How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10

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The problem: “Repairing disk errors” Windows 10 loop

No matter which brand of computer you are using, problems may occur unexpectedly. Some users encounter “Repairing disk errors” on Windows 10 HP computer. The same problem is reported on Lenovo, Dell, Acer and ASUS computer as well. “Repairing disk errors” loop happens after upgrading to Windows 10, or after a game crash, etc. One user posted his experience in the forum:

“I have had to use a USB with Windows 10 on it to boot my laptop. I have now been stuck on 'repairing disk errors' nearly all day. Is there any way I can get off this screen without damaging my laptop?”

How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10

3 quick fixes to “Repairing disk errors” loop in Windows 11/10/8/7

If you are troubled with “Repairing disk errors” loop, there are three quick fixes for your reference:

Fix 1: Restart from Safe Mode with Networking

Learn how to skip “Repairing disk errors” as follows.

1. Hold Shift key and press Power button until the “Sign-in” screen shows up and click Restart.

2. After your computer restarts to “Choose an option” screen, choose Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.

3. After the computer restarts, you’ll see a list of options. Press 5 or F5 key to start computer from Safe Mode with Networking.

How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10

Fix 2: Run automatic repair/startup repair

1. Insert Windows installation media, shut down your computer and restart it.

2. When the manufacturer’s logo pops up, keep pressing the Boot menu option key (usually F12) to enter the boot menu. Use or key to choose to boot from the installation media.

3. When getting a prompt of “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD”, just press any key.

4. Choose the correct time and keyboard type and click Next.

5. In the next screen, choose Repair your computer.

6. Select Troubleshooting > Advanced option > Automatic Repair/Startup Repair successively. Wait for the automatic repair to complete.

How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10

Fix 3: Perform system restore from boot

1. Insert Windows installation media and boot from it as mentioned in Fix 1.

2. On the Install Windows screen, select Repair your computer.

3. Select Troubleshoot > Advanced option > System Restore in order. Follow the System Restore wizard to finish the recovery process.

How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10

Note: To perform system restore, you should have created system restore points before.

More efficient way to fix various boot errors (without CD)

As you see, you may need Windows installation media to fix “Repairing disk errors” loop. What if you don’t have the installation media? AOMEI Backupper Standard can rescue you from this situation.

  • It allows you to create bootable media to start your computer when it can’t boot normally.
  • It enables you to make different types of backup including system backup, disk backup, file backup, etc.
  • It supports all editions of Windows 11, 10, 8.1/8, 7, Vista and XP.

To get prepared for various boot errors, you can create a bootable drive and backup the system regularly with AOMEI Backupper. Thus, you can restore system easily from the bootable USB when serious problems occur. Just download AOMEI Backupper and follow the instructions thereinafter:

✦ Create a bootable USB

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Backupper. Connect a USB drive to your computer. Click "Tools" and select “Create Bootable Media”.

How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10

Step 2. In the pop-up window, choose bootable disc type and click “Next”. It is recommended to choose Windows PE so that you can access full functions of AOMEI Backupper.

How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10

Step 3. Select “USB Boot Device” and click “Next”. You will receive a prompt to format your USB drive. Click “Yes” to start creating bootable media.

How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10

Tip: The created disc supports both legacy/MBR and UEFI/GPT.

✦ Perform a scheduled system backup

Step 1. Launch AOMEI Backupper. Click on “Backup” and select “System Backup”.

How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10

Step 2. The required system partition(s) is (are) selected by default. Choose the destination path to store the backup files. You can save the system image to the local disk, external hard drive or network location.

How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10

Step 3. Tick “Schedule Backup” in the bottom, and then set the frequency of the system backup to run.

How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10

Step 4. Confirm the operation and click “Start Backup”.

How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10

>> Options: you can enable email notification, choose the compression level for the backup image file and select intelligent sector backup or sector-by-sector backup.
>> Backup Scheme: you can choose from full/incremental/differential backup and enable automatic backup cleanup. You need to upgrade to AOMEI Backupper Professional to enjoy differential backup and auto backup deletion.

