Startup Repair Infinite Loop Recovery

How to Recover from an Infinitely Looping Startup Repair Loop without Reinstalling Windows​

If you've ever experienced a Startup Repair that continously loops and fails to fix the problem of not being able to load windows, even in safe mode, then you'll know that usually the only way to recover from this when System Restore does not work is to do a clean install of Windows.

Until now.

This tutorial will show you how to use the System Recovery Options provided by Windows to recover your system to a working state so that you don't have to risk losing data by performing a clean install.

   Warning

The instructions presented withing this tutorial must be followed correctly, or you can damage your Windows 7 installation even further. This tutorial is designed to help recover from a bad registry that is causing the startup repair loop. You should note that there may still be some issues remaining that cannot be fixed by manually restoring the registry.

Recovering Your System

1. Boot to the System Recovery Options screen.
   • If Windows automatically opens Startup Repair, and subsequently fails to fix a problem, you can skip ahead to step 4 below.
2. In the System Recovery Options screen, click Startup Repair:
   
   
   
   
3. Windows will search for an attempt to repair startup problems:
   
   
   
   
4. If startup problems could not be repaired, you will receive the message Windows cannot repair this computer automatically. Click View advanced options for system recovery and support:
   
   
   
   
5. Click View advanced options for system recovery and support, which which bring you back to the main System Recovery Options screen.
6. Click Command Prompt:
   
   
   
   
7. Command Prompt should open to X:, which is an internal ram disk use by System Repair:
   
   
   
   
8. Now you need to find your system drive. Depending on how your system is setup, this could be either C: or D:.
   • Type C: and press <ENTER>.
   • Verify that this is your system drive by typing DIR and pressing <ENTER>. If you see the Program Files, Users and Windows folders, then you have found your system drive, and can continue to step 9 below.
   • If the drive is not your system drive, repeat steps I and II above, changing the drive letter to D, E or some other letter until the system drive is located.
     
     
     
9. When you have located your Windows system drive, type CD \windows\system32\config and press <ENTER>:
10. Type DIR and press <ENTER>, and verify that the following files and folders exist in the config folder:
    • RegBack (which is a folder)
    • DEFAULT
    • SAM
    • SECURITY
    • SOFTWARE
    • SYSTEM
      
      
      
11. Type MD mybackup and press <ENTER> to create a backup folder that you can use incase this procedure does not work as expected.
12. Type copy *.* mybackup and press <ENTER>.
    • If you are prompted to overwrite existing files, press A to allow all backups to be overwritten.
      
      
      
13. Now you need to check if you can use the automatic Windows backups to restore your registry:
    • Type CD RegBack and press <ENTER> to go to the RegBack folder.
    • Type DIR and press <ENTER> to view the contents of the folder. All the following files must exist:
      • The DEFAULT, SAM and SECURITY files should each be about 262,000 bytes in size.
      • The SOFTWARE file should be about 26,000,000 bytes.
      • The SYSTEM file should be about 9,900,000 bytes.
      • The file sizes presented here are approximate estimations, and may vary depending on your system. If any one of them are 0 bytes, then you should stop what you're doing now and seek an alternative method of recovering your system, because Windows cannot function with a 0-byte size registry hive.
    • If the hive files listed in RegBack are ok, then proceed to step 14 of the tutorial.
      
      
      
      
14. Type copy *.* .. and press <ENTER> to copy the backup hive files to \Windows\System32\config.
    • If you are prompted to overwrite existing files, press A to allow all file to be overwritten.
      
      
      
15. Type exit and press <ENTER> to close the command prompt.
    
    
    
    
16. Click the Restart button to reboot your computer. If all goes well, your system will boot normally.
    
    
    
    
    

Reference Information
This tutorial was made possible after learning how to manualy replace the Windows 7 Registry Hives after reading the Recovering Windows 7 Registry Hives/Files article on Microsoft Technet.

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Enable or Disable Automatic Repair in Windows 10
• Advanced Boot Options
• System Recovery Options
• System Repair Disc Create
• How to Run a Startup Repair in Windows 7
• Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times to Repair Boot Issues

 

[buythiscomputer]

Hello !

I was locked in this boot loop on windows 8.

I upgraded to windows 10 and I still have the loop problem.

What is the problem ? I was thinking that upgrading to windows 10 would treat the problem, but no, so I guess it's not a driver problem ?

Thank you for your help.

 

[andrewcr]

After I click step 5, there is no command prompt option in step 6. Only shows 2 recovery options: Startup Repair and Dell DataSafe Restore.

 

[nw30]

thanks!

just registered to tell u how awesome u are and to say thanks a lot for the simple and quick solution, you obviously know your stuff! so.....

Thanks!!!

