System File Checker to repair corrupted windows files

System files are crucial components of your operating system that ensure its proper functioning. If due to some reason, windows system files become corrupted or damaged, it can lead to instability and malfunctions. If you notice Frequent Application Crashes, Slow Startup and Shutdown, or Windows 10 very slow all these are symptoms of System file corruption that need to be repaired. You can use the built-in System File Checker (SFC) utility to scan for and repair corrupted system files on Windows 10. This article explores the system file checker utility tool and how it helps repair your system files and restore your system’s stability.

What is the System File Checker (SFC) Utility?

The System File Checker or sfc.exe is a command-line utility in Microsoft Windows located in the C:\Windows\System32 folder. The primary purpose of the SFC utility is to scan protected system files and replace any corrupted or missing files with cached copies located in a compressed folder at %WinDir%\System32\dllcache.

Note – The %WinDir% variable represents the Windows installation directory, which is typically C:\Windows.

Well with the latest Windows 10 system file checker Utility is integrated with Windows Resource Protection, which protects registry keys and folders as well as critical system files. So That while running This tool 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.

How To Run System File Checker Tool

So if any point of time you notice Windows 10 not perform well, apps crash, slow startup or shutdown running the system file checker scan is the very first troubleshooting step. Using the SFC utility requires administrative privileges since it makes changes to system files.

Here is how to repair Corrupted system files on Windows 10.

• From the start menu search for cmd Right-click on the command prompt and select run as administrator,
• When the command prompt opens type the below command and hit enter key to execute the command.

sfc /scannow

The SFC utility will begin scanning your system for corrupted files and attempt to repair them automatically. This process may take some time, so be patient and avoid interrupting it.

Well sometimes while running sfc / scannow command you may encounter error “Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested Service or Start the Repair Service” This mostly occurs because of its dependency service “Windows Modules Installer service” not started or it’s disabled. And you need to start the service following steps below.

• Press Windows key + R, type services.msc and click ok
• This will open windows services console,
• Scroll down and locate Windows Modules Installer service 
• Right click on Windows Modules Installer service  and select start
• That’s all close everything and run the sfc /scannow command again.

During the scanning process, SFC command will scan all protected system files in your Windows installation folder and check for any corrupted, missing files. If any files are found corrupt or missing it will replace them with a cached copy that is located in a compressed folder at %WinDir%System32\dllcache. Wait until 100% complete the scanning process. Then after restart Windows to take effect the changes have been made by sfc command.

System File Checker Results

Once the scan completes, you will see one of the following messages:

• Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations: This means that no corrupted files were found, and your system doesn’t require any repairs.
• 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”: The SFC utility found and fixed corrupted files. Your system should be more stable now. You may need to restart your computer to complete the repair process.
• “Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them”: In this case, the SFC utility found corrupted files but couldn’t repair them automatically. You may need to perform additional steps to fix the remaining issues.

How to view the SFC log file

The sfc.exe program writes the details of each verification operation and of each repair operation to the CBS.log file, located in the %windir%\Logs\CBS folder. Each sfc.exe program entry in this file has a [SR] tag. And You can search for [SR] tags to help locate SFC.exe program entries. To perform this kind of search and to redirect the results to a text file, follow these steps:

Open the command prompt as administrator and type the command below and hit enter key to execute the command.

findstr /c:”[SR]” %windir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log >”%userprofile%\Desktop\sfcdetails.txt

This will create a file named sfcdetails.txt on the user desktop which includes the entries that are logged every time the SFC.exe program runs on the computer.

Use DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) Tool

If the SFC scan results show that some corrupted files were not repaired, you can try using the DISM tool to repair the Windows image.

To Run the DISM tool open the command prompt as administrator and type Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth hit enter key to execute the command.

Wait for the DISM tool to complete the operation. This process may also take some time.

Once the DISM process is finished, retry the SFC scan using the sfc /scannow command. This time, the SFC utility may be able to repair the corrupted files successfully.

After the SFC scan and any necessary DISM repairs, restart your computer to ensure that all changes take effect.

In addition, keep your Windows operating system up to date with the latest updates and patches to minimize the risk of system file corruption and security vulnerabilities.

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