Check system integrity with sfc scannow. View detailed information about the System File Checker process
If there are problems with your computer, it’s a good idea to check the OS to determine the integrity of the system files. Damage or deletion of these objects is often the cause incorrect operation PC. Let's see how you can perform this operation in Windows 7.
If you notice any errors during the operation of your computer or its incorrect behavior, for example, the periodic appearance of blue screen death, then, first of all, it is necessary. If this check did not find any faults, then in this case you should resort to scanning the system for the integrity of system files, which we will discuss in detail below. This operation can be done either by using the capabilities of third-party software or by using the launch of the embedded Windows 7 utility "SFC" through "Command line". It should be noted that even third-party programs are used only to activate "SFC".
Method 1: Windows Repair
One of the most popular third party programs to scan your computer for damage to system files and restore them if problems are found.
We will talk in more detail about the operation of this utility when reviewing Method 3, since it can also be launched by using Microsoft-introduced operating system tools.
Method 2: Glary Utilities
Next comprehensive program to optimize computer performance, with which you can check the integrity of system files, is . Usage this application has one important advantage over the previous method. It lies in the fact that Glory Utilities, unlike Windows Repair, has a Russian-language interface, which greatly facilitates the task for domestic users.
More detailed information about the work "SFC" presented when considering the following method.
Method 3: "Command Line"
Activate "SFC" to scan for file corruption Windows systems, you can use exclusively OS tools, specifically "Command line".
Attention! In order for SFC to not only check the integrity of system files, but also restore them if errors are detected, it is recommended to insert the tool before starting installation disk operating system. This must be the exact disk from which Windows was installed on this computer.
There are several variations of using the product "SFC" to check the integrity of system files. If you need to scan without restoring missing or damaged OS objects by default, then "Command line" you need to enter the command:
If you need to check specific file to check for damage, you should enter a command that matches the following pattern:
sfc /scanfile=file_address
There is also a special command to check an operating system located on a different hard drive, that is, not the same OS in which you are working in this moment. Its template looks like this:
sfc /scannow /offwindir=Windows_directory_address
Problem launching "SFC"
When trying to activate "SFC" a problem may occur that "Command line" A message will be displayed indicating that the recovery service failed to activate.
Most common cause This problem is disabling a system service "Installer Windows modules» . To be able to scan your computer with the tool "SFC", it must be turned on.
- Click "Start", go to "Control Panel".
- Come in "System and safety".
- Now press "Administration".
- A window will appear with a list of different system tools. Click "Services" to make the transition to "Service Manager".
- A window with a list opens system services. Here you need to find the name "Windows Module Installer". To make your search easier, click on the column name "Name". The elements will be built according to the alphabet. Having found the desired object, check what value is in its field "Startup type". If there is an inscription "Disabled", then you should enable the service.
- Click RMB by the name of the specified service and select from the list "Properties".
- The service properties shell opens. In chapter "Are common" click on the area "Startup type", where the value is currently set "Disabled".
- A list opens. Here you should select a value "Manually".
- After required value installed, click "Apply" And "OK".
- IN "Service Manager" in a collumn "Startup type" in the line of the element we need, the value is set to "Manually". This means that you can now run "SFC" via the command line.
As you can see, you can run a computer check for the integrity of system files either using third-party programs or using "Command line" Windows. However, no matter how you run the check, it still performs it system tool "SFC". That is, third party applications can only make it easier and more intuitive to launch the built-in scanning tool. Therefore, specifically in order to produce this type check, there is no point in downloading and installing third-party software. True, if it is already installed on your computer for general system optimization purposes, then, of course, you can use it to activate "SFC" data software products, since this is still more convenient than acting traditionally through "Command line".
Utility sfc.exe checks the integrity of all system files, protected by a security system Windows files (wfp), it has a built-in feature automatic replacement damaged versions become correct Microsoft versions. To run the program, the user must have Administrator rights.
Sfc
Description
On startup sfc uses a number of flags, the most commonly used being /scannow . sfc can be run on all computers running Windows control, and also in the console Windows recovery, but it’s worth considering that all flags are supported on all operating systems. More details in the Compatibility column.
List of parameters:
/?
Lists all available flags
/scannow
Checks the integrity of all protected system files and restores damaged or modified files immediately after executing the command. These files will be restored to their default values.
/verifyonly
Checks the integrity of all protected system files, but does not restore them.
/scanfile=Path_to_file
Scans integrity specified file(by absolute path filePath ) and restores it if changes are detected. Example absolute path, when instead of filePath there will be c:\windows\system32\example.dll
/verifyfile=Path_to_file
Scans the integrity of the specified file (using the absolute path filePath ) but does not restore it. An example of an absolute path, when instead of filePath there will be c:\windows\system32\example.dll
/offwindir=Windows_drive_letter
It is necessary to manually specify the drive on which Windows is installed and on which we are looking for file changes.
