Restart to Repair Drive Errors Windows 10: Complete Guide

Read time: 7 minutes

If you are a Windows 10 user, you must have seen this frustrating message “Restart to repair drive errors/Scanning and repairing drive (C:)” every once in a while after starting Windows. This error pops up in your Action Center or at the Boot Screen and keeps annoying you by showing up every time you restart your PC. In this blog, we will talk about everything related to this error in depth.

What is Restart to Repair Drive Errors in Windows 10?

Restart to Repair errors in Windows 10 is an alert from the Microsoft Security and Maintenance Center indicating that Windows detected file system corruption, damaged sectors, or an improper shutdown on your internal or external storage drive (HDD or SSD).

These errors could be due to improper shutdown, bad sectors, a virus attack, and many other reasons. If Windows 10 fails to repair system drive errors upon restart, this error keeps popping up again and again. Restart to repair error in windows 10

Why Does Restart to Repair Error in Windows 10 Occur?

There are various reasons behind the Restart to Repair error in Windows 10; some of them are:

Improper shutdowns
Bad sectors on storage
Corrupted file system
Interrupted Windows updates
Malware or virus infections
Loose data or power cables
Third-party antivirus conflicts
Partition table errors

Things to Do Before: Preliminary Steps

Do these two things before you try any of the given methods to resolve this error:

Back up your data immediately: The first and foremost thing that you must do is back up your data on an external storage device as soon as possible. This error often appears due to a failing hard drive.
Figure out which partition has the error: To check which of your partitions (usually drive C:) has an error, go to This PC> right-click on the C: drive >Properties >Tools >Under Error Checking tab, click Check.

How to Fix Drive Errors in Windows 10?

The methods discussed below are tried and tested by our expert and can easily fix the ‘Restart to Repair Drive Errors in Windows 10’. Follow the steps carefully for each method.

Method 1. Restart your system

This is the first workaround. When you see “Restart to repair drive errors”, restart your PC and let Windows run the disk check during setup. Don’t interrupt it, because it can take a while

Method 2. Run CHKDSK command

Running the CHKDSK utility may help to fix “Restart to repair error in Windows 10” if there are any bad sectors on the hard drive or file system errors. The following are the steps to perform the CHKDSK command:

Note: Make sure to back up your important data, as CHKDSK may remove data it can’t repair.

Open Command Prompt as administrator.
Type chkdsk C: /r and hit Enter.

Note: Use /f instead of /r for a faster check that only fixes file system errors.

Restart your computer and let the check finish before Windows loads.

Method 3. Run DISM

DISM stands for Deployment Image Servicing and Management. It is a command-line utility that helps to fix corrupted system images. Here are the steps to execute DISM on Windows 10:

Press Windows+X and run Command Prompt with Admin rights or Windows PowerShell with Admin rights.
Type the following command:
DISM /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

Note: This may download files from Windows Update, so make sure to stay connected to the internet.

Wait for the process to complete, then run the SFC scan (Method 3).

Method 4. Use SFC Scan

SFC checks and repairs corrupted system files and replaces the damaged version with a new one. Here are the steps for it:

Open Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
A new cmd window will appear. Type sfc /scannow and hit Enter.
Wait until the scan and repair process finishes, then restart your system.

Read Also: Recover Deleted PDF Files

Method 5. Run System Restore

This restores the system to an earlier date, and the recently installed software or drivers will be deleted, but the personal files aren’t affected.

In the Search box , type Create a restore point and hit Enter.
Click on System Properties tab, then click System Restore.
Select the restore point and click Next > on the next window.
Click on the Finish button to initiate the restore process.
Once the restoration is done, restart your computer.

Method 6. Run Startup Repair

You can run Startup Repair to fix the “Restart to repair drive error Windows 10”. Here are the steps for it:

Insert the Windows boot installation USB and restart reboot your system with Power keys.
Press any key, select language preferences, and click Next.
Select Repair your computer from the bottom-left.
Under Choose, select the Troubleshoot option.
Click on Advanced Options.
Select Automatic Repair or Startup Repair.
Restart your system.

Startup Repair fixes boot problems, so it may not clear drive errors on a data drive.

If you go for reinstallation, you may lose data in the process and will have to recover data after reinstalling Windows . Try Reset this PC with Keep my files first (Settings >Update & Security >Recovery), after backing up.

How to Prevent This Error in the Future?

Always shut down the PC properly. Don’t shut down using the power button or during a power cut.
Keep your Windows and Antivirus updates to the latest versions.
Keep at least 20% of space free on the C: drive and monitor your hard disk health on a regular basis.
Replace your HDD with an SSD, as they are much more reliable and faster than HDDs.

Summary

The above-mentioned manual methods might fix the issue, ‘restart to repair drive errors Windows 10.’ But there is no assurance that the methods will work successfully, and all your lost data will be restored. If data is missing after repair, you will need to use specialized software to restore your system data.

Kernel for Windows Data Recovery comes to the rescue when you have to recover lost, deleted, or inaccessible data. The tool restores the data in its original form. This tool also helps you recover lost files after Windows updates .

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How long does it take to repair drive errors and restart?

Ans. It can take from 15 minutes to 3-4 hours depending on the size of your hard drive, number of errors, and whether you have an HDD or an SSD.

Q. Is it safe to restart and let Windows repair the drive?

Ans. Yes, in most cases. Let the scan finish and don’t turn off the PC midway, since interrupting it can cause further corruption.

Q. What can I do when automatic startup repair fails?

Ans. When automatic startup repair fails in Windows 10, you can fix ” Restart to repair Drive Error” by accessing the Windows Recovery Environment and running advanced troubleshooting steps or repairing the hard drive.