Windows 8 error code 0xc0000185

Question

I don't know the cause, but when I booted up my Windows 8.1 laptop I saw the normal boot logo but the little loading "circle" wasn't there. It was just a black screen with a logo. About a minute later, I got the annoying "Your PC needs to be repaired" error. The file that caused it was \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD. Error code: 0xc0000185. It's really annoying me, especially since I don't recall removing any file related to those kind of important stuff. I hardly even delete files, since I rarely even download any. I'm guessing I'd have to get a recovery disk, but the problem is that I don't have s CD drive.. I don't know how to create a USB version or whatever. I'd really appreciate any help. I haven't found many topics of this exact code. And please, if there is, explain the simplest form of the "tutorial"; I'm not too tech savvy :p

Answer 1

Hi Daniel,

Glad to know that your issue is resolved. I really appreciate your efforts towards resolving this issue.

This may help users to find solution for similar kind of issues. Please let us know if you face any other issues with Windows in future. We will be glad to help you.

Answer 2

Oh wait, never mind. I used a different USB and it worked fine.

Answer 3

Okay, so I've tried creating an installation media, but I'm stuck. I know it sounds dumb, but I'm stuck on the part where I have to choose a USB flash drive. I clicked all the right information, such as the edition and architecture, but it keeps notifying me that they can't find a flash drive, and that I should try again. I've disconnected and reconnected the drive multiple times, deleted every single file in it, but nothing changes. Help would be appreciated asap.

Answer 4

Okay, so let me answer your question first. I don't remember making any changes to my computer at all around the time of the incident (about a week before to the time it occurred), EXCEPT two. One of them was "Start Menu 8", which was something that would change the normal start menu into the other previous start menus from windows 7 and below. I don't know if that would mess with the computers boot files, but I know it changed the way it booted a bit. I "checked" an option that would cause the normal Windows 8 Start Menu to be skipped and straight to the desktop the new start menu would be ready for use. But the app soon (days later) slowed my boot-up down a lot. I removed the option to start automatically, but not the app itself. Then, later that day, I headed over to my Task Manager and went to the Start Up tab. Booting up my laptop was still a slow job, so I thought maybe some other program was causing it. I didn't see anything wrong, so I looked at which one was the most responsible for the slowness. I saw Akamai Netsession something (don't remember what it's called), and I immediately thought it was the culprit because it stated "High" as the level of slowness. I, of course, looked around in the Internet to find out if deleting the program would affect my pc. I found a few forums about it, and they all lead to "delete it; it's useless and a waste!" So I went ahead and deleted it. I felt satisfied, as if I healed my laptop from a disease or something.. About an hour later, I was watching a video and then it buffered. I tried visiting another site and it wouldn't work. My internet froze. A few seconds after, my screen turned blue and the words explained that it had to shut off due to something going wrong. It apologized and proceeded to shut down. I didn't think about it, so I wasn't worried. I immediately turned it on again, this time with a slight change. The pc showed no progress in booting, and soon enough, I received the "Your PC needs to be repaired" warning.

So I don't know which of those interfered with my laptop's booting process. Probably both. Please bear with me; I am typing this at 2:00 A.M. I will try to do your tutorial later. Or once I obtain a USB to sacrifice. :P I apologize for not doing it earlier.

Answer 5

Hello Daniel,

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community.

As per your description, it seems like there is a corruption of Windows System file or boot files due to which you are facing this issue. I will certainly help you with the issue. However, we need few more details to understand the cause of the issue better.

1. Have you recently made any changes on your computer, prior to the issue?

As of now, I recommend you to try the following method:

If you have Windows 8 product key and if you don’t have Windows 8 installation media, you can download .ISO file then create installation media to perform refresh or reset of Windows.

**Create installation media for Windows 8.1**

Following is the way to get to the Windows Startup Settings screen in Windows 8 if you are unable to go past login screen.

1. If you're not signed in to Windows, tap or click the power icon  from the sign-in screen, hold Shift, and then tap or click Restart.
2. Choose option “Troubleshoot”.
3. Choose “Advanced options”.
4. Choose “Command Prompt”.
5. Run, chkdsk /r command. (If a system file required for booting up has become corrupted, running **System File Checker** may help you).
6. You may be required to change the active partition using diskpart. An Active partition is the one that your BIOS detects is the one that will start your computer.

It is important to note that changing Active Partition wrongly may make your computer unbootable. So do not by mistake, mark a partition as Active, if it does not contain the NTDLR loader for your operating system.

1. Follow the steps till step 4 and in the Command Prompt please run the following command.
2. Type, diskpart and hit Enter.
3. Type, list disk and hit Enter.
4. Now select the disk – it will typically be Disk 0 – and set it as the Active disk. Assuming it is Disk 0, the commands become: select disk 0
5. Now list the partitions using: list partition
6. Assuming your partition number is 0, the command becomes, select partition 0
7. To make it the Active partition, type the following and hit Enter: active
8. Exit diskpart.

Repair Master Boot Record. It is one of the effective troubleshooting steps, to fix boot issues, and will hopefully help you fix the problem.

1. Follow the steps till step 4 and in the Command Prompt please run the following command.
2. bootrec /RebuildBcd
3. bootrec /fixMbr
4. bootrec /fixboot
5. Exit
6. Now go ahead and reboot your system. In some cases you may need to run some additional commands.
7. bootsect**/nt60 SYS** or bootsect /nt60 ALL

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It’s wise to backup MBR or create a System Recovery Disk so that in case something like this happens you don’t have to run for the Windows Recovery Disk. To create a system recovery drive in Windows 8, follow these steps:

1. Press Windows + R and type in RecoveryDrive.exe
2. Click Next
3. Once you insert the USB drive it will start creating the Recovery for your USB drive.

Important for check disk: While performing chkdsk (check disk) on the hard drive if any bad sectors are found on the hard drive whenchkdsk tries to repair that sector if any data available on that might be lost.

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Note for Drive Partition: It is important to note that changing Active Partition wrongly may make your computer unbootable.

Hope this information is helpful. Please do let us know if you need further assistance with Windows, we’ll be glad to assist you.