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Get the fix to "<strong>Your PC needs to be repaired</strong>" boot error for<strong> Windows 8, </strong>or<strong> Windows 8.1</strong> operating systems.
<h2>About the "<strong>Your PC needs to be repaired</strong>" error</h2>
[kbintro]
<h3>Description and Symptoms</h3>
The error messages, alerts, warnings, and symptoms below are tied to this error.
<h4>Symptom 1: Your PC needs to be repaired error screen on startup</h4>
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 <strong>File:</strong> row, at the <strong>Error code:</strong> row.

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

The screen text is:
<pre>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
</pre>
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":
<pre>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</pre>
<h3>Causes of this Error</h3>
The most common causes of this error are:
<h4><span id="Cause_1_BCD_ismissing_or_corrupt">Cause 1: BCD is missing or corrupt</span></h4>
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.
<h4><span id="Cause_2_File_system_integrity_compromised">Cause 2: File system integrity compromised</span></h4>
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.
<h4><span id="Cause_3System_files_are_damaged">Cause 3: System files are damaged</span></h4>
The system files may also become corrupt or damaged for the same reasons.
<h2>Fixing "Your PC needs to be repaired" on Windows</h2>
[setupcd]
<h3>Fix #1: Use Easy Recovery Essentials</h3>
[easyre error="Your PC needs to be repaired" bootscreen="8"]
<h3>Fix #2: Troubleshoot the error code</h3>
In order to fix and remove the "Your PC needs to be repaired" error that's preventing you to start Windows 8, <strong>you need to identify the error code</strong>:
<ul>
 	<li>If you have "Error code: 0xc0000225", read <a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/0xc0000225/">the 0xc0000225 guide</a></li>
 	<li>If you have "Error code: 0xc000000f", read <a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/0xc000000f/">the 0xc000000f guide</a></li>
 	<li>If you have "Error code: 0xc000014c", read <a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/0xc000014c/">the 0xc000014c guide</a></li>
 	<li>If you have "Error code: 0xc0000098", troubleshoot the 0xc0000098 code</li>
 	<li>And so on</li>
</ul>
The error code can be found at the <strong>Error code:</strong> 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:
<ul>
 	<li><a href="#Fix_Your_PC_needs_to_be_repaired_with_Easy_Recovery_Essentials">Fix with Easy Recovery Essentials</a></li>
 	<li><a href="#Fix_2_Remove_peripherals_and_hardware">Fix #2: Remove peripherals and hardware</a></li>
 	<li><a href="#Fix_3_Rebuild_the_BCD">Fix #3: Rebuild the BCD</a></li>
 	<li><a href="#Fix_4_Set_correct_partition">Fix #4: Set correct partition</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Fix #3: Remove peripherals and hardware</h3>
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.
<h3>Fix #4: Rebuild the BCD</h3>
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:
<ol>
 	<li>Insert the original installation DVD or USB Drive
<p class="info">If you don't have the original disc, go to <a href="#Fix_Your_PC_needs_to_be_repaired_with_Easy_Recovery_Essentials">Fix Your PC needs to be repaired with Easy Recovery Essentials</a></p>
</li>
 	<li>Restart your computer</li>
 	<li>Boot from the disc/USB</li>
 	<li>At the <em>Install</em> screen, click <strong>Repair your computer</strong> or press <kbd>R</kbd></li>
 	<li>Click <strong>Troubleshoot</strong></li>
 	<li>Click <strong>Command Prompt</strong></li>
 	<li>Type these commands:
<pre>bootrec /FixMbr
bootrec /FixBoot
bootrec /ScanOs
bootrec /RebuildBcd</pre>
</li>
 	<li>Press <kbd>Enter</kbd> after each command</li>
 	<li>When the <code>bootrec /RebuildBcd</code> command finished the process, remove the installation DVD/USB</li>
 	<li>Type <code>exit</code> and press <kbd>Enter</kbd></li>
 	<li>Restart your computer</li>
</ol>
[caption id="attachment_4630" align="alignnone" width="980"]<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2015/01/bootrec3.png"><img class="wp-image-4630 size-large" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2015/01/bootrec3-1024x768.png" alt="Bootrec utility results screen" width="980" height="735" /></a> Bootrec utility results screen[/caption]
<h3>Fix #5: Set correct partition as active</h3>
If the error screen appears because an incorrect partition is set as active, you can use the <code>diskpart</code> utility to set the correct partition:
<ol>
 	<li>Insert the original DVD/USB install media and boot from it
<p class="info">If you don't have the original disc, go to <a href="#Fix_Your_PC_needs_to_be_repaired_with_Easy_Recovery_Essentials">Fix Your PC needs to be repaired with Easy Recovery Essentials</a></p>
</li>
 	<li>Click <strong>Repair your computer</strong> at the <em>Install</em> screen</li>
 	<li>Navigate to Troubleshoot &gt; Command Prompt</li>
 	<li>Type this command:
<pre>diskpart</pre>
</li>
 	<li>Press <kbd>Enter</kbd></li>
 	<li>Type this command:
<pre>list part</pre>
</li>
 	<li>Press <kbd>Enter</kbd></li>
 	<li>Determine which partition must be set as active.
<p class="info">Not sure? <a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/">Easy Recovery Essentials</a> can automatically detect problems with your active partition and automatically reconfigure the correct partition for you. No command line needed.</p>
</li>
 	<li>Type this command:
<pre>select partition x</pre>
Where <code>x</code> is the partition that must be active.</li>
 	<li>Press <kbd>Enter</kbd></li>
 	<li>Type this command:
<pre>active</pre>
</li>
 	<li>Press <kbd>Enter</kbd></li>
 	<li>This this command:
<pre>quit</pre>
</li>
 	<li>Press <kbd>Enter</kbd></li>
</ol>
[caption id="attachment_4631" align="alignnone" width="800"]<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2015/01/VirtualBox_Win7_clean_27_04_2016_05_45_20.png"><img class="wp-image-4631 size-full" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2015/01/VirtualBox_Win7_clean_27_04_2016_05_45_20.png" alt="Diskpart utility results screen" width="800" height="600" /></a> Diskpart utility results screen[/caption]
<h2>More Information</h2>
<h3>Linked Entries</h3>
<ul>
 	<li><a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/bootrec/">bootrec</a></li>
 	<li><a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/diskpart/">diskpart</a></li>
</ul>
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