Wrapping things up

There are three quick fixes offered in this article to help you resolve “Repairing disk errors” loop in Windows 10/8/7. It is suggested that you create a bootable drive and backup system with AOMEI Backupper so that you can easily fix boot errors in the future.

What’s more, AOMEI Backupper owns many other wonderful features that enable you to upgrade C drive to SSD and write zeros to Seagate hard drive. Go for AOMEI Backupper right now!

The ‘Repairing disk errors‘ screen is often associated with a systemic corruption issue a hardware issue or a software conflict that’s affecting the booting sequence. This screen typically appears after an unexpected system BSOD crash.

How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10
Windows 10 stuck on the ‘repairing disk errors’ screen

We’ve managed to identify a series of common scenarios that might be the end cause of this stuck screen. Check out a few potential scenarios that might cause this behavior:

  • OS File Corruption  – The most desirable culprit that might cause the repair function on Windows 10 to remain stuck on the Repairing Disk Error screen is an underlying OS file corruption issue affecting the CHKDSK utility. If you find yourself dealing with this issue, forcing an Automatic Repair operation from a Windows CD or USB drive should allow you to fix the issue. In more serious circumstances, you might need to go for a repair install or clean install procedure.
  • Software conflict / Incomplete installation – If you started to see this problem after your PC crashed during the installation of a pending update or driver, chances are you’re dealing with some kind of conflict that is affecting the booting sequence. If this scenario is applicable, you should use the System Restore utility via the Recovery menu to bypass the problematic screen.
  • Failing HDD / SSD Drive – If you’re dealing with a hardware issue, none of the fixes recommended in this article will be effective in your case. In this case, you’ll need to test the health of your HDD or SDD and order a replacement if a critical hardware issue is discovered.

To simplify things for you, we’ve created a couple of sub-guides that will hopefully help you get to the bottom of the ‘Repairing disk errors‘ screen:

Perform an Automatic Repair

In case you see this screen and your system freezes at every system startup, the hopeful scenario is the problem occurs due to a series of corrupted sub-system files belonging to the built-in repair function.

If corrupted OS files are actually causing this problem, you would be able to resolve the issue by using the recovery tools on your installation media to access the Automatic Repair utility.

Note: You’ll need to insert an Windows Installation media (DVD Media or USB stick). If you don’t have one at the ready, follow this article to create an installation media for Windows 10.

Here’s what you need to do:

  1. Start your PC normally
  2. Insert the Windows media (or plug it in) into your DVD drive or USB slot.
  3. When the boot screen appears, press any key to boot from the Windows media.
    How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10
    Pressing any key
  4. When you’re given the option, select ‘Repair your Computer‘ from the bottom-left corner.
    How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10
    Accessing the Repair utility of Windows 10
  5. After the initial loading screen, you should arrive inside the Troubleshoot menu.
  6. Next, click on Troubleshoot.
    How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10
    Accessing the Troubleshooting screen
  7. Next, click Advanced Options.
  8. After a couple of seconds, you’ll need to choose the OS version that you are currently on.
  9. Finally, the utility will begin the scanning process and repair any errors that might be causing your system to freeze during the repairing of potentially corrupted sectors.
    How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10
    Running the Auto Repair utility
  10. Restart your computer and see if the problem is now fixed.

If the problem is still ongoing, try the next fix directly under.

Use a System Restore point via Recovery Menu

If you only started seeing your computer trying to repair corrupted OS files after installing a pending update or new driver version, you shouldn’t exclude some kind of software conflict from the list.

To treat this potential concern, the best course of action should be to utilize System Restore to revert your Windows 10 computer back to a state in which this problem was not occurring.

