1. Common Symptoms of Corrupted Windows System Files
When using Windows 10 or Windows 11, you may encounter various frustrating issues, such as:
– The computer suddenly becomes sluggish and unresponsive.
– Errors occur when opening certain programs, or they crash unexpectedly.
– The system experiences blue screens or random restarts.
– Various abnormal issues appear after a Windows update.
These problems are often related to corrupted system files. The SFC (System File Checker) command is a powerful built-in Windows tool that can quickly detect and repair corrupted system files.
2. How the SFC Command Works
The SFC command scans the integrity of system files and attempts to restore any missing or corrupted files by retrieving the correct versions from the Windows cache or installation media. Think of it as a system doctor that diagnoses and repairs problematic files, helping Windows run smoothly again.
3. How to Use the SFC Command to Check and Repair System Files
To use the SFC command, you need to run it with administrator privileges:
1. Open PowerShell or Command Prompt
– Click the Start menu and type PowerShell or cmd in the search box.
– Right-click on Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
2. Execute the SFC Scan Command
– In the administrator command window, type the following command and press Enter: sfc /scannow
– This command scans all protected system files and attempts to repair any corrupted ones.
– The process may take a few minutes—please be patient.
3. Check the SFC Scan Results
After the scan, you may see one of the following results:
– No integrity violations found: Your system files are intact, and no repair is needed.
– Corrupt files were found and successfully repaired: The system automatically fixes the issues. Restart your computer to ensure the changes take effect.
– Corrupt files were found but could not be fixed: In this case, you may need to perform an offline repair or use the DISM command for a deeper repair.
4. How to View the Repair Log
To see detailed information about the files that were repaired, you can check the CBS log file:
- Open File Explorer and navigate to: C:\Windows\Logs\CBS
- Find the `CBS.log` file, right-click it, and select Open with Notepad.
- Look for entries containing the `[SR]` keyword—these are related to SFC scans and repairs.
- If you only want to extract SFC-related logs, run the following command in PowerShell:
(sls [SR] $env:windir\Logs\CBS\CBS.log -s).Line >"$env:userprofile\Desktop\sfcdetails.txt"
- This will create a `sfcdetails.txt` file on your desktop, containing only the SFC scan logs for easier analysis.
5. How to Perform an Offline SFC Repair
If your system is so damaged that it cannot boot into Windows, you can try running the SFC command in Advanced Startup Mode:
1. Enter Advanced Startup Mode
– Go to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery and click Restart now under Advanced startup.
– In the blue recovery screen, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt.
2. Run the Offline SFC Command
– In the command prompt, type the following command (assuming Windows is installed on the C: drive):
sfc /scannow /offbootdir=C:\ /offwindir=C:\Windows /offlogfile=C:\off_log.txt
– This command will scan and repair system files in an offline environment, even when Windows is not running.
6. Using SFC to Repair a Specific File
If you already know which system file is corrupted, you can use SFC to repair just that file. For example, to repair `imageres.dll`, run:
sfc /scanfile="C:\Windows\System32\imageres.dll"
This will scan and attempt to repair only that specific file instead of scanning the entire system.
By following these steps, you can effectively use the SFC command to diagnose and repair system file corruption, helping restore stability and performance to your Windows computer.
7. Demo Video
You can watch the following demo video by select the subtitle to your preferred subtitle language.