshooting.
• Get a discounted price on replacement setup and installation discs: Windows 8.

Applicable Systems

This Windows-related knowledgebase article applies to the following operating systems:

• Windows 8 (all editions)
• Windows 8.1 (all editions)

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