How to Fix Corrupted Window 10 System Files

Every Windows install comes with some very vital system files that are stored within the primary hard drive. Most of the crucial Windows system files are hidden by default to make them harder to find and alter. In fact, most Windows 10 crashes are caused by corrupt system files. Missing or corrupt system files also may cause the blue screen of death or unexplained errors during system startup.

It is important to note that the system files can either be corrupted manually by a suspicious user or by malware. In this step by step tutorial, you will learn how to scan and fix corrupt system files.

Prerequisites

To follow along with the tutorial, you need the following

A Windows installation media. You need Windows installation media (preferably Windows 8+) to access the advanced startup options menu on your crashed computer.

Ensure that your computer is fully charged or is plugged in to avoid any interruptions during the system restoration process.

Method #1: Use SFC (System File Checker)

The System File Checker is a Windows feature that automatically scans through the system files specifically to find the damaged files. SFC also attempts to fix the files automatically. However, before running SFC on any Windows install never than Windows 7, you need to first run the DISM tool. Deployment Image Servicing Management (DISM) is a tool that scans the Windows Update for the files required for repair.

Step 1

Insert your installation and edit the booting order in the BIOS settings to your favor. Once the Windows Installation Setup launches, click on ‘Repair your computer’

Step 2

Choose the ‘Troubleshoot’ option as illustrated below:

Step 3

Under Advanced options, select ‘Command Prompt’ as shown below:

Step 4

Confirm that the command prompt is running in admin mode on the title bar as illustrated below. Copy and paste the code below onto your command line and press enter to run DISM

DISM /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

The command takes up to 20 minutes to finish. When finished, it will show a success message similar to the one on the image above.

Step 5

Copy and paste the code below to run SFC:

sfc /scannow

The SFC may take up to half an hour to complete. Once the process is done, a success message will be displayed as shown below. You need to note the message that appears after the success message. This message will help reveal the SFC scan and fix reports.

Below is a list of all the possible messages (along with their interpretations) you can get when SFC has run to completion:

1. Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations. This message simply means that your system files are fine.
2. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them. This is a success message that indicates that all the corrupt files are restored and repaired.
3. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them. This is a failure notification that verifies that you have corrupt system files but they could not be fixed by SFC. You should consider re-installing Windows 10 to repair your computer

Conclusion

If you have followed all the steps in this tutorial, you can now fix corrupt Window 10 system files. This tutorial is bound to save you a lot of cash whenever your computer crashes due to corrupt files. However, if the problem persists, you should consider Factory Resetting Windows 10.