Restart to Repair Drive Error in Windows 10 | 5 Fixes

User case: restart to repair drive error

Restart to repair drive errors keep showing up after reboot

Hi all,
I recently used the error checking tool to check my internal hard drive on Windows 10 Pro and it told me to restart my computer with error message “Restart to repair drive errors”. After that, every time I start the computer, this error occurs. 
I can't seem to find any more details on the exact error. Can anyone help me or point me in the right direction?"

- Question from Reddit

Don't worry about it too much, because this error just indicates that the drive has error and you are supposed to repair it. It may be caused by hard drive issues, failed updates, boated Windows registry. 

And you are not the only Windows users who keep receiving the restart your PC to repair drive errors.  Here are some useful solutions to help you to fix it easily and quickly.  

 Restart PC to repair drive error, fix it right now!

It's annoying that you are not able to access your files and folders until the problem is fixed. But fortunately you can fix it with given solutions below.

Before that, you need to backup the drive having issues, so you can restore it in time in the event of an unexpected failure. 

Backup drive in case you need to perform disaster recovery 

To backup hard drive in Windows 10, you could use all-in-one backup siftware AOMEI Backupper Standard. It supports system backup, file backup, disk backup, disk backup. And you can schedule backup drive in daily/weekly/monthly plus full/incremental/differential backup. Also, you can enable email notification to get backup result in time and compress larger image file with normal or high compressional level.

Preparations:

• Download and install free backup software AOMEI Backupper Standard.

• Prepare an external hard drive or USB drive to store image file. Please be sure it can be detected. 

Then, let's get started to backup drive. 

Step 1. Launch AOMEI Backupper Standard, you will see its deep-blue screen. Click Backup and Disk Backup. 

Note: If you clearly know which drive have issues, you can directly backup the drive having issues with "System Backup" or "Partition Backup".

Step 2. Click Add Disk, then select disk you want to backup and click Add to move on.

Step 3. Select the drive you prepare by clicking the folder shapped button and selecting it. Then, click Options, Schedule, Scheme to set up backup settings per your needs and click Start Backup.

Notes:
Options: You can set email  notification, pre/post-command, enable encryption for backup, normal or high compression level etc.
Schedule: You can backup your hard drive and its changes continuously by daily incremental backup(default option). Also, you can change daily to weekly or monthly or from incremental to differential. Note differential backup is charged and available on AOMEI Backupper Professional or higher version.
Scheme: You can delete old backup images to free up disk space, thereby saving you much disk space. It's availble on AOMEI Backupper Professional at least.

Fix  Restart to repair drive errors easily 

Here you will learn 5 solutions to restart to repair drive errors in Windows 10, please try the Fix 1 first. It works in some cases. Below is a quick navigation for all solutions, click the anchor text to jump to the specific fix.

Fix 1:Start your computer

Fix 2: Using chkdsk command

Fix 3: Using sfc /scannow and dism

Fix 4: Run System Restore in safe mode

Fix 5: Run automatic repair

Fix 1: Restart your computer

Restart can solve most of computer problems, thus it's worth to have a try. Restart your computer right now and check if the "Restart to repair drive errors" occurs.  

If the probmen persists, you could try further solutions below.

Fix 2: Using chkdsk command

CHKDSK can check and repair disk error. Follow the details below.

Step 1. Go to start menu and type cmd in the search box, then run it as administrator.

Step 2. Type chkdsk C: /f and hit Enter to run this command.

Step 3. Type chkdsk C: /rand press Enter.

Step 4. Restart your computer after the operation is competed.

Fix 3: Using sfc /scannow and dism

SFC and DISM are command-line utility, which is used to repair system files in Windows 7/8/10. You should try SFC first and then run DISM command if sfc /scannow does not work.

Step 1. Go to command prompt window with admin priority, type sfc / scannow and hit Enter.

Step 2. Wait until the scan and repair process is finished, then restart your computer.

If sfc scannow not working, you still can try dism command, which is used to repair the problems sfc /scannow cannot. Continue to see below.

Step 3. Type the following command in the window and hit Enter. If DISM cannot use file online, you can try the seccond command with an installation disc. And you should replace “C:RepairSourceWindows” path of your DVD or USB.

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

Or

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:C:RepairSourceWindows /LimitAccess

Step 4. Restart your computer and see if you can receive “Restart to repair drive error” again. If not, you do not need to do more.

Fix 4: Run System Restore in safe mode

System restore can restore your computer to an earlier date and make everything work as normal. However, the recently installed software will be deleted.

Step 1. Click Restart while press and hold Shift key, and then Windows will restart into Safe Mode. This works for Windows 8/8.1/10/11.

Step 2. Type system restore in the search box, select it from the result list. Then, click Next.

Step 3. Select the recommended restore point and click Next. If it's not available, you can tick the second option and select a restore point.

Step 4. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the restoration. Then, restart your computer.

Fix 5: Run automatic repair

Step 1. Connect the installation disc to your computer, set boot priority for it in BIOS, press F10 to save the changes and restart.

Step 2. Press any key to boot from CD/DVD when prompted.

Step 3. On the first initial setup window, click Next.

Step 4. Click Repair your computer at the lower left corner.

Step 5. Click Troubleshoot under the Choose an option interface, then go to Advanced options and Automatic Repair or Startup repair.

Step 6. Restart your computer and ensure if this error “Restart Computer to repair drive errors” disappears.

Above ways can be used to fix “Restart to repair drive errors Server 2012/2016” except for method 3, because system restore is removed from server-based operating system.

But it has a similar feature called Windows Server Backup, you can try to restore with created backup image.

Before you start to fix this issue in server computer, please remember to backup your server. You could use AOMEI Backupper Server, it supports Windows Server 2003/2008/2011/2012/2016/2019/2022 and its R2 version.

Final words

You can solve “Restart to repair hard drive error” with given solutions in most cases. But I still want to remind you that any unexpected eror will cause data loss, thus please backup the entire disk or the specific partition having issues ahead of time. 

AOMEI Backupper Standard can be a great choice for home users, it supports all the basic features, such as, system backup, disk backup, schedule backup, incremental or differential backup, create bootable media etc.

But if you want to unlock all features a nd protect unlimited computers within your company, you could pick AOMEI Backupper Technician or AOMEI Backupper TechPlus. With the inbuilt AOMEI Image Deploy tool, you are also allowed to deploy/restore system image file to multiple client computers over network.