SFC Scannow – Repair Corrupt Windows System Files with System File Checker

System File Checker – SFC

System File Checker (SFC) is a Windows System tool that scans and checks all of the protected Windows System files for errors, and replaces the corrupt files with the cached copy of Windows files located in the WinSxS directory. If the files in the WinSxS are also corrupted, or if that directory has been deleted by the user, then Windows prompts the user to insert the Windows installation disc.

Windows Backup Directory Path – C:\Windows\WinSxS\Backup

Use sfc /scannow to Scan for and Repair Corrupt Windows System Files

Step 1: Press the Windows + X keys together to open the Windows Power User Menu. Click on the Command Prompt (Admin) option to open Command Prompt with Administrative privileges.

Step 2: In the Command Prompt window, type the following command, and then press the Enter key.

sfc /scannow

Step 3: Windows starts scanning the system files for errors. Do not close the command prompt until the verification reaches 100%.

Step 4: Restart your computer to complete the process.

Depending upon the result, you may receive one of the following four messages:

  1. Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
  2. Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation.
  3. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
  4. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.

Meaning of the result messages, and next steps:

  1. There are no missing or corrupt Windows System Files in your computer. Everything is fine.
  2. The process did not complete successfully, this could be because of various reasons. If you encounter this problem then try running the sfc /scannow command in the Safe Mode.
  3. This is the result that I got by running this command. And, as you can see from the final screenshot, the detailed information about the files that were repaired can be found in the log file stored in the C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\ directory.
  4. Windows was unable to fix some of the files. Again, you can see the list of files in the log file stored in the C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\ directory. In this case, the user will have to manually replace the missing or corrupt files with another source of Windows files.