/offbootdir=drive_letter_from_restore_from
Specifies the drive letter from which the files for recovery are taken. It is used in conjunction with /offwindir= in the recovery console. Example of use in the console: sfc /scannow /offbootdir=d:\ /offwindir=d:\windows. In this example, files specified by the offwindir flag are scanned and repaired using the original Microsoft files found in the offbootdir path.
/scanonce
Scan and restore files the next time booting Windows
/scanboot
Scan and recover files every time you boot Windows
/revert
This command is used to undo previously executed commands. For example, if the user ran the /scanboot command, which runs a scan every time Windows boots, then the /revert command will stop the process.
/purgecache
Removal source files(from which the recovery occurs) from the Windows cache folder. This command must be used with caution as it may cause system crashes. The command also runs a system scan and fills the cache folder with copies of the current system files.
/cachesize=x
Changes the cache size to suit the user's needs. The x parameter specifies the number of megabytes.
Return codes
Returns 0 if the operation was successful and 0 if there were errors.
Usage example
To immediately scan and repair damaged system files:
To check the integrity of a file without fixing it
sfc /verifyfile=c:\windows\system32\example.dll
Check the example.dll file in the system recovery console from the Windows installation disk f:
sfc /scanfile=d:\windows\system32\example.dll /offbootdir=f:\ /offwindir=d:\windows
Compatibility
Utility sfc compatible with operating systems Windows Vista and higher.
Possible problems
- sfc scannow fails to start the recovery service– Check that the service is running Windows Modules Installer. (Control Panel\Administration\Services) and the startup type is Manual
- sfc scannow cannot recover files– Try the following command
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
It is used to repair damaged components, then restart your computer and try sfc /scannow again.
The second option is to replace files that the utility cannot recover on its own, either from another computer or from backup copy and so on.
To do this, you need to get a list of files that the utility could not recover, enter:findstr /c:”” %windir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log >”%userprofile%\Desktop\sfc.txt”
This command will create text file on your desktop sfc.txt which contains a detailed log of the utility’s operation
Not all errors are expressed in windows appearing on the desktop and the inability to perform any action. Much more often, they quietly accumulate on your computer and gradually slow down its operation. It is worth checking your device periodically for possible errors, and not only the system, but also HDD, and the registry. All methods described below also include automatic correction of detected faults.
How to check the system for integrity and errors
As a result of incorrect shutdown of the computer, exposure to viruses and other problematic situations, system files may be damaged or changed. The consequences of this are usually expressed in startup problems individual programs or turning on the computer, but sometimes they can be invisible to the user. Scanning your system for integrity is the first thing we recommend doing when you encounter problems with Windows 10.
Via the sfc command
This is the main way to check the integrity of the operating system. It is intended for cases with problems with the computer's performance. The sfc command only performs a superficial analysis, which cannot be used to find and correct all possible errors. However, this method is quite fast and ideal for preventative computer scanning. A more in-depth analysis is possible through the DISM utility, which is described below.
The sfc command cannot fix errors in files that are used by the system in this moment. If you receive a notification about such failures, be sure to run the DISM utility.
Via DISM utility
The DISM utility conducts a full system scan for errors and integrity violations. The analysis it launches takes quite a long time, but allows you to identify and correct all violations in the operation of the system. To carry out the verification, you will definitely need the Internet.
Before running the utility, disable your antivirus and that’s it running programs, and also try not to use the computer during the analysis.
Open a command prompt as an administrator and type dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth.
For a full analysis of system integrity, enter the command dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth in command line There are several more commands in this utility that may be useful to you:
- dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth for information about the condition and presence of damage Windows components;
- dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth to check the integrity and damage of the component store.
How to check your hard drive for errors
All data written to the computer is divided into small fragments, which are placed on sectors hard drive. During computer operation, these sectors can become damaged. Damaged sectors are the “errors” of the hard drive. When a hard drive tries to read information from a damaged sector, the reading process is “stuck.” The result of this is that it takes an unreasonably long time to turn on the computer and launch some programs.
It is impossible to fix damaged sectors, but you can prevent the hard drive from working with them. The process of finding and eliminating these sectors is called defragmentation. Even if no errors are found, as a result of defragmentation, the space on the hard drive will become more organized, which will also speed up the process of reading information.
Through "Explorer"
This is the main way to check a hard drive. Windows 10 should do this automatically, without the user's knowledge, in order to maintain order on the hard drive. Defragmentation will take you about an hour, so it is better to leave it overnight.
Via the “Control Panel” (storage diagnostics)
Many people mistakenly believe that the storage diagnostic utility can be used to analyze the hard drive. Actually this is not true. The storage diagnostic utility is indeed present on the hard drive, but it starts automatically, and you will not be able to perform analysis through it. This way you can only find out the results last check hard drive status.
