My HP laptop keeps restarting and getting stuck on the "Preparing Automatic Repair" screen. I left it running for a while, but it never progressed. I also tried booting from Windows 11 installation media, but the installer could not find the internal SSD. I changed the TPM setting to hidden, but that did not help. What should I check to determine whether the drive is healthy and get Windows to recognize it again?
3 Answers
Before reinstalling Windows, use the HP UEFI diagnostics to test the SSD. If the diagnostic reports an error or the drive is absent from BIOS, replacing the drive or checking its connection is likely necessary. If the SSD passes and appears in BIOS, the next steps are to use the correct UEFI boot mode and provide the appropriate HP storage driver during Windows setup.
The repair loop usually means the Windows installation is corrupted, but the missing SSD during setup needs separate investigation. HP’s support page for the exact laptop model may provide a storage-controller driver that can be loaded from the Windows installer. Some HP systems also have a recovery option in the BIOS or a built-in recovery environment, though the available steps vary by model.
Start by checking the exact HP model and entering the BIOS or UEFI diagnostics. Confirm that the SSD is detected there and run the built-in drive-health test. If the drive is not listed in BIOS, this may be a hardware, connection, or failed-SSD problem rather than a Windows repair issue. If it is detected, check the storage-controller setting, such as AHCI, RAID, or Intel VMD, and use the setting expected by that model. Changing it randomly can make an existing Windows installation unbootable, so back up important data first if possible.
I tried force-restarting it and followed the general HP recovery steps, but every option eventually returns to the same automatic-repair loop.