How To Fix Windows 10 “Diagnosing Your PC” Error

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Arsalan Shakil

As a Hardware Expert at Tech4Gamers, I bring my decade-long expertise in electronics design, embedded solutions, and prototyping. My knack for exposing misconceptions in the tech world finds a perfect outlet here.

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The “Diagnosing Your PC” error indicates an issue during the bootup. As a result, Windows takes matters into its own hands and starts diagnosing, which ultimately causes an endless loop. This error can occur due to corrupted system files or insufficient space.

The error message will be displayed on the boot screen like this:

Method Difficulty Rating

Hard Reboot PC

A hard reboot restarts your device by completely switching off its power. It essentially interrupts all processes and applications running on the computer abruptly. Hard rebooting PCs can resolve many bugs and errors, including the “Diagnosing your PC” error.

Sometimes, a hard reboot can set your PC straight when things get jammed. We’ve tried it, and it works! And it seems others on HP Forums have had luck with it, too. Give the following method a try:

1. Turning off the system: Press and Hold the Power Button.

   

2. Disconnecting Power and Peripherals: Unplug the Power Cable > Remove the battery in case of a laptop > Disconnect all peripherals.

   

3. Draining excess battery: Press and Hold the Power button for 15 seconds.
4. Powering the system: Insert Battery in case of a laptop > Plug in the power cord.
5. Turning on the system: Press the Power button.

System Restore

System Restore is a Windows utility tool designed to revert the operating system to its previously saved state. Windows named those states as restore points. This utility is beneficial when an undo is needed for the system to solve any errors or glitches.

If you’re stuck with this stubborn problem, consider rolling back with a system restore. We’ve tried it ourselves, and it’s often the quickest way to restore normality. A Microsoft Vendor at Learn Microsoft has also recommended this solution. Here are the steps:

1. Launching Windows RE: Boot into Windows RE.
2. Opening System Restore: Click Advanced Options > Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > System Restore.

   

3. Choosing Restore Point: Click Next > Choose the latest restore point > Click Next.
   

   

4. Commencing System Restore: Click on Finish.

   

Repair System Files

System Files can corrupt for many reasons, including viruses or malware, improper shutdown, and incomplete Windows Updates. Corrupt files can also result from a system crash or a damaged sector on your hard drive, which can cause issues like this. You can run SFC and DISM Scan commands on the Command Prompt to repair system files.

These commands thoroughly scan your system while repairing faulty and corrupt system files. We at Tech4Gamers have personally executed these commands, and they resolved the issue for us. Here’s how you can successfully run these commands:

1. Windows Recovery Environment: Boot your system into the Windows Recovery Environment.
2. Navigate to Command Prompt: Click Advanced Options > Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Command Prompt.

   

3. Accessing Command Prompt: Select Administrator > Provide the password if available; otherwise, leave it blank > Hit Enter.

   

4. Running Commands: Run these commands one by one:

   1. chkdsk c: /r /x
   
   2. sfc /scannow
   
   3. DISM /online /cleanup-image /scanhealth
   
   4. DISM /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup
   
   5. DISM /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

Disable Fast Startup

The Fast Startup feature allows a computer to boot up much faster after a proper shutdown. The reason is that it puts the system in hibernation mode rather than shutting it down. It is usually enabled by default if the system hardware can execute fast startup.

However, our research found that the Fast Startup feature is known to cause several bugs and errors in the system, especially in dual-booting cases. Disabling the Fast Startup Feature helped us recover our systems, and it also helped users resolve this “Diagnosing your PC” error on Ubuntu Forums. Follow the instructions below to give this method a shot:

1. Starting Windows Recovery Environment: Power your system into the Windows RE.
2. Opening Command Prompt: Go to Advanced Options > Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Lastly, Command Prompt.

   

3. Opening Command Prompt: Select Administrator account > Enter the password if available; else, leave it empty > Hit Enter.

   

4. Disabling Fast Startup: In CMD, Type powercfg /h off.

Uninstall Windows Updates

Windows Update is a built-in service that updates the operating system and its drivers and software. An improperly installed update might corrupt the system files, causing this error. If you recently installed Windows Updates, it may be possible that the Windows Update installation was unsuccessful. 

A member of our team started having this issue after their Windows Update installation was interrupted. Uninstalling the Windows Update resolved the problem for them. Thus, you can safely uninstall the recent Windows Updates by following the steps provided below:

1. Booting to Windows RE: Boot the computer into Windows RE.
2. Navigating to Uninstall Updates: Click Advanced Options > Troubleshoot > Click Advanced Options > Click on Uninstall Updates.

   

3. Uninstalling the Update: Choose Uninstall Latest Quality Update > Click Uninstall Quality Update.

   

Conclusion 

Concluding the blog, we confirm that corrupt system files are the primary cause of this error. Since you are completely thrown out of your system, you need to access the recovery features to resolve this error, which can prove tricky for some people. Users have reported being stuck on the infamous “Diagnosing your PC” error.

It’s kinda stupid I’m asking twitter but My laptop is stuck in the infamous “automatic repair / diagnosing your PC loop” and i’ve tried everything and none of it has work
Pls help ;-; (if you can) pic.twitter.com/mhpFpkmi8Y

— Timo (@loseroftheday2) November 12, 2023

Although Microsoft has explicitly detailed a blog revolving around this “Diagnosing your PC” error, their listed methods might not be sufficient. However, you can eliminate this error successfully by executing our approved methods, which are easy to follow as we have covered each step in detail.

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Arsalan Shakil

[Errors Troubleshooting Expert]

Arsalan Shakil (aka GuyThatDoesEverything on YouTube) is a PC Tech Enthusiast and Electronic Geek. With over 10+ years of experience in Electronics, he then decided to explore Software Engineering to design embedded products and automate existing hardware solutions. 

When he started tearing down old cameras to understand how they worked, he was shocked (literally, when he got zapped by a flash discharge capacitor), giving him the power (debatable) to fall in love with videography/photography. He also started making some fun videos that later became YouTube tech reviews.

Skills:

• 10+ years of experience in Electronics design, embedded solutions, and prototyping
• Majored in Software Engineering
• Research paper publication in IEEE for Embedded Military Uniform & LoRa WAN wireless technology
• Specialized in IoT Solutions
• PC Enthusiast & PC Modder

In his local region, he’s known to expose cheap PSU brands, often claiming fake certification or false claims on the box. He’s a true nerd and needed some friends in his life. Then he met some guys who work at Tech4Gamers, and they also came out to be equal nerds who suggested he join Tech4Gamers as a Hardware Expert.