If you just want to run an analysis, use the previous method, but instead of “Optimize,” click “Analyze.”
Via command line
This method eliminates the restoration of order on the hard drive, which is done during regular defragmentation. Due to this, the process proceeds much faster. Correcting errors this way is recommended if you need to quickly recover information from damaged sectors.
To check without using the Internet, use the command chkdsk C: /F /R /offlinescanandfix.
Via PowerShell
Windows PowerShell is a powerful new command-line shell. She does the same thing as her predecessor, but has much more powers. PowerShell allows you to quickly and easily perform actions that are difficult or impossible for a regular command line. In our case, this will help avoid the need to restart the computer to check the sectors in use.
To check without using the Internet, use the command Repair-Volume -DriveLetter C -OfflineScanAndFix.
Video: how to check your hard drive for errors
How to check the registry for errors
The Windows Registry is a complex operating system database that stores all settings, changes, information about the computer and installed programs. If a registry error occurs, the consequences can be very different: from a blue screen when turned on and complete system inoperability to an undeletable shortcut and other little things.
Most unpleasant feature registry errors is their layering. One minor error in the registry can lead to several others, which will ultimately lead to dire consequences. This is why regularly scanning the registry for errors and eliminating them early is extremely important to keep your computer running at peak performance.
Through built-in tools
Windows 10 has a built-in utility for checking the registry for integrity, but it is quite weak and does not find most errors. Your best bet would be to use one of the third-party programs described below.
This method can only fix critical errors: many registry errors will remain untouched.
Open a command prompt as an administrator, type scanreg /fix and press Enter.
Enter the scanreg /fix command to check the registry through the built-in Windows utility 10 Via CCleaner
CCleaner is the most popular and reliable program for cleaning your computer. It is designed to clean debris from hard-to-reach places that the system itself cannot reach. However, CCleaner has earned its popularity precisely for its registry cleaning function, which allows you to quickly find and erase registry errors without affecting anything important.
Via Glary Utilities
Glary Utilities- Very functional program, which will work in the tray and keep your computer clean and tidy. Cleaning the registry is just one of the available functions to improve the performance of your computer. Glary Utilities may seem intrusive to many, but for less experienced users it will be a very useful assistant.
Via Wise Registry Cleaner
Wise Registry Cleaner is a program designed not so much to treat the registry, but to complete cleaning from stale and unclaimed parameters. Cleaning the registry using Wise Registry Cleaner is quite serious and can affect important files that the program will find unnecessary. When you launch Wise Registry Cleaner for the first time, you will be asked to make a backup copy of the registry, which is best to agree to. If important files are affected, you can always rollback.
Wise Registry Cleaner is available only on the English version of the official website: if you change the page language to Russian, you will be offered another Wise program Care 365.
Even if you don't see any errors on your computer, it's best to scan it periodically. This will ensure stable work system and will help solve most problems before they become noticeable.
Applications that do not work or have errors from Windows Store, problems in the desktop part of Windows and instability of the operating system as a whole are often the result of damage to important system files. The easiest way out of a situation where system files are damaged - or to . But such a move requires the presence of the latter - if not in a fresh edition, then at least in some kind. If there is not even at least some kind of recovery point or backup copy, before resorting to a radical solution to the problem in as Windows, you can try to restore the integrity of its system files. Below we will look at 5 ways to do this, provided that the current Windows yet capable of loading. Only two methods for restoring the integrity of Windows files will be offered; the other three are solutions for situations complicated by the need to restore the storage of system components.
1. Restore the integrity of Windows files
To identify missing or damaged important files systems and their recovery Windows provides standard utility sfc.exe, which works using the command line. The utility replaces damaged or missing system files with their originals from a special component storage located in the “WinSxS” folder inside the “Windows” directory on drive C. Run the command line as administrator and enter:
Press Enter. After scanning to identify system files that need to be replaced, they will be restored.
But this is only after successful completion of the operation. If the contents of the storage itself are damaged, the operation will end with a message stating that it is impossible to restore some of the system files. In this case, you must first resort to restoring the Windows component store, and then carry out the operation to restore the files to their working directories.
2. Restoring the system component store: DISM
To restore the storage of the original system files, we will use the maintenance utility Windows images– DISM, also working via the command line. During the storage recovery process, the utility uses the Windows Update service and downloads missing or damaged system files from Microsoft servers. Because the presence of the Internet - required condition for a successful operation.
Launch the command line as administrator and enter:
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Press Enter. If the operation is successfully attempted, we will see a corresponding notification.
Now we carry out the operation discussed in paragraph 1 of the article.
It may also happen that the operation process will freeze or fail. A notification about an unsuccessful attempt to perform an operation will, in particular, be accompanied by a proposal to indicate the path from where you can get data to restore the system component storage.
