- The SFC scan checks the integrity of all system files. If it finds a fault, it will replace the faulty version with official replacements from Microsoft that don’t have any issues. To get started, open an elevated Command Prompt window and then type “sfc /scannow and hit the Enter key on your keyboards.
- SFC is a utility in Windows that allows users to scan for corruptions in Windows system files and restore corrupted files. It scans and repairs missing or corrupted system files on your computer.
How to Use SFC.EXE to Repair System Files. Guide Overview The purpose of this guide is to teach you how to use the System File Checker (SFC) to examine and repair corrupt operating system files.
Some Times Windows users may notice System not running smoothly, unnecessary errors appear, system getting Freezes continuously. Even Installed components are not working properly or Windows having trouble during startup. These all are possible that Windows system files have become corrupt, gone missing, or even have been changed by a software installation somewhere along the line. Windows includes a System file checkercommand utility sfc / scannow ( system file checker ) that will scan, verify, and fix system files by Restore from a cached copy located on %WinDir% system32dllcache folder.
Post Contents :-
- 2 How To Run system file checker Utility On Windows 10
What is system file checker Utility?
SFC which stands for System File Checker scans all protected system files for corruption. And it attempts to repair it by copying a cached copy of each corrupted file from the %WinDir% system32dllcache folder. This utility was first available in Windows 98 and subsequent versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, 8.1 and Windows 10 has this feature. In Windows 10 the System File Checker is integrated with Windows Resource Protection. Which protects registry keys and folders as well as critical system files. If any changes are detected to a protected system file, the modified file is restored from a cached copy located in the Windows folder itself.
If you are also suffering from the buggy performance of your windows. You must first run the Run the System file checker Tool before applying other solutions.
How To Run system file checker Utility On Windows 10
You can Run This tool on Normal windows, Or if windows not running smoothly Getting different problem at startup then you can start windows into safe mode. or if windows unable to start you can Access Advanced startup options to and Run the SFC Utility.
To run this utility in Normal Windows, you will need to open the Command Prompt in administrator mode. On start menu search Type CMD select command prompt from search results. Right-click on it and select Run As Administrator. or you can press Windows+X on your keyboard, and choose “Command Prompt (Admin)” from the Administrative Tools menu.
Now When the command prompt appears Here type below command and press Enter :
sfc / scannow
You see the text: Beginning system scan. This process takes some time.
The sfc /scannow command will scan all protected system files, and replace corrupted files with a cached copy that is located in a compressed folder at %WinDir% System32dllcache. The %WinDir% placeholder represents the Windows operating system folder. For example, C:Windows.
![Sfc scannow Sfc scannow](/uploads/1/2/6/3/126331434/273815196.jpg)
Note During the scanning process If you’re prompted to insert the Windows disc, do so. Corrupt files must be replaced by fresh ones.
Fix error Windows Resource Protection Could Not Start the Repair Service
In case you are unable to start the System File Checker and you instead get the “Windows Resource Protection Could Not Start the Repair Service” error, you may want to check up if your Windows Modules Installer service has been Disabled. To do so, type services.msc in start search and hit Enter. And look for background intelligent transfer service (BITS) Make sure The status of this service should be set to Manual. Otherwise, double-click on it change the startup type manually and start the service.
System file checker Scan Results
Wait until the scanning process to complete, Once the scan completes, you will see one of the following messages:
Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations: This indicates that your system doesn’t have any missing or corrupted files.
Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations: This indicates that your system doesn’t have any missing or corrupted files.
If you get the message Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation: This message means that there was a problem during the scan and an offline scan is required.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them. Details are included in the CBS.Log %WinDir%LogsCBSCBS.log: You will get this message when SFC was able to fix the problem. Now, you can move on or you can view the logs to get more details.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them. Details are included in the CBS.Log %WinDir%LogsCBSCBS.log: In this case, you’ll need to repair the corrupted files manually.
Quick Tip: You may want to run the command around three times to fix all the problems.
