How to repair Windows ten (and 11) in iv steps

When Windows x gets wonky, endeavor this serial of repair techniques — in this society — to try to set up things correct.

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Sometimes a Windows 10 organisation starts misbehaving to the bespeak where repair is needed. This often takes the form of worsening operation or stability, and can originate from damage to, loss of, or corruption of Windows system files typically institute in theC:\Windows binder bureaucracy. When that happens, users would be well advised to break out the post-obit routine to aid them set things back to rights.

I initially wrote this story in 2022, simply every bit Windows 10 has evolved over time, some of the steps have inverse a bit. I've now updated it for the latest versions of Windows 10. That said, most of these approaches also work with Windows 7 and 8 (with slight variations), and the advice hither applies almost identically to Windows eleven, which Microsoft is gradually rolling out to Windows x users whose hardware tin can support the new Bone via Windows Update from Oct 2022 into early 2022.

The Windows 10 (or xi) repair drill

The thought is to first try the initial step in the sequence. If that doesn't set what's broken, accelerate to the next footstep. Keep working through the steps in order until you achieve the terminate, and you are spring to set up the vast bulk of problems. (The only remaining pace at that point would exist to supervene upon the organisation on which the software is running, and that's outside the telescopic of this story.)

The amount of time and effort required for each stride goes upwards incrementally. Some steps involve additional work to restore the prior state of your PC more or less back to where information technology was prior to taking that pace. Thus, the virtually of import bit of advice I can dispense for those who must venture across Pace 1 is this: Make a consummate fill-in of your system to provide a source for files and information that might otherwise go missing. Ignore this communication at your own risk.

Footstep i: Using DISM and SFC for arrangement repair

Since I wrote the original version of this story, I've obtained direct advice from Microsoft that it'due south best to run DISM before running the System File Checker, a.k.a. SFC. Hence, I am reversing the lodge of events for this step. I'll echo Microsoft and say "Always run DISM outset, then SFC 2d, non vice versa."

DISM is the Deployment Prototype Servicing and Direction tool. It's a kind of Swiss Army pocketknife for working with Windows operating organisation images, both offline and online. DISM can often ready things that SFC can observe only that it cannot itself prepare. DISM supports a raft of capabilities with switches and parameters to match, but basic organization file repair syntax is reasonably easy (though it often requires multiple passes before it can set things straight).

Y'all must run DISM in an Administrator: Command Prompt window (press the Windows key + 10 combination and select Command Prompt (Admin) from the resulting pop-up menu) or in an Administrative PowerShell or Windows Concluding session. Here'due south some sample syntax (consult the TechNet DISM Technical Reference for all the gory details):

dism /online /cleanup-image /checkhealth

Most of the time when you run this control, the output will find zip amiss, equally shown in Figure 1:

win10 repair 01 dism checkhealth IDG

Figure i: DISM can check the health of any Windows image. Here, information technology reports all is well on a production PC.

The /checkhealth command simply checks the running image (that's what /online tells it to do) to encounter if it can detect any damage or corruption. Considering it's only checking file hashes and signatures, this control completes in under one minute on most machines. The good thing about /checkhealth is that it non only tells you if it finds damage but if that damage is repairable or non-repairable. If it's repairable, yous can proceed to the /restorehealth option (covered in the following paragraphs); if it's non-repairable, spring to Step 2.

If DISM reports that component shop corruption is found and is repairable, you should attempt repairs. That syntax reads:

dism /online /cleanup-epitome /restorehealth

Fifty-fifty if errors were detected in the preceding step, this control should complete successfully. It replaces decadent or questionable elements in the Windows Side-by-Side (WinSxS) shop, reading from a local re-create of your Windows image files.

The/restorehealth control can be catchy to use. Because information technology tin really repair a Windows image, it needs a source from which to attempt such repairs. Y'all can omit the/source option, but if yous exercise, the control will try to grab its files from Windows Update over the internet. This may or may not piece of work, depending on firewall settings on your network.

