Skip to main content
Sign Out

Welcome to Dell

My Account
  • Place orders quickly and easily
  • View orders and track your shipping status
  • Enjoy members-only rewards and discounts
  • Create and access a list of your products
  • Manage your Dell EMC sites, products, and product-level contacts using Company Administration.
Sign In Create an Account Dell Financial Services Premier Sign In Partner Program Sign In
Contact Us

Your Dell.com Carts

Article Number: 000123362

How to Run Windows Startup Repair on a Dell computer

Summary: This article provides instructions on how to run Windows Startup Repair in Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8 or 8, and Windows 7. Startup Repair is a Microsoft Windows feature that can fix problems with files that are required to boot the operating system. ...

This article may have been automatically translated. If you have any feedback regarding its quality, please let us know using the form at the bottom of this page.

Article Content

Symptoms

Run Windows Startup Repair

Duration: 01:03
Closed captions: English only

Startup repair also called Automatic Repair in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 is an integrated troubleshooting utility in Microsoft Windows that is designed to quickly fix the most common issues that may be preventing your computer from booting into the operating system.

Startup repair can help with:

  • The computer cannot boot into Windows that is caused by corrupt registry entries.
  • The computer cannot boot into Windows due to missing or corrupt system files or drivers.
  • The computer cannot boot into Windows due to disk metadata corruption on the MBR, partition table, boot sector, or file system.
  • The boot configuration data is corrupt.
  • Identify bad memory and hard disk hardware errors.

Startup repair cannot repair unbootable Windows computers if:

  • The hardware device is faulty.
  • There are issues with a clean installation of Windows or Windows upgrades such as upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11.
  • The computer boots into Windows but cannot log in to a user account.
  • The computer is affected by viruses, trojans, or other malware.
NOTE: Startup repair cannot fix hardware failures such as a failing hard disk or incompatible memory. Startup Repair is not a backup tool, it cannot help recover any personal files such as photos or documents. To help protect the data on your computer, back up your data regularly.
NOTE: Startup repair may run multiple times before the startup issue is fully repaired.

Cause

No cause information is available.

Resolution

There are multiple ways to initiate startup repair. This feature can be run from the desktop, but it can also be run from outside Windows using the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). Also, if the computer cannot boot into the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), Startup Repair can be run using a Windows installation disk.

The computer initiates Startup Repair when the computer fails to boot into the operating system two times consecutively. If Startup Repair fails to initiate, use a Windows installation disk.

How to initiate startup repair using the Settings app in Windows

  1. Open the Settings app. Press the Windows + I keyboard shortcut.
  2. Go to Update & Security.
  3. Select the Recovery tab.
  4. Under Advanced Startup, click Restart Now.
  5. After the computer reboots, go to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Repair.
  6. After the startup repair process is complete, reboot the computer.
  7. If the computer fails to boot into the operating system, initiate startup repair using the Windows installation disk.

How to initiate startup repair from the desktop or lock screen

  1. Click Start.
  2. Click the power button icon.
  3. Press and hold down the Shift key and then click Restart. Continue to hold the Shift key until the computer reboots.
  4. Select Troubleshoot.
  5. Go to Advanced Options > Startup Repair.
  6. After the startup repair process is complete, reboot the computer.
  7. If the computer fails to boot into the operating system, initiate startup repair using the Windows installation disk.

How to initiate startup repair using a Windows installation disk

  1. Create a Windows installation disk using the Dell OS Recovery tool.
  2. Connect the USB installation disk to the computer.
  3. Turn on the computer and tap the F12 key until you enter the One Time Boot menu.
  4. Select the USB drive from the list and press Enter.
  5. The computer boots using the USB installation disk.
  6. Select your language.
  7. Choose the language to install, time and currency format, keyboard or input method, and then click Next.
  8. On the Windows Setup screen, click Repair your computer.
  9. Select Troubleshoot.
  10. Go to Advanced Options > Startup Repair.
  11. After the startup repair process is complete, reboot the computer.

Startup Repair can fix most problems with Windows. However, if the startup repair does not resolve the issue, back up your personal data and reinstall the operating system.

Additional Information

|

  1. Create a Windows 7 installation disk using the Dell OS Recovery tool.
  2. Connect the USB installation disk to the computer.
  3. Turn on the computer and tap the F12 key until you enter the One Time Boot Menu.
  4. Select the USB drive from the list and press Enter.
  5. The computer boots to the USB installation disk.
  6. When you see the message Press any key to boot from CD or DVD, press Enter.
    NOTE: If you do not press a key, the computer tries to boot to the operating system that is installed on the hard drive. If this happens, restart the computer and try to boot to the Windows 7 installation disk.
  7. Choose the language to install, time and currency format, keyboard or input method, and then click Next.

    Windows 7 installation screen
    Figure 1: Windows 7 installation screen (This image is in English.)

  8. On the Windows Setup screen, click Repair your computer.

    Windows 7 repair your computer option
    Figure 2: Windows 7 repair your computer option. This image is in English.

  9. In the System Recovery Options window, select the Windows 7 installation and click Next.
  10. Click Startup Repair.

    Startup repair option in the system recovery options menu
    Figure 3: Start up the repair option in the system recovery options menu. This image is in English.

  11. After the startup repair process is complete, click Finish to reboot the computer.

Startup Repair can fix most problems with Windows. However, if the startup repair does not resolve the issue, back up your personal data and reinstall the operating system.

It is possible that startup repair did not fix the Windows startup problem. The startup repair might automatically run again after the computer restarts.

If startup repair fails to fix the Windows startup problem, try the following troubleshooting steps next.

Recommended Articles

Here are some recommended articles related to this topic that might be of interest to you.

Out of Warranty support Out of warranty? No problem Browse to the Dell.com/support website and enter your Dell Service Tag and view our offers.

NOTE: Offers are only available for US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, China, and Japan personal computer customers. Server and Storage are not applicable.

Article Properties

Affected Product

Alienware, Inspiron, Legacy Desktop Models, OptiPlex, Vostro, XPS, G Series, G Series, Alienware, Inspiron, Latitude, Vostro, XPS, Legacy Laptop Models, Fixed Workstations, Mobile Workstations

Last Published Date

18 Oct 2023

Version

11

Article Type

Solution

Back to Top