Windows 8 - Dreaded Automatic Repair of Perpetual Death

By Izlude
in Microsoft (Windows)

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

Izlude

Posted
Posted

Well boys, it got me... The dreaded "Preparing Automatic Repair" endless loop in Windows 8. They say the only solution is reinstall.. but I've got to try to fix this!!

Here's what happened. I plugged in my MP3 player via USB and while browsing the contents, explorer froze up (when it fades to grey but you can view and interact with other windows that are open). Since it refused to close (Win8 doesn't like ending task on explorer), I did a reboot. It asked me to wait, or force a restart, so I forced it.

Upon booting, I got the "Preparing Automatic Repair"... which fails to repair and asks me to restart. Restarting brings it up again. I'll click advanced and try to get safe mode to go on. When it restarts, it doesn't bring up the safe mode options, but... the Automatic Repair yet again.

Attempted the following on the DVD insall disc: "Refresh (didn't let me)" "System Restore (no restore points for some reason)" "automatic repair (again)" "safe mode (auto repair blocks the path)" ok just... every option. Tried chkdsk (r and f and all others). Tried reparing the boot, mbr, and all those options (said success but doesn't help my situation.)

The most vital one I tried was sfc /scannow (also with offbootdir and offwindir options). It says Windows Resource Protection could not perform the task (i'm 100% certain my drive letters are correct, I had someone do this with me.)

What other option have I got? If I can't fix this, I'll switch back to Win7, iz3D support on there anyway and my Mobo's utilities will work on Win7 too... might as well eh?

Grand Master

Izlude

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Update: I ended up reinstalling :( I'm certain this won't be the last time it happens, the MS support site is currently swamped with posts about it. I'd be grateful if anyone had a similiar experience, to please post their solution here. I'd like to keep my Win8 for sure. I found no viruses,malware etc.. or disk errors. The recovery partition somehow came up with missing files, and that's why my options didn't work.

  • 2 weeks later...
Neowinian

Danny Miller

Posted
Posted

Just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in....

inadvertantly loss AC power to toshiba satellite p205-s6347 w/4gb mem running win 8. this unit had just been upgraded to win 8 from win 7 ultimate. Probably no more than two weeks of running win 8.

the loss of power event was exacerbated by no battery charge. however the unit on several occasions has come through the loss of power while sleep / hibernation was active and upon power recovery was able to either reboot or resume.

This is not a happy moment.

Grand Master

PNWDweller

Posted
Posted

Sort of on topic, but at the same time, not as much as it should be.

Having used Win 8 for about a week now, I must admit that I feel like it is a bit immature yet, but again - Every version of Windows it seems has issues right after release, then comes a service pack down the road which stabilizes the heck out of it. So, I am waiting for that. :) When I say immature, It is because I get BSOD's almost daily due to Kernel issues.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Posts

    • Linux 7.2's first release candidate gets off to a good start

      By zikalify · Posted

      Linux 7.2's first release candidate gets off to a good start by Paul Hill Credit: Larry Ewing It has been a few weeks since the release of Linux 7.1, and in that time, the Linux 7.2 merge window has been open, where developers can submit their features and patches ready for the upcoming release. That window is now shut, and the release candidate phase has begun so that new features can be tested and further fixes applied. According to the founder of Linux, Linus Torvalds, this week’s release candidate looks “reasonably normal”. Although we are super early in the release candidates, this is a good sign as it makes it more likely that an eighth release candidate will not be needed. Torvalds even mentioned that the update’s stats are only larger than they really are because there was another AMD header drop with a third of the patch just being AMD GPU register definitions, which aren’t big changes but make the code contributed look larger overall. In addition to this, he noted that just over half the patch is drivers, even when excluding the AMD register dump. The rest of the changes are spread out over architecture updates, tooling, documentation, and core kernel updates. In the next week, Torvalds says that he will be chilling out, taking the week “mostly off”. Despite this, he will be reading emails and keeping up with things, so if he is slow responding, now you know why. He said he is hoping for a calm week, but we will just have to see if the second release candidate is actually like that. We should expect seven or eight release candidates before Linux 7.2 is released, so expect it around the end of August. If you missed it a few weeks ago, be sure to check out our coverage of Linux 7.1's release.
    • Why it's almost impossible to produce a smartphone in the United States

      By Asgardi · Posted

      Ridiculous claim that the labor cost difference of $6000 annually would increase cost per phone by $200. The employees produce 3 phones per month or what?
    • Sparkle 2.20.1

      By Copernic · Posted

      Sparkle 2.20.1 by Razvan Serea Sparkle is a free, open-source Windows optimization tool designed to make your PC faster, cleaner, and more private. With Sparkle, you can easily debloat Windows by removing unnecessary apps and services, disable Microsoft tracking to enhance privacy, and apply performance tweaks to boost speed. Its cleaner removes junk and temporary files, while every change is safe and fully reversible. Sparkle also features a modern, user-friendly interface with automatic updates, making system maintenance simple. Explore over 39 tweaks, from disabling telemetry and hibernation to optimizing network and game settings, all aimed at customizing and enhancing your Windows experience. Sparkle supports Windows 10 and 11. Sparkle 2.20.1 changelog: You can now change the Animation Direction from Up, Left, or Off. Added configurable animation direction (Up, Left, Off) for improved accessibility Added TTL caching to the system info backend Refactored tweak application flow to await NvidiaProfileInspector Improved IPC listener cleanup to correctly remove specific listeners Fixed online status not updating after successful network requests Updated system info tests to support backend caching Removed electron-toolkit utils dependency in favor of internal is.dev helper Fixed unwanted files and folders being included in application bundles Download: Sparkle 2.20.1 | Portable | ~100.0 MB (Open Source) Links: Sparkle Website | Github | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • The best controller for XBOX and PC is down to the lowest price

      By Figure 8 Dash · Posted

      Never used the G7 Pro, but I've never had a good experience with that style of d-pad and fighting games.
    • Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 Ergonomic Office Chair review: The Ikea of chairs

      By Figure 8 Dash · Posted

      And I just bought a seat cushion for my mesh chair. The chair feels nice but the first time I sat in it with boxers, I realized I don't like the feel of mesh on my legs. 😂

  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      JKR earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Dedicated
      Asgardi earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Conversation Starter
      jessse3334 earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • Reacting Well
      JuvenileDelinquent earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • One Month Later
      Excellence2025 earned a badge
      One Month Later

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      496
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      250
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      154
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      86
    5. 5
      macoman
      65
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!