My computer keeps throwing this error

So, I just fired up my computer and this error message pops up right in my face.
I'm running Windows 8.1, but I don't have any of the original installation discs lying around...
My biggest worry right now is all my data—it's all sitting on there—so I'm wondering, will everything stay safe once the system gets fixed?

File \Boot\BCD
Error code 0x000014c

It looks like one of your Windows files has gone sideways—you're probably going to need to run a repair on the OS. Since you don't have a disc handy, I'm not entirely sure what your game plan is, but maybe try to track down some installation media somewhere?

Yeah, I could always drop the PC off at a repair shop... But the big question is, will my files actually stay safe?
And honestly, how did things even get this bad in the first place?

You’re running Windows 8.1, right? You got access to the Windows 8.1 ISO?
Just burn it to a bootable USB and use that instead of some old install CD.
Either way, you can just grab the ISO online, make a bootable drive, boot from it, and fix the OS on your hard drive.
Or, if you don't feel like messing with it, just take it to a repair shop, tell them what you want done—and what you don't...

As for why you're getting that error... who knows. Could be a dying hard drive, a botched update... maybe a virus, or just someone clicking the wrong thing. A lot of possibilities...

I don't have the .iso file handy. Honestly, I’ll probably just drop this thing off at a repair shop to let the pros handle it—I'd likely just end up making things worse... plus, I've got way too much important data on this machine to risk messing it up myself.

If you happen to have another computer lying around, you could grab a live Linux distro—maybe Puppy Linux http://www.puppylinux.com/download/—burn it to a CD, and boot from that instead. It should let you get into your files and move them somewhere else... since a live Linux environment doesn't touch the integrity of your data, there shouldn't be any issues there, I guess.

Aha. Thanks for the suggestions—I'll have to see what I end up doing with them over the next few days...

The easiest way to handle this—and totally free, too—is what George Sanders37 suggested. You can just boot into Windows using his method, move all your important files over to a USB drive or an external hard drive... then, once everything is safe, you can wipe the drive and install a fresh version of Windows.

Hey there,

Can anyone shed some light on why this keeps popping up on my screen and what I can do to make it go away for good? I’ve got a perfectly fine internet connection, so I have no idea what's causing the hiccup here. To make matters worse, whenever I try clicking "switch to," it just kicks me straight back to the Start menu. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Grace Hill17 said:Hey guys,

can someone please explain why this keeps popping up on my screen and how I can make it stop? Like, my internet is working totally fine, so I don't get why it's even bothering me. Every time I try to click "switch to," it just kicks me straight back to the Start menu. Any ideas?

Basically, some software on your machine is trying to jump onto the web before your connection is actually ready right after you boot up the PC.
Like, usually it's stuff like:

An antivirus program.
iPod or iTunes.
Java Runtime Environment.
Or just any other random app trying to run an update...

I've heard that if you have Samsung PC Studio installed, it can cause this exact headache too.

Honestly, just try going through your apps and disabling all those automatic updates for a bit and see if that clears things up...