Quick Tip: You may want to run the command around three times to fix all the problems.
After complete, the process simply Restart the windows to take effect the changes system file checker have done.
Run DISM to Enable SFC to Complete its job
If System file checker Results Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them Run DISM command That cause you need to which repairs the system image and allow SFC to Do its job.
How to view the details of an SFC scan results
To see the details of a System File Checker stored in the CBS.Log file. You’ll need to make a readable copy on your desktop:
1. Right click on Start menu from power menu select Command prompt ( admin) this will open the command prompt as administrator. Now Type the following command and press enter key.
1. Right click on Start menu from power menu select Command prompt ( admin) this will open the command prompt as administrator. Now Type the following command and press enter key.
This will create a sfclogs text document on Desktop. Now Open the sfclogs.txt located on the desktop with Notepad. The file will contain all the details of the scanned system files and information for files that couldn’t be repaired.
I hope Running System File Checker utility helps you to Fix different Problems such as windows running slow, Not responding at startup etc on your PC. And hope you Find This Article How To Repair Corrupted Windows System Files with the SFC Utility helpful. Also, Read From Our blog How To Fix Memory problems using Memory Diagnostic Tool.
Technical Level : Basic Summary
System file check is a utility built into the Operating System that will check for system file corruption The sfc /scannow command (System File Check) scans the integrity of all protected operating system files and replaces incorrect, corrupted, changed, or damaged versions with the correct versions where possible. When it cannot repair the damage DISM should be run to fix as many errors as possible.
System file check works on Vista and UP
Dism works on win 7 and UP
If you are running an insider build (ie 14915) and SFC fails ~20% it is a known problem with this build
If you are running sfc &/or DISM to fix an underlying problem please tell us what that problem is!!!!
Details
If you have modified your system files (including Windows DLL files) running sfc /scannow will revert the system files back to the default state.
It is always a good idea to back up your data beforehand!
To run a system file check (SFC)
Go to start>Type CMD
Right click and run as Administrator
(called an elevated command prompt)
If you want to verify and repair the OS type sfc /scannow (note the space between sfc and '/')
Fix Windows System Files
If you just want to check (verify only) the OS type sfc /verifyonly (no changes will be made using verify only)
You may have to run this up to 3 times to fix all the problems
When you have finished it will say one of three things
Windows did not find any integrity violations (a good thing)
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and repaired them (a good thing)
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some (or all) of them (not a good thing) If you get this message run DISM as described below
Repair Windows System Files Windows 7
If SFC was not able to repair some or all of the files there are a few options including a repair install from the OS dvd, and DISM (win 8 & UP)
If SFC did not find any violations it is still a good idea to run DISM Restorehealth
DISM
If you are on win 8 (and up) you should also run DISM whether SFC found errors or not!!
From an elevated command prompt
You can run Check, then Scan, but you should always run RESTORE HEALTH
To check the health (You would use /CheckHealth to only check whether the image has been flagged as corrupted)
run Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
To scan the health use /ScanHealth to scan the image for component store corruption. This option does not fix any corruption.
run Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
To RESTORE health (recommended)
Use DISM /Online/Cleanup-Image/RestoreHealth to scan the image for component store corruption, perform repair operations automatically, and records that corruption to the log file. This generally takes 15-30 minutes depending on the corruption and size of the partition
You can run scanhealth & restore health at the same time like this
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth && DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
After running DISM it is a good idea to re-run SFC /scannow to make sure all the issues were fixed.
If you get the error message 'cannot find source files'you need to have an ISO file mounted and need to specify where it is located with the below command
The ISO must be exactly the same version as the running OS. An ISO of 10586.0 will not repair a running system of 10586.35 because it has additional updates and files.
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /source:WIM:X:SourcesInstall.wim:1 /LimitAccess Where 'X' is the drive letter where the ISO is located. Simply change the 'X' to the correct drive letter
If you do not have an ISO you can make one. The instructions are Sfc Scannow Cannot Repair Files
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