You're awesome!



best wishes for you and yours-

take care

Nick W

 

[amit233]

Happy as a Pig in the Mud

Thanks a ton. This worked like charm for me. Well explained and links to other pages.

Thank you again

 

[Myrngkoyou]

Omg omg omg THANK YOU!!!!! It fixed my PC when it dropped on its side! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[sugunankb]

Thanks. My problem (launch startup repair infinite loop ) solved.Nice, easy to understand description even for a layman. Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sugunan

 

[Miria]

Just followed this myself and while everything looked right, I'm still stuck in the endless loop

 

[Driver170]

This actually worked for me. Thankyou mate!

 

[Amitdivekar]

You said do not proceed if the size of software sam folders is zero. Iam getting it as zero. What to do next. I am still stuck in that loop.

 

[Driver170]

I think you need to reinstall windows as nothing is backed up

 

[Acehole]

It's work on Windows 10 too !!!!

After an attempt of install of an "old" game (Lock On Gold) , the Starforce drivers change the C: directory to D: and i was stuck on the repair startup screen after reboot ....I discover the problem after i find and try your tutorial ( step 8 , III). All work perfectly and i came to my windows without more problems Thanks a lot for your fine work .

 

[thaddmc]

THANK YOU!

I began troubleshooting around 10P. Unfortunately I didn't implement your solution until after 3A... groggy and hyped on Cherry Coke, I was pleased and relieved to look up and see our On-Air computer happily asking for a login!

Thank You!!!

 

[Rossdogg04]

Thank you so very much!!! This saved me so much time and aggravation. This worked on my Windows 10 setup. I miss Windows 7 so much right now. Thanks again!!!

 

[henry66]

this thread is not the newest, but it helped me tremendously: i had that stupid ''Infinitely Looping'' on my WIN 7 32 computer, and could neither boot normally nor into SAFE mode. the WIN sign came up very shortly, then back into the POST screen, again and again. then the WIN REPAIR suggestions, which also did nothing.

but following your instructions above i now at least can boot into SAFE MODE without problem - but still not into the normal startup. there is no looping anymore, but i get an ''OUT OF RANGE'' on a black screen, nothing else.

any idea, any suggestion where to go from here? and also important, where could these faults come from? hardly a chance for a virus on my machine (and various checkers have found none), always fully updated WINs, no strange progs installed - and bang, there is the loop and now the OUT OF RANGE.

i am lost.

greets - henry

 

[Anonymouz]

At step 13 I wasn't able to keep going...

On step 13 it showed 0 bytes. What Useful alternative can I use to get back in windows.

 

[Pete40]

First time poster. Great forum thanks. Now I have crashed from a Windows 10 infinite reboot loop. Searching in Win 10 forums led me here. I will definitely be rolling back to Win 7 when I can get an operating system to boot up again on my computer.
Toshiba P850 running an SSD with all program files and system. All my data is on an internal HDD. SSD is usually C: drive. Data is usually D: drive.

I can get a cmd prompt window and it goes to x: drive. I have done a Diskpart and can see all the drives. Problem is my C: drive now has letter D: as designation and my D: drive is designated C:
Should I be worried about this before I try your tutorial back on page 1 of this thread?
I have done a bootmgr - didn't help Mr yet.

I am an old DOS user so I remember a few of the commands.
What I want to do is be able to do is get any Windows operating system to boot up, then I will rollback using a Windows 7 system image backup I have on an external drive.

I don't have Windows 7 recovery media because this computer came pre installed with Win 7 Home Premium. I am currently working in Malaysia and any disks I might have to help will be at home in Australia.
I have used the command prompt to look at all my directories in each drive and all looks in tact. Diskpart returns a healthy status on each drive, just C: and D: reversed assignment.
Can someone point Mr to my next step please? Sorry if there are typos in this, am using my phone.

 

[Pete40]

I solved my problem by using the same version of Windows 7 as my computer had when I did my image backup. The drive designations had no bearing on it. I am back up and running. Thanks to the forum contributors (even though no-one actually replied specifically t me, reading the posts helped a lot)

 

[Hollobaughe]

Thank you ! ! !

After trying everything I could think of, as well as following the advice of several "experts" from many other sites, I happened upon your tutorial. Thank goodness! Everyone else (including "just ask. com" and Best Buy's Geek Squad) advised me that the only alternative left was to use the system recovery disk and lose all my data. Your directions worked like a charm on my system - and I have a Windows Vista operating system. Huge relief. Thanks so much.

 

[rommeltupig]

Hello,

My computer keeps on restarting after displaying the windows logo, can this procedure applicable to solve the issue?
Thanks.

 

[bestfriendkai]

i completely did the instructions above, but still.. my window doesn't open normally.. still bring me to the start up repair page
thank you guys. any other way to fix this? more power!