diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/boot-failure-cause.ts b/apps/desktop/src/components/boot-failure-cause.ts
index 92f1234358..3d061cf281 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/boot-failure-cause.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/boot-failure-cause.ts
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ const CAUSE_PATTERNS: readonly [LocalBootCause, RegExp][] = [
   ['portInUse', /address already in use|\bEADDRINUSE\b|port .* (?:is )?(?:already )?in use/i],
   [
     'installMissing',
-    /installation is missing|is missing or incomplete|venv missing|no module named|modulenotfounderror/i
+    /installation is missing|is missing or incomplete|missing or damaged|venv missing|no module named|modulenotfounderror/i
   ],
   ['timedOut', /timed out|timeout/i],
   ['exitedEarly', /exited before|exited \(|process exited|exited with|traceback \(most recent call last\)/i]
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/boot-failure-overlay.test.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/components/boot-failure-overlay.test.tsx
index 34be04e604..e20b3fb7a9 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/boot-failure-overlay.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/boot-failure-overlay.test.tsx
@@ -267,27 +267,27 @@ describe('BootFailureOverlay', () => {
     }
   })
 
-  it('swaps Repair for "Reinstall the app" on a bundled install', async () => {
-    const openExternal = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined)
+  const bundledState = {
+    active: false,
+    manifest: null,
+    stages: {},
+    error: null,
+    log: [],
+    startedAt: null,
+    completedAt: null,
+    setupChoice: null,
+    unsupportedPlatform: null,
+    bundled: true
+  }
 
-    const restore = stubDesktop(
-      { mode: 'local' },
-      {
-        getBootstrapState: async () => ({
-          active: false,
-          manifest: null,
-          stages: {},
-          error: null,
-          log: [],
-          startedAt: null,
-          completedAt: null,
-          setupChoice: null,
-          unsupportedPlatform: null,
-          bundled: true
-        }),
-        openExternal
-      }
-    )
+  it('offers "Reinstall the app" on a bundled install only when the payload itself is damaged', async () => {
+    const openExternal = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined)
+    const restore = stubDesktop({ mode: 'local' }, { getBootstrapState: async () => bundledState, openExternal })
+    $desktopBoot.set({
+      ...$desktopBoot.get(),
+      error:
+        'This app bundles its own Hermes runtime, but the runtime files are missing or damaged. Reinstall Hermes Desktop to restore it.'
+    })
 
     try {
       render(<BootFailureOverlay />)
@@ -307,6 +307,23 @@ describe('BootFailureOverlay', () => {
     }
   })
 
+  it('a bundled install with an unrelated failure gets neither Repair nor Reinstall', async () => {
+    const restore = stubDesktop({ mode: 'local' }, { getBootstrapState: async () => bundledState })
+    $desktopBoot.set({ ...$desktopBoot.get(), error: 'listen EADDRINUSE: address already in use 127.0.0.1:8642' })
+
+    try {
+      render(<BootFailureOverlay />)
+
+      expect(await screen.findByRole('button', { name: /retry/i })).toBeTruthy()
+      // Wait for the bundled snapshot to land before asserting the negatives.
+      await waitFor(() => expect(screen.queryByRole('button', { name: /repair install/i })).toBeNull())
+      expect(screen.queryByRole('button', { name: /reinstall the app/i })).toBeNull()
+      expect(screen.queryByText(/reinstall the app to restore/i)).toBeNull()
+    } finally {
+      restore()
+    }
+  })
+
   it.each(['refused', 'thrown', 'unavailable'])('preserves a %s repair failure without reloading', async failure => {
     const reload = vi.fn()
     const originalLocation = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(window, 'location')!
@@ -336,7 +353,7 @@ describe('BootFailureOverlay', () => {
         failure === 'thrown'
           ? 'installer permission denied'
           : failure === 'refused'
-            ? 'bundled-immutable'
+            ? en.boot.failure.bundledReinstallHint
             : en.boot.errors.ipcBridgeUnavailable
 
       await waitFor(() =>
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/boot-failure-overlay.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/components/boot-failure-overlay.tsx
index 6894c1b64b..8040044b88 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/boot-failure-overlay.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/boot-failure-overlay.tsx
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import { $desktopBoot } from '@/store/boot'
 import { notify, notifyError } from '@/store/notifications'
 import { $desktopOnboarding } from '@/store/onboarding'
 
