How to solve Windows error 0xc0000225

Windows error 0xc0000225 may appear to users during login, when you turn on your computer. When you get this error, it may come with the following messages:

• Your computer needs repair.
• A required device is not connected or inaccessible.
• An unexpected error has occurred.

Why does Windows error 0xc0000225 occur?

Error 0xc0000225 occurs if Windows detects an error during the PC's startup load, or when an application is run and errors are detected when loading it. When one of the startup files is missing, damaged, or infected, this code is displayed error message next to one of the three messages that we have shown above.

This error 0xc0000225 is present in versions of Windows 8, 10 and 11, specifically in systems that use UEFI with GPT partitions. The error may appear after updating the operating system, indicating that one of the following errors occurred during the update:

• The PC was forced to shut down during an installation, hence the warning that you should not turn off the system. If you work in an environment with an electrical installation prone to blackouts and power outages, we recommend using a Quality UPS so that in the event of a power outage, there is some margin time for the PC to finish the job or update without damage.
• The PC has suffered a malware attack in the middle of the installation. Given this, we recommend having security measures such as antivirus, doing regular analyzes and taking the necessary precautionary measures.
• The update process has been interrupted.
• A corrupted drive or application has been installed.

In all of these cases, the end result may be that one of the system files has been corrupted, causing this error 0xc0000225.

Solutions for error code 0xc0000225

Automatic Windows Repair

First, you will need to create a Windows image on media, which can be an external hard drive or any clean pen drive with enough storage space to store the Windows image. It would also be highly advisable to back up important personal files, such as photos and videos, preferably to a NAS or large physical storage that will not be lost. Once you have it, insert the media with the Windows image and restart the system, access the BIOS of your PC and select the media as the execution unit.

In the setup wizard, go to the “Repair the PC«. In the Troubleshooting section, go to Advanced Options and then to «Auto Repair«. Once the process is executed and finished, the system will start normally. It is possible that if the error 0xc0000225 is due to a faulty Windows installation, reinstalling it will fix the error.

Run manual SFC and check disk scans

For this step, you must also create a Windows image on an external storage that can be accessed from the BIOS, and after having made a backup copy of your important files. Once you have the image done, restart the PC with the external drive connected and access the BIOS to use the external storage as a boot drive.

In the Setup menu, select “Repair your PC,” then “Troubleshoot,” then “Advanced Options.” Select the “Command Prompt” option, and the administrator command prompt menu will appear. Enter the following commands in order.

sfc /scannow

chkdsk c: /r

Once the process is finished, close the window and restart the system. Through this process, the system will have been in charge of verifying that the storage unit and the operating system operate correctly. If there is no error message, it is possible that Windows error 0xc0000225 has been resolved.

Configure active partition using Diskpart

This solution also requires using the command prompt, so you have to make a system image in a storage, access it and from there to the Command Prompt option. This time, the commands we are going to execute are the following:

Diskpart

List Disk

With "List Disk«, the Diskpart tool will list the storage drives for us. We will have to select the storage drive that has Windows installed and is the boot drive. So, enter the following commands in the Command Prompt.

Select disk [NÚMERO DEL DISCO DE LA UNIDAD DE ARRANQUE]

List partition

Select partition X

Active

Restore the system

Sometimes, if this doesn't work, you have to do a completely fresh installation to fix Windows error 0xc0000225. In the Advanced Options of installing the operating system using an image on external media, select System Restore.

They will give us a choice of restore points so we can choose one where we believe the system was working without problems. This is before a system update, or an application that may have damaged the operating system. It could also be before a download from an untrustworthy site, as it could have been malware. which causes error 0xc0000225.

Clone the hard drive

This option seems complicated, but it is usually very useful to fix Windows error 0xc0000225. This option should be used when the storage on which Windows is installed may be corrupted and unable to effectively load the necessary files.

For this, we have a tutorial how to clone windows from hard drive to hard drive

Reinstalling Windows to fix error 0xc0000225

None of these solutions above may have worked. In this case, it is most likely a problem with a damaged Windows installation that cannot be accessed to a state in which it did not cause problems. First, make a backup copy of your files, since they cannot be guaranteed after reinstallation. It is not mandatory that you save files from storage outside the one where the Windows installation is located, but it is always advisable to have a backup copy.

Go through the process of downloading an executable Windows image from external storage. Restart the PC and access the external drive with the Windows image, and do the entire Windows reinstallation process.