System File Checker

The SFC (System File Checker) command is a great one to use if your Windows PC is giving you problems. SFC can tell you a lot about the root cause of problems, including Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) and system faults, and it will immediately solve them.

System File Checker (SFC) - sfc/scannow

An administrator has the ability to check the versions of all protected files using System File Checker. When System File Checker notices that a protected file has been rewritten, it searches the cache folder or the source files of the Windows installation for the right version of the file and replaces the corrupted one. The cache folder is examined and updated by System File Checker. To use System File Checker, you must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group. The sfc /scannow, sfc /scannce, or sfc /scanboot commands can be used to restore the contents of the Caches folder if it becomes corrupted or useless.

How to Use System File Checker in Windows?

System File Checker is a utility in Windows that checks for problems with files on your computer. To run it, follow these steps:

Make sure you've installed the latest updates for Windows, and then restart your machine. To find out more, read Update Windows.
In the search box on the taskbar, type command prompt, and right-click or press and hold Command Prompt (Desktop app) from the list of results. Select Run as administrator, and then selectYes.
Type DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth , and then press Enter.
After you see a message that says "The operation completed successfully," type sfc /scannow and press Enter.
After you see a message that says, "Verification 100% complete," type exit and press Enter.

How to Fix Windows 7 System Files with the SFC Utility?

To fix Windows 7 system files using the SFC (System File Checker) utility, you can follow these steps:

Open Command Prompt as an administrator. You can do this by typing "cmd" in the search bar, right-clicking on "Command Prompt," and selecting "Run as administrator".
In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter: sfc /scannow. This command will scan all protected system files and replace any corrupted files with a cached copy located in a compressed folder at %WinDir%\System32\dllcache.
Wait for the scanning process to complete. This may take some time, so be patient.
Once the scanning is finished, you will see the scan results. If the SFC utility finds any corrupted files and repairs them successfully, you'll see a message stating "Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them."
If the SFC utility is unable to repair all the corrupted files, you can try using the DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) tool to fix any remaining issues. In the same Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth. Wait for the process to complete.
After the DISM tool finishes its task, restart your computer.