How to Fix Error 0xc0000225 (Your PC Needs to Be Repaired)

By ErrorFix · Updated October 14, 2026 · 9 min read

What error 0xc0000225 means

When you see "Your PC needs to be repaired. A required device isn't connected or can't be accessed" with the code 0xc0000225, Windows is telling you that its Boot Configuration Data — the small database that records where Windows lives and how to start it — is damaged, missing, or pointing at the wrong place. Without that data, Windows has no idea how to begin loading, so it halts before even showing the login screen.

This error almost never means your files are gone. It shows up after a Windows update that got interrupted, after a failed or incomplete drive clone to a new SSD, after partitions were resized or deleted, or when disk corruption scrambles the hidden boot files. The fix is to rebuild those boot records from the recovery environment, which takes about half an hour and leaves your personal data untouched.

Common causes

• Interrupted Windows update: a power cut or forced shutdown during an update can leave the boot data half-written.
• Disk errors or corruption: bad sectors or file system damage in the hidden boot or EFI partitions.
• Drive cloned to a new SSD: cloning software sometimes skips the hidden boot partitions or keeps pointing at the old drive.
• Partitions resized or deleted: moving, shrinking, or deleting partitions can break the boot entries that reference them.
• Malware damage: bootkits and aggressive infections target the boot process directly.

How to fix error 0xc0000225 — step by step

Work through these fixes in order. You'll need a Windows installation USB on another PC to create one with the Media Creation Tool.

1. Reach the Windows recovery environment. Plug in the Windows installation USB and boot from it — on most PCs, press F12, F9, or Esc during startup to pick the USB drive. Choose your language and keyboard, then click "Repair your computer" instead of Install. If you can't boot from USB, force the recovery screen by interrupting the boot three times in a row: hold the power button when the Windows logo appears.
2. Run Startup Repair first. Go to Troubleshoot, then Advanced options, then Startup Repair. Select your Windows installation and let it run. Startup Repair automatically detects and fixes simple boot record problems, and on some systems it resolves 0xc0000225 on its own. If it says it couldn't repair the PC, continue to step 3 — the automatic tool only handles simple cases.
3. Rebuild the boot configuration data with bootrec. From Advanced options, open Command Prompt. Type these commands one at a time, pressing Enter after each: bootrec /scanos to find Windows installations, bootrec /fixmbr to rewrite the master boot record, bootrec /fixboot to write a new boot sector, and bootrec /rebuildbcd to rebuild the boot configuration database. When rebuildbcd asks whether to add the installation to the boot list, type Y and press Enter. Then type exit and restart the PC.
4. Repair the EFI system partition on UEFI PCs. If the error persists, the UEFI boot files need rebuilding. In the recovery Command Prompt, type diskpart, then list vol. Look for the small FAT32 partition labeled as EFI or ESP — usually around 100 MB. Select it with sel vol N (replace N with its number), then type assign letter=X and exit to leave diskpart. Now rebuild the boot files with bcdboot C:\Windows /s X: /f UEFI — replace C: with your actual Windows drive letter if different. Restart and check whether Windows boots.
5. Check the disk and repair offline system files. From the recovery Command Prompt, run chkdsk C: /r on your Windows drive — it takes a while but fixes file system errors and bad sectors that corrupt boot data. Then run sfc /scannow /offbootdir=C:\ /offwindir=C:\Windows to repair damaged system files offline. Note that drive letters shift in the recovery environment, so confirm yours first with diskpart then list vol and adjust the letters accordingly.
6. Use System Restore or reinstall as a last resort. Go to Troubleshoot, then Advanced options, then System Restore, and choose a restore point from before the error first appeared. If no restore point exists and nothing else worked, use "Reset this PC" with the "Keep my files" option, or perform a clean Windows installation. A clean install is the guaranteed fix when boot structures are too damaged to repair, but it erases installed programs — back up your files first by copying them to an external drive from the recovery Command Prompt if needed.

Did this fix it? Quick checklist

• Windows boots past the "Your PC needs to be repaired" screen without the 0xc0000225 error
• The rebuildbcd command found and added your Windows installation to the boot list
• No boot error after two full restarts
• A fresh System Restore point or system image backup is created for safety

If Windows boots again, don't stop there — open Command Prompt as administrator and run chkdsk C: /f on your next planned restart to finish any pending disk checks, then create a system image backup (search "Backup settings" in Start). That way, if boot data ever gets damaged again, you're one restore away from a working PC instead of repeating this whole repair.