Note:  System Restore is configured by default to create new snapshots during crucial system changes. This includes the installation of new Windows Updates, new 3rd party tools, new driver versions, etc. The only reason why you’ll find that you don’t have any restore snapshots to choose from is if you previously modified the default behavior of WU.

But since you are unable to boot normally, you will need to launch the System Restore utility from the Recovery menu. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do so:

  1. Open your PC and insert or plug in the Windows media.
    How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10
    Boot from the Installation Media

    Note: Even if you don’t have access to a compatible installation media, you can force the Recovery menu to show up by forcing 3 consecutive startup interruptions.

  2. Next, click on Repair your computer in order to bring up the Advanced Options menu.
    How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10
    Repairing the computer
  3. From the Advanced Options menu, access the System Restore menu.
    How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10
    Accessing the System Restore tool
  4. Once you’re inside the System Restore utility, start by checking the box associated with Show more restore points. 
  5. When you get an overview with every available restore snapshot, select one that was created right before the apparition of this issue, click on it once to select it, then click on Next to advance forward.
    How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10
    Using a Restore Snapshot
  6. Wait until the utility will restore your computer with the snapshot that you previously selected.

if you see the same ‘Repairing disk errors‘ when you boot up your computer, move down to the next potential fix below.

Test the health of your HDD / SSD

If you repeatedly tried allowing the repair utility to run its course unsuccessfully (it gets stuck forever), there’s a very big chance that your hard disk is about to die.

But before you order a replacement, you should check if your HDD or SSD reparable bad sectors with consequent data loss.

An ideal way of troubleshooting a failing drive is to use the TestDisk utility to find out if bad storage clusters on your HDD are causing this issue.

Note: You’ll need to perform the instructions below after connecting the HDD or SSD to a different computer as a secondary drive.

  1. Access the official download page of TeskDisk.
  2. Next, click on the Download button and wait for the operation to complete.
    How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10
    Downloading the TestDisk utility
  3. Use an unpacking utility to extract the contents of the archive.
  4. Open testdisk_win.exe and then open as an administrator using the dedicated menu.
    How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10
    Running as administrator
  5. Next,  use the arrow keys to select Create, then hit Enter to make the selection permanent.
    How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10
    Using the TestDisk
  6. Wait until the operation is complete, then select the correct Windows partition and hit Enter again.
  7. At the next screen, select Intel and hit Enter.
    How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10
    Choosing the Intel Command
  8. At the next point, select Analyse, then go ahead and hit Enter to force TeskDisk into analyzing all the partitions.
    How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10
    Checking the failing partitions
  9. After the operation is complete, hit Quick Search and hit Enter.
  10. Hit the Y key when asked to do so to confirm your choice.
  11. Select the partition that holds your Windows files using the arrow keys, then press the P key to list the contents of that partition.
    How to fix repairing disk errors windows 10
    List the contents of the partition
  12. Select Write from the list of optios and press Enter to make the utility analyze the HDD / SSD drive.
  13. Once the results are in, check to see for any corrupted data clusters that the utility deems as irreparable – If you find any occurrences of this hind, you can regard the drive as unsalvagable.

Note: If the investigation above has revealed that you’re dealing with a failing drive, you can’t do anything else other than order a replacement. If you have any important data on the HDD or SSD, take it to a technician specialized in data recovery.

On the other hand, if the scan has revealed no underlying hardware issue related to your hard drive, follow the last potential fix below.

Clean Install or Repair install

If the investigation above has ruled out a hardware issue, you should check if corruption is actually interfering with your OS’s ability to conduct drive repairs.

When dealing with an issue of this kind, the best course of action is to refresh every Windows component that might be causing this problem with a procedure like clean installing or repair installing:

  • Perform a Repair Install (In-Place Repair) – If the affected drive currently holds important information, use this method because you get to keep all your personal data.
  • Clean installing – If you don’t care about wiping your entire drive, save yourself the trouble and go with this operation. You can deploy it from the Settings menu of your Windows installation and you are not required to insert a compatible Windows media installation.