Stuck in an automatic repair - bitlocker loop.

Question

I've recently bought a Lenovo LOQ gaming laptop with Windows 11 and setup went smoothly. Had no issue for the first and second day, until an update.

When I was about to turn off the computer, i recieved the option to update, and I chose the one labeled "Update and turn off". Went to sleep and came back in the morning to turn the computer back on. Black screen, Lenovo logo in the middle and a text on the bottom saying "preparing automatic repair". A few seconds later I was met with the bitlocker recovery screen (half the skip button being cut off on the right side of the screen probably because the computer's set up in swedish, but I digress). This was strange, but I retrieve and enter the 48-digit code and it proceeds to a to the previous black screen again and the text "diagnosing problem". I'm eventually met with the blue "Automatic repair" screen, saying "The computer did not start correctly", prompting me to either restart or go to advanced settings.

Now, from here on out I've tried everything but booting from an external drive (I was hoping I wouldn't need to, since I have no idea how to do that). I've tried the "reset computer" option, resetting it to factory settings, but it failed (both options). I've tried enabling and disabling secure boot in the UEFI-settings, I've tried uninstalling the latest update and the plain old restart. Even sfc and chkdsk won't work. Every time I'm met with an either an error or the blue bitlocker screen. I'm at a loss here, guys. Literally any help would be appreciated!

***moved from Windows / Windows 11 / Recovery and backup***

Answer 1

I experienced a similar issue while building a Windows 11 image for workstation deployment. I'm not sure if this will help others, but figured I would post it.

If you are currently stuck in a repair loop:

1. When prompted, select Advanced Options > Command Prompt
2. Type and run DISKPART
3. Type and run LIST VOL
   1. Identify your primary volume, then take note of the volume number and drive letter
4. If there isn't a drive letter assigned to your primary partition:
   1. Type and run SELECT VOL 0
      1. Replace 0 with your appropriate vol number
   2. Type and run ASSIGN LETTER=G:
      1. You can use any available drive letter, just make sure to update the below commands accordingly
   3. Type and run LIST VOL again to verify the volume now has the drive letter assigned
   4. Type and run EXIT
5. Type and run MANAGE-BDE -UNLOCK G: -RECOVERYPASSWORD "Enter your 48-digit recovery password including dashes here"
6. Type and run MANAGE-BDE -OFF G:
7. Type and run MANAGE-BDE -STATUS G: to monitor the decryption process
8. Once decrypted, restart the computer by closing the Command Prompt window

Once out of the repair loop cycle with Bitlocker disabled:

1. Boot into your BIOS and ensure SECURE BOOT is enabled
2. Save and close the BIOS
3. Login to your Windows user account
4. Open Command Prompt as an Administrator
5. CAUTION! Run the below commands at your own risk. They should be accurate for a system with a standard Windows installation and a single disk drive for storage.
6. Type and run bcdedit -set {current} osdevice partition=C:
7. Type and run bcdedit -set {current} device partition=C:
8. Type and run bcdedit -set {memdiag} device partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume1
9. Bitlocker should now enable and restart without recovery looping

Good luck!

Answer 2

Hello,

Here are some steps you can try to resolve the issue:

1. Boot into Safe Mode: Restart your computer and press the F8 key repeatedly until you see the Advanced Boot Options menu. Select "Safe Mode" and press Enter. Once you're in Safe Mode, try disabling BitLocker and see if that resolves the issue.
2. Use System Restore: Boot into the Advanced Startup Options menu and select "System Restore". Choose a restore point from before the issue occurred and follow the prompts to restore your system.
3. If the problem still doesn't been solved, you may need to reinstall the system.

Best Regards,

Hania Lian

Answer 3

I'm having the same problem. I went to lunch, came back and my computer went to sleep mode. I turned it back on and the main display would not load up but my external monitors worked fine still. I finished out my work day... and now I'm just stuck in a blue screen loop. It won't repair. Diagnose. It routes me to the blue screen for bitlocker unlock, which I do and then it just perpetually goes back through all the same steps.

Answer 4

We have Lenovo Carbon X1 Gen 11's with this issue.

One of them I completely wiped and re-imaged with software directly from Lenovo support and the issue continued.

Another one I attempted wiping from Intune but it never went through so I wiped the computer and reinstalled Windows 11 and it seemed to fix that one.

Had a third start doing it today, they ran updates on Friday and opened up the computer to the Bitlocker/automatic repairing your PC loop. It's something in a Windows update patch or we think something from Lenovo either a system update or BIOS update.

What's so frustrating is no matter how many times you type in the Bitlocker key it just takes to the Windows didn't start correctly screen and NONE of the options in those menus seem to resolve the issue.

If I somehow can get this third user into Windows I am going to try and turn off Bitlocker to see if that may resolve the issue.

Same as the original poster we've tried any and every step online and there seems to be no direct fix.

Answer 5

Same thing-updated, opened it up this am and no matter how many times i enter the bitlocker password OR try bypassing in advanced it’s stuck in this loop…seems like an OS problem. Quite disappointed.