Sometimes you may experience your computer freezes frequently at startup or it’s running very slow after a recent Windows update. Especially after Windows 11 23H2 upgrade programs fail to open or the system crashes with a blue screen error or the laptop is stuck on black screen with a cursor. All these are symptoms of corrupted system files, There are multiple reasons why system files get corrupted, buggy updates to improper shutdowns or virus malware infection are common. Here in this post, we have 5 different ways to eliminate or replace corrupt files Corrupted System Files in Windows 11 also applicable for Windows 10 as well.
To repair corrupted files, you can try running the System File Checker (SFC) tool
What are corrupted files on Windows 11?
Corrupted System files on your computer are those files that suddenly became inoperable or unusable. There are multiple reasons why a file may become corrupted, improper shutdown or power interruption, virus or malware attacks, improper file relocation, bad sectors on your hard drive, and unending computer crashes are some common ones. Again botched Windows updates or Malicious program installation, and software crashes also cause file corruption on Windows 11.
Whatever the reason behind your Windows 11 corrupted files, though, there are some quick and easy ways to repair or replace them. Let’s follow up to repair Windows 11 files.
How to Repair Corrupt System Files Windows 11
You can run Windows built-in tools such as the DISM command or system file checker utility to repair or replace corrupted files on Windows 11. Also, there is system restore option to revert back to working conditions or reset your Windows 11 PC which may help fix the problem you are facing.
Whenever you experience problems with Windows 11 PC the first thing you need to reboot your PC. This will not only clear any minor glitches if present there but also refresh the operating system as well.
Update windows 11
Installing the latest Windows updates on your system ensures that you have the latest bug fixes that not only fix the corrupted system files but also improve your system’s performance and stability.
Running Windows Update can sometimes replace corrupted files, especially if they were caused by a previous Windows update.
- Press the Windows key + X and select setting from the context menu,
- Navigate Windows Update then hit the check for updates button,
- If pending updates are there, allow them to download and install on your system,
- Once done you need to reboot your system to apply the changes
Run system file checker utility
SFC utility, also known as System File Checker utility is a built-in command line tool that allows the scanning and repair of corrupt system files on your Windows 11 PC. Running the system file checker command scan all protected system files on your computer, and replace corrupted files with a cached copy that is located in a compressed folder at %WinDir%\System32\dllcache.
Note – For best results, we recommend start Windows 11 in safe mode and run the command below.
It’s a powerful tool for checking and fixing system files, and if any of them are corrupted, it will replace them with ones that aren’t
- Press Windows key + S and type cmd, right-click on the command prompt select run as administrator,
- Type the command sfc /scannow and press the enter key,
- This will start scanning the integrity of all protected system files and replace incorrect versions with correct Microsoft versions
- Let the scanning process complete 100%, once done reboot your computer.
Note – If SFC scan is unable to fix corrupt files or results sfc /scannow found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them you need to run DISM command to fix corrupted files in Windows 11.
Run DISM restore health command
DISM stands for (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) and running the DISM restore health command scan for corruption and repairs problems that it finds with the operating system you are logged into. It’s very useful and recommended by Microsoft when sfc scan fails to repair or replace corrupted system files.
DISM scan is a bit more advanced scans the recovery and boot sectors for corruption
- Again open the command prompt as administrator and run the command DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
- This will perform the advanced scan, which scans the recovery and boot sectors for corruption, and critical core files required to run and gather information, and then upgrades or repairs any files that are corrupted or out-of-date.
- Once the DISM scan is completed 100% again run the sfc /scannow command now check if there is no more error or corrupted files left.
- Now reboot your PC and check if this help fix the problem on your computer.
Run Chkdsk command
Sometimes due to disk drive errors or bad sectors, corrupt files can start occurring. Let’s run the chkdsk command to scan and repair if there is a problem with one of your storage drives.
you can quickly troubleshoot and fix disk drive errors using the CHKDSK (Check Disk) command
- Press Windows key + S and type cmd, right click on command prompt and select run as administrator,
- Click on yes when User Account Control (UAC) prompts for permission,
- Type command chkdsk c: /f /r and press the enter key, when it prompts to schedule the scan on next time the system restarts, type Y and press the enter key,
- Close everything and reboot your computer to allow the tool to check disk drive errors and fix them.
Note- If running chkdsk command fixes the issue but it crops up again soon, you need to consider replacing the drive with a newer one.
Perform startup repair
Also, you can fix or repair corrupted startup files using the Windows 11 startup repair tool. This is very helpful if you are getting black screen or Windows fails to start normally.
- Press Windows key + I to open Windows 11 settings,
- Navigate to the system then recovery, and next to advanced startup click on restart now.
- in the Troubleshoot screen, choose Advanced options from the list and next select Startup Repair.
- The Startup Repair process will initiate and will start detecting your computer for any issues. If any found, it will automatically apply the fix.
- Once done your PC reboots automatically and the issue probably get resolved.
Perform System Restore
If all the above solutions fail to fix the problem, you can Perform System Restore and revert PC settings to the previous working state that was registered before the corruption occurred.
- Press Windows key + R, type rstrui and press the enter key to open the System Restore window click next to get started,
- This will display available restore points that were created previously, from the list, select the restore point you want to revert to and press Next.
- Now, sit back and wait for the System Restore process to get over,
- Once done your PC restart automatically to the previous working state and check if this time Windows 11 PC working normally.
Factory reset Windows 11
Still the problem not resolved, windows 11 runs slowly or freezes due to corrupted system files and the above solution fails to fix the problem. Perform a full system reset, that defaults Windows 11 back to its factory setting. Note you may lose some of your settings, but it should fix any corrupted file problems you have, by simply replacing all of them
Also read:
- Computer Won’t Turn on or Boot After Power Outage, what to do?
- 6 Ways to Fix Photos App Not Working on Windows 11
- How to fix Audio sound problems on Windows 10 2023 update
- Fix the “Critical Process Died” Stop Code 0x000000EF in Windows 10
- Windows 10 100 Disk usage after Update? 6 solutions to fix it