We will consider the process of restoring the storage, indicating the source of data acquisition, a little later, in paragraph 4 of the article.
3. Restoring the system component store: PowerShell
You can restore system components alternative way– using the Windows PowerShell tool. This method is similar to the previous one: the Windows Update service is also used to restore the storage. And, accordingly, in this case an Internet connection is also required. Method with using PowerShell It will take more time than the previous method using the DISM utility, but the process of restoring the storage itself will be carried out more thoroughly.
Run PowerShell as administrator and enter:
Repair-WindowsImage -Online -RestoreHealth
Press Enter. If the system file storage is successfully restored, we will receive a report like the one shown in the screenshot below, where, in particular, the “Image Health State” parameter will be marked as “Healthy”. And this means that the system file storage has been restored. Now it is necessary to carry out the operation described in paragraph 1 of the article.
4. Restoring the system component store: Windows installation disk
You can resort to restoring the Windows component store indicating the source of data if there is no Internet or the two previous methods did not bring positive results. Source from which data for storage recovery is retrieved system components– this is the installation disk of the corresponding version and Windows edition. This can be physical installation media - a flash drive or disk, or it can be an ISO image with a distribution kit. The latter must be mounted in virtual drive by calling on it context menu and selecting the “Connect” command.
We connect a flash drive, disk or image, run PowerShell as administrator and enter a command like:
Repair-WindowsImage -Online -RestoreHealth -Source D:\sources\install.wim
The drive letter in this command is installation media subject to substitution. In our example, this is the letter D, and instead of it, in each individual case you need to substitute your own letter of the flash drive, physical or mounted drive, as they appear in Windows Explorer. After entering the command, press Enter.
Based on the results of the operation, as in the previous case, its successful completion will be indicated by the “Healthy” state of the “Image Health State” parameter.
After restoring the storage, we launch the operation discussed in paragraph 1 of the article.
5. Windows 10 Update
You can restore the integrity of damaged Windows 10 system files by updating the system using the utility Media Creation Tool. It can be downloaded from the official Microsoft website. Windows 10 update is the longest and at the same time the most reliable way return the operating system to functionality. The process of updating Windows 10 takes approximately the same time as the process of reinstalling it. As part of this process, all damaged system files will be overwritten, user profile data will be saved, installed programs and contributed system settings, and at the output we will get the latest one, with all installed Windows updates 10 Anniversary Update.
Launch the Media Creation Tool. We accept license terms.
Select “Update this PC now.”
And wait for the update process to complete.
Have a great day!
This article shows the steps by which you can recover damaged Windows system files using the SFC utility
If operating system works unstable and has been noticed in its operation various errors, then for troubleshooting, you can use the SFC command line utility to restore the integrity of damaged system files.
SFC ( System File Checker) - system Windows tool to check and restore system integrity, which scans and checks all protected Windows system files for errors and replaces damaged or missing files with a copy of Windows files located in the WinSxS directory.
How to check and repair damaged system files using the SFC utility
To scan and repair damaged system files, run the following command as an administrator:
Depending on the scan results, you will see one of the following messages:
Protection Windows resources did not detect any integrity violations. This means that no damaged or missing files were found on the system.
Windows Resource Protection cannot perform the requested operation. This message means that an error occurred during scanning. If you encounter this issue, try running the command sfc /scannow
Windows Resource Protection detected damaged files and successfully restored them. See CBS.Log WinDir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log for information. This message appears when SFC utility was able to fix the problem. Detailed information You can see about the files that were recovered in the log file stored in C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log
Windows Resource Protection has detected corrupted files, but is unable to repair some of them. See CBS.Log %WinDir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log for information. In that Windows case Could not fix some files. Again, you can see the list of files in the log file stored in C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. In this case, the user will have to manually replace the missing or corrupted files.
You can also check and restore damaged system files using open as administrator.
How to check and repair damaged system files if the system does not boot
If the operating system does not boot, then you can also use the tool to restore the integrity of damaged system files, since the SFC utility supports offline scanning and recovery of damaged system files.
To do this you will need a (disk) with . Boot from the installation media and on the regional settings selection screen, launch the command line by pressing the combination Shift keys+ F10
Now you need to find out the letter of the partition on which the operating system is installed Windows system which needs to be checked. This is necessary because the drive partition letters in the boot environment are often different from those used in the running system.
There are several ways to do this, such as diskpart, wmic or the dir command, but we will use another method.
At the command prompt, run the following command:
In the Notepad window that opens, select from its main menu File - Open...
In the Explorer window, you will see the available sections and the letters assigned to them. IN in this example The partition on which the operating system is installed has the letter C. The Explorer and Notepad windows can now be closed.
Knowing the letter of the partition on which the operating system is installed, run the following command at the command line:
sfc /scannow /OFFBOOTDIR=C :\ /OFFWINDIR=C :\Windows
