Alex Ruben
How To Repair Windows Boot Errors Using Hiren’s Boot CD PE
If your Windows PC is acting up and you’re stuck with that infamous “Your PC needs to be repaired” screen, or it just keeps restarting without actually loading Windows, you’re definitely not alone. The good news? Reinstalling isn’t always the only option, and you don’t need to toss out your data either. Using a tool called Hiren’s Boot CD PE—a lightweight recovery environment based on Windows 11 PE—can save the day. It comes packed with tools for fixing boot errors, recovering files, and managing disks, all without messing with your actual Windows installation.
Prerequisites
Before jumping in, make sure you’ve got:
- A USB flash drive (8GB minimum, because Windows isn’t small)
- Access to another working computer (the wizard behind the scenes)
- A decent internet connection to grab the files
Download what you need:
- Hiren’s Boot CD PE — it’s about 3GB, so patience helps
- Rufus — that handy tool for making bootable USB drives
Step 1: Creating a Bootable Hiren’s Boot CD USB Drive
To get your USB ready with Hiren’s Boot PE, do this:
- Download the ISO file from their official site.
- Plug in your USB stick (don’t use your prized SSD, just a regular flash drive).
- Open Rufus. It usually detects your drive at the top, but double-check.
- Click Select and pick that Hiren’s PE ISO you downloaded.
- Leave other options like partition scheme (probably GPT for UEFI or MBR for legacy BIOS) as-is—Rufus can usually auto-detect.
- Hit Start and let it work. Might take a few minutes, so grab a coffee.
- When it’s done, shutdown, eject the USB, and you’re ready to roll.
Step 2: Boot from the USB Drive
This one’s a bit tricky sometimes. Here’s the quick version:
- Insert that USB drive into the problematic PC.
- Boot it up and immediately hit F12, Esc, Del, or whatever your PC’s boot menu key is—depends on the motherboard.
- If you don’t see the menu, you might need to change boot order in BIOS—hit F2 or Del on startup and look for Boot Order or Boot Priority.
- Select your USB device. You should now be in Hiren’s PE environment—pretty much Windows, but mini version.
Step 3: Automatic Boot Repair with Lazesoft Recovery Suite
Once you’re inside, find Lazesoft Recovery Suite—it’s usually on the desktop or in the Start menu. This one’s a good first attempt because it’ll try to fix stuff automatically:
- Open Lazesoft. It’ll scan your drives for a Windows install.
- Click OK—no need to dig around much.
- Pick One Click Fix Crash. It’s designed for those who don’t want to mess with manual commands.
- The tool will check for boot sectors, BCD configurations, and fix them if needed—kind of magic, honestly.
- Once done, shut down the machine, pull out the USB, and try rebooting normally. Fingers crossed it works.
Note: Sometimes, on certain machines, this automatic fix only works after a reboot or two. Not sure why, but it’s common enough.
Step 4: Manual Boot Repair with BootIce and EasyBCD (if needed)
If the automatic repair didn’t do the trick, here’s the hyper-nerdy, manual route:
- Reboot into Hiren’s again with the USB plugged in.
- Open BootIce—search for it in the start menu or find it in the tools folder.
- Select the disk that has your Windows install—likely the primary drive, like Disk 0.
- Click Process MBR, pick Windows NT 6.x (for Vista, 7, 8, 10, 11), and then hit Install.
- Switch over to Process PBR, select boot MGR, and click Install again. This resets the essential boot files.
- Next, launch EasyBCD. Yes, that tool people use to tweak boot menus.
- In EasyBCD, go to Backup/Repair and click on Recreate/Repair Boot Files. It’s basically a “go back to default” button for your boot config.
- Hit Add New Entry, pick Windows, name it whatever—“Windows” usually—and make sure the drive matches (like,
C:). - Jump to Edit Boot Menu, select your Windows entry as default, then save it all.
- Shut down the PC, remove the USB, and then see if Windows boots normally this time.
Extra Tips & Common Issues
Nothing’s perfect, so here are some quick tips:
- Double-check your USB format—FAT32 or NTFS usually works. If not, reformat and try again.
- If the boot menu doesn’t show, go into BIOS/UEFI (usually F2 or Del on startup) and confirm USB boot is enabled, and that your drive is at the top of the boot order.
- Worried about hardware? Sometimes a failing HDD or SSD can cause boot errors, so consider testing your drive if things aren’t adding up.