How to fix 'Your PC Did Not Start Correctly' error

Various causes can cause 'Your PC did not start correctly' error , such as recent hardware upgrade, new/updated driver or file system error. If this is the first time you get the error, try restarting your PC and see if the error reappears. If so, try the following solutions.

1. Run the Startup Repair tool

Startup Repair is a built-in Windows utility that tries to diagnose and fix any PC problems. To use Startup Repair, first activate the "Your PC did not start correctly" screen, then select Advanced options instead of Restart.

Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Repair . Log in to your user account and let the process complete. Reboot and see if you can now boot into Windows. If not, try the next method.

2. Boot into Safe Mode

Safe Mode allows you to troubleshoot Windows by starting your PC in a limited state. If you need to retrieve important data from a malfunctioning computer, you can use Safe Mode and transfer your data to a flash drive. Also, booting into Safe Mode can fix the 'Your PC did not start correctly' error.

When you're done, restart your PC. If everything goes well, the error should go away. If not, try the next option.

3. Perform System Restore

If you have recently made any changes to the system, that may cause errors to start appearing. However, if you're not sure what changes you've made, you can bring your system back to a time when it was working fine, thanks to System Restore, one of Windows' most powerful recovery tools. .

However, you can only use System Restore when the system has created a restore point in the past. Fortunately, if System Restore is enabled on your PC, Windows creates a restore point every time you make an important change, such as installing a driver or updating Windows. As such, you most likely already have some restore points ready to use

When it's done, hopefully you'll be able to reboot into Windows.

4. Check for missing or corrupted system files

Windows may have problems starting up if one or more system files are corrupted or missing. You can fix the problem with System File Checker.

The SFC tool will scan your PC for missing or corrupted system files. SFC will add or replace them with a stable copy that the DISM tool has downloaded (if found). After the tool scans and repairs system files, use the shutdown and restart the PC command.

shutdown /r

5. Repair Boot Configuration Data

In Windows parlance, BCD stands for Boot Configuration Data. It's information that the Windows Runtime environment relies on to instruct the Windows boot loader where it should look for boot information.

If none of the previous fixes worked for you, then you should repair your system's BCD in case one or more files are damaged or lost. To fix BCD, go to Advanced Options > Command Prompt from the error screen.

In the Command Prompt, run the following command:

bootrec /rebuildbcd

If the bootrec command identifies one or more Windows installations, press Y or A to add them all to the boot list. Next, run all the following commands one by one:

bcdedit /export c:bcdbackup attrib c:bootbcd -h -r -s ren c:bootbcd bcd.old bootrec /rebuildbcd

Press Y and Enter. When you're done, restart your PC.

6. Repair Master Boot Record

The Master Boot Record (MBR) is the first sector on your hard drive. It helps the system determine where to place the operating system so that it can boot into the random access memory (RAM) of the PC. If the MBR is damaged, it will be difficult for the computer to start up properly.

To repair the MBR, go to Advanced options > Command Prompt and use the following command to start the repair process:

chkdsk /r

If this does not fix the error, run the following commands one by one:

bootrec /rebuildbcd bootrec /fixmbr bootrec /fixboot

Restart the computer and see if this fixes the 'Your PC did not start correctly' error.

7. Update Windows or remove recent updates

If there is a common problem that many Windows users are having, then Microsoft may have rolled out an update to fix the error. If that's the case, you'll need to update Windows. However, if you can't boot into your Windows, you'll need to update Windows from Safe Mode.

Conversely, if you start getting errors after updating, you'll need to uninstall the updates. Again, if you can't boot into Windows normally, boot into Safe Mode.

Good luck with your troubleshooting!

Kareem Winters

Update 21 August 2021