How to Fix Windows 10 Stuck On ‘Diagnosing Your PC’ Screen

There is no doubt that Windows is the most used and most liked operating system. However, it comes with its own set of flaws and issues that users encounter now and then. One of the best things about Windows 10 is that it comes loaded with tools to help you out of such situations. Whenever your PC runs into trouble, these tools detect the same and begin accessing the problem.

Diagnostics tool runs automatically to find out the exact issue, and when found, the issues are fixed so that you can boot into Windows 10 normally. But to your disappointment, your PC at times may get stuck on the diagnosing screen during PC startup. The Windows 10 stuck on Diagnosing your PC screen is a common issue that users come across. Another similar screen that your PC may get stuck on while the startup is the Preparing Automatic Repair screen.

According to several users, their PC was stuck on the Diagnosing your PC or Preparing Automatic Repair screen for quite a long time; in some cases, for even hours.

Why is my computer stuck on “Diagnosing Your PC Screen”?

Many issues in your PC could be causing it to be stuck on the startup screen with the error messages mentioned above.

Issues with System Files could cause your PC’s issues ranging from it getting stuck to small problems that can be ignored. It all depends on the type of system file that has corrupt or broken. A wrong problematic system file could leave your PC hanging with the Diagnosing your PC screen for hours without anything happening. For this, you will need to fix the problematic files by running command-line utilities such as the SFC and DISM scans.

These issues also occur if the system space is insufficient on your PC. Because of this, the Windows startup procedure is hampered, stopping the necessary services and processes not to load. Getting rid of this issue is a relatively simple process that can be carried out in Windows 10 Safe Mode.

Issues with Automatic Repair Tool may also lead to your PC getting stuck during the startup on diagnosing your PC or Preparing AUtomatic Repair screens. The Automatic Repair Utility, at times, is unable to identify the actual issue within your PC and glitches. This causes your PC to get stuck on any of the screens mentioned above. In such a case, the way to fix this issue is by disabling the Automatic Repair Utility.

Several other reasons could also cause this issue to bug you on your computer. In the following section, we take a look at the solutions to get rid of this issue:

How to Fix Windows 10 Stuck on Diagnosing Your PC Issue:

#1 – Hard Reboot PC

Your computer might get stuck after the startup on one of the screens mentioned above because of some temporary glitch. Although this glitch could be temporary, your PC might remain stuck for a very long time, preventing it from booting in Windows 10. One of the first things for you to try would be to carry out a hard reboot.

To do this, long-press the physical power button on your PC for at least 5 seconds till the computer shuts down.

After this, remove all the peripherals from your PC along with the power cable. If you use a laptop and the battery is removable, take it out. Now, long-press the power button again for around 30 seconds. This will drain out the charge running in your PC’s circuitry.

Now, plug back the power cables or the battery in the case of laptops. Press the power button now to start your PC.

Were you able to boot into Windows 10 successfully?

#2 – Run Disk Cleanup in Safe Mode

It is highly probable that you are stuck in Windows on diagnosing your PC screen because of insufficient space in your system drive. If you remember the system drive or the C drive is full, it’s highly suggested to run disk cleanup on your PC. As your PC won’t start and is stuck, the only way to do this is by entering the Windows 10 Safe Mode.

Here are the steps you should follow:

Step 1: Start your PC. As soon as it starts up, keep pressing the F8 key on your keyboard. The Advanced Boot Mode will load now.

Step 2: In the Advanced Boot Mode, press the corresponding key to select the Safe Mode option by pressing the four keys. This will reboot your PC.

Step 3: After the reboot, your PC will enter Windows 10 Safe Mode. Press the Win + R keys to launch the Run box. In the Run box, type cleanmgr and hit the Enter key.

Step 4: The Disk Cleanup window will open. Here, make sure that the system drive is selected in the Drives section. This drive is usually named C: drive. After confirming the selection, press the Ok button.

Step 5: A new window will be launched. Go to the “Files to delete” section and select all the checkboxes. After this, make a selection on the “Clean up system files” option.

Now let your PC do the job of cleaning up the drive. After the cleanup, shut down your PC and boot it normally.

#3 – Run SFC Scan

SFC scan lets you find issues on your computer related to system files and fix them. Problematic or corrupt system files cause several issues to show up on your PC, including getting stuck on Diagnosing your PC or Preparing Automatic Repair screen during startup. For this, you will need to boot your computer in Safe Mode. You can follow Step 1 and Step 2 of Solution 2 to get into Windows 10 Safe Mode. The remaining steps are mentioned below:

Step 1: After booting into Safe Mode, press the Win + X keys to open Windows Power Menu. Here, you can either select Command Prompt (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin), depending on the option available. A small dialog box will open asking for permission; press Yes.

Step 2: In the Command Prompt or the PowerShell window, copy and paste the command below, then press Enter:

sfc /scannow

Let the scan finish. After this, close the PowerShell or Command Prompt window and restart your PC normally. If you cannot boot into Windows 10 and still stuck with diagnosing your PC screen or preparing an automatic repair screen, try the next solution.

#4 – Run DISM Commands

The DISM scan is another command prompt utility that you can use to fix various issues, including this one. Here again, you will need to begin by entering the Safe Mode. The steps for Safe Mode are provided in the above two solutions. In the Safe Mode, follow these steps:

Step 1: Launch Command Prompt or PowerShell in Admin mode. For this, press the Win + X keys simultaneously. In the menu that opens, either select Command Prompt (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin) based on the availability.

Step 2: In the Powershell or Command Prompt window, type the command provided below and hit the Enter key after entering every line:

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

The DISM scan usually takes longer than the SFC scan to complete, so make sure to give it all the time it requires. Do not interrupt the scan. After the scan is complete, restart your PC in normal mode.

#5 – Disabling Automatic Repair

If none of the above methods work, the only way out is to disable Automatic Repair on your PC. This again can be carried out in Windows 10 Safe Mode. In Safe Mode, launch Command Prompt or PowerShell in Admin mode, as shown in the above solutions.

Type the following command, then press the Enter key:

bcdedit /set recoveryenabled NO

After running this command successfully, restart your computer. This will get rid of the stuck on Preparing Automatic Repair screen in Windows 10 issue.