-import { type LocalBootFailureCopy, localBootFailureCopy } from './boot-failure-cause'
+import { classifyLocalBootFailure, type LocalBootFailureCopy, localBootFailureCopy } from './boot-failure-cause'
 import type { RemoteReauth } from './boot-failure-reauth'
 import {
   deriveProviderShape,
@@ -83,9 +83,9 @@ export function BootFailureOverlay() {
   // A remote/cloud backend that failed to boot is fixable from gateway settings,
   // so the escape hatch earns emphasis (local failures keep it as a quiet ghost).
   const [remoteFailure, setRemoteFailure] = useState(false)
-  // A bundled install (payload ships in-app) has no installer to repair with —
-  // the only recovery is reinstalling the app. Read from the bootstrap state
-  // snapshot so the Repair affordance is replaced by "Reinstall the app".
+  // A bundled install (payload ships in-app) has no installer to repair with.
+  // Read from the bootstrap state snapshot so Repair is never offered there;
+  // "Reinstall the app" replaces it only when the payload itself is damaged.
   const [bundled, setBundled] = useState(false)
   // Swap the card body to the embedded Gateway settings panel in place of routing
   // to the full Settings page (keeps the user on the recovery surface, no z-index
@@ -216,6 +216,12 @@ export function BootFailureOverlay() {
 
       const result = await window.hermesDesktop.repairBootstrap()
 
+      // Main refuses repair on a bundled install (its stamp is authoritative;
+      // our snapshot may be stale) — say what to do instead of the raw code.
+      if (result?.error === 'bundled-immutable') {
+        throw new Error(t.boot.failure.bundledReinstallHint)
+      }
+
       if (!result?.ok) {
         throw new Error(result?.error || t.boot.errors.desktopBootFailed)
       }
@@ -410,18 +416,22 @@ export function BootFailureOverlay() {
   } else {
     // Local failure: Use-local is redundant with Retry (both re-target local), so
     // it's dropped here; keep it for remote failures where it's the fall-back.
-    // On a bundled install the Repair affordance is replaced by "Reinstall the
-    // app" — the payload is immutable, so there is no installer to re-run.
-    actions = [
-      retryAction,
-      bundled
-        ? {
-            key: 'reinstall',
-            label: copy.reinstallApp,
-            onClick: () => openExternalLink(DESKTOP_DOCS_URL),
-            icon: <ExternalLink />,
-            variant: 'secondary'
-          }
+    // A bundled install's payload is immutable, so there is no installer to
+    // re-run: Repair is dropped, and "Reinstall the app" is offered only when
+    // the payload itself is what's broken — a port clash or timeout on a
+    // bundled install is not fixed by reinstalling.
+    const damagedPayload: boolean = bundled && classifyLocalBootFailure(boot.error) === 'installMissing'
+
+    const fixAction: RecoveryAction | null = damagedPayload
+      ? {
+          key: 'reinstall',
+          label: copy.reinstallApp,
+          onClick: () => openExternalLink(DESKTOP_DOCS_URL),
+          icon: <ExternalLink />,
+          variant: 'secondary'
+        }
+      : bundled
+        ? null
         : {
             key: 'repair',
             label: copy.repairInstall,
@@ -429,10 +439,10 @@ export function BootFailureOverlay() {
             icon: <Wrench />,
             variant: 'secondary',
             busy: 'repair'
-          },
-      { ...settingsAction, variant: 'ghost' }
-    ]
-    hint = bundled ? copy.bundledReinstallHint : copy.repairHint
+          }
+
+    actions = [retryAction, ...(fixAction ? [fixAction] : []), { ...settingsAction, variant: 'ghost' }]
+    hint = damagedPayload ? copy.bundledReinstallHint : bundled ? '' : copy.repairHint
   }
 
   if (view === 'connect') {
@@ -505,7 +515,7 @@ export function BootFailureOverlay() {
                 {copy.openLogs}
               </Button>
             </div>
-            <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">{hint}</p>
+            {hint ? <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">{hint}</p> : null}
           </div>
 
           {logs.length > 0 ? (