XPS 8950, Safe Mode or Recovery, error 0xc0000225

Question

Hello,

I’m experiencing an issue on my XPS 8950. The system boots into Windows normally, but when I try to access Safe Mode or Recovery through:
Settings > System > Recovery > Advanced Startup,
I get a blue screen with the error 0xc0000225 ("Your PC/Device needs to be repaired").

What triggered this:

It all started when I couldn’t delete or rename a .png file on my desktop. I attempted to boot into Safe Mode to delete it, but instead of loading Safe Mode, I got the 0xc0000225 error.

What I’ve tried so far:

Based on suggestions from AI I used a Windows recovery USB and ran Command Prompt tools like diskpart, but internal drive volumes didn’t show up as expected.

AI said this might be due to BIOS SATA/NVMe being set to RAID mode.

To be honest, I don’t fully understand what RAID vs. AHCI means, and I’m just following suggestions from AI.

I’m hesitant to change from RAID to AHCI because I’m afraid of causing data loss or making Windows unbootable.

Again, the system runs fine under normal boot, the issue only happens when trying to enter Safe Mode.

What I need help with:

Clear, safe instructions on switching from RAID to AHCI, if that’s necessary.

How to resolve the 0xc0000225 error without changing BIOS settings, if possible.

How to access Safe Mode without triggering this error.

I’d really appreciate any help or advice. Thanks in advance.

Best regards,

ejn63 · Accepted Answer

That means there are no hardware errors. It's not clear why you're trying to boot in Safe Mode, but if that's the only issue (i.e., the system operates normally otherwise), chances are there's a driver that's needed but won't load in Safe Mode -- that can be safely ignored.

You may also want to run a thorough scan with your antivirus/antimalware application.

ejn63 · Accepted Answer

Check the file attributes -- right-click on it and go to properties.  You may have to change an attribute to make it removeable.  You can also try from a command prompt with admin privilege.

ejn63 · Answer

There is no need to change RAID to AHCI -- that will simply complicate the issue.  Did you run a full system diagnostic, and were there any errors (F12 at powerup to access)?

matcha27 · Answer

Thanks for letting me know! I ran a quick scan and got this error code: 2000-0000. Should I do an advanced scan?

matcha27 · Answer

I have a file on my desktop that I can't delete or rename. I was told to try deleting it in Safe Mode, but that's when I got the error. Do you know how I can remove this file? It's a small .png screenshot with a long file name.

I did a scan full with Malwarebytes and Microsoft Defender, both scans came back clean. Is that Is that sufficient?

matcha27 · Answer

Okay, that worked, thanks. I was able to delete the file in command prompt. Should I just ignore the 0xc0000225 error  that I got when trying to get into Safe Mode?

ejn63 · Answer

I would scan for malware and clean if anything is detected.  Otherwise, yes - the error can be ignored.

XPS Desktops

XPS 8950, Safe Mode or Recovery, error 0xc0000225

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