A safer bet is to point DISM at a known good source for Windows image components on the local machine (or on your local network). This can be a Windows image (.wim) file or a compressed Windows image (.esd, which is used for electronic software downloads of Windows installations, as the file extension is meant to communicate). You can also point to a separate re-create of aWinSXS binder (the usual directory path is C:\Windows\WinSXS) taken from another PC with like or identical hardware for whichdism ... /checkhealth returns a clean pecker of wellness.

The syntax for image files is where things can get interesting. To point to theinstall.wim file that shows upward in ISO downloads for the Windows 10 installer on a USB wink drive designated50:, for case, you lot must use the following source specification (which uses the commencement image it finds inside the .wim file, designated :1):

/source:WIM:Fifty:\sources\install.wim:one

To employ an ESD file, change the wim items to esd, as shown here:

/source:ESD:L:\sources\install.esd:i

If you lot run into difficulties getting this to work, attempt calculation the/limitaccess switch to your control strings. This stops DISM from attempting to catch source files from Windows Update, which it will sometimes practice fifty-fifty if pointed at a local source. If you just can't get either of these to work, endeavor aWinSXS binder instead.

Note: the version and language for the/source image must be identical to that for the image to be repaired. This may hateful using HeiDoc.net, UUP Dump, or Microsoft's Media Cosmos Tool to catch the correct Windows 10 or 11 version/build (meet my article "The best places to find Windows 10 ISOs" for details on how to apply these sources) and creating media or mounting the ISO file to give DISM the right/source from which to work. For Windows eleven, check the Windows Insider Preview Downloads page to grab the proper ISO.

Figure two shows typical DISM output using /restorehealth:

win10 repair 02 dism restorehealth IDG

Figure ii: Fifty-fifty when DISM /checkhealth finds errors, the /restorehealth option is usually successful. (Click image to enlarge it.)

Adjacent, it'south time to run SFC, Microsoft's System File Checker. To quote TechNet, the system file checker "scans and verifies versions of all protected system files." Information technology can tell you if it finds annihilation awry if you enter SFC /scannow at the command line.

As with DISM, yous must run SFC from an Ambassador: Control Prompt or an Administrative PowerShell or Windows Terminal session. This command takes 5 to x minutes to complete, depending on your PC hardware. Unlike DISM, SFC scans and initiates repairs inside a single command.

Figure 3 shows sample output when SFC finds files in demand of repair. If this occurs on your PC, repeat the /scannow command until it gives the articulate nib of health shown in Figure 4.

win10 repair 03 sfc scannow corrupt IDG

Effigy iii: If SFC finds questionable files, information technology volition repair them if it tin. Here, information technology succeeds. (Click image to enlarge it.)

win10 repair 04 sfc scannow clear IDG

Figure iv: Eventually, SFC will report finding no "integrity violations." You're done! (Click image to enlarge it.)

In my experience, 80% of all bug will be solved at this betoken, so the odds are in your favor that yous won't have to continue going. But if DISM can't set up your Windows image, or SFC can't or won't make repairs to your system files, proceed to Pace 2.

Footstep ii: Try a recent restore point or image backup

A restore point is a snapshot of a Windows PC's OS land from a specific point in time. If enabled, the Windows System Restore capability tin create and maintain restore points on your behalf. To see if this is an option on your target machine, type restore point into the Windows 10 search box. The System Properties window should open to the Arrangement Protection tab, shown in Figure 5.

win10 repair 05 system restore IDG

Figure 5: Admission available restore points using the "Organisation Restore…" button.

To look at restore points, you must work through the Organisation Restore wizard. Click the System Restore... push to launch the sorcerer, then click the Side by side push button on the commencement pane of the wizard to encounter a listing of restore points available to you. (If you don't like what you come across, or you don't see something from before your troubles started on this machine, click the Show more restore points checkbox for a consummate list of what's available to y'all.) Click the restore point to which you would similar to revert.

Figure 6 shows the lone restore betoken available on my test PC.

win10 repair 06 restore point item IDG

Effigy 6: For this story, I created a restore point named "Examination restore point."

Because I have only one restore point — I don't utilize them much any more than, for reasons I'll explicate coming up — I picked that detail to show yous what appears when you lot select a restore point in this utility. If you click the Browse for afflicted programs button it volition tell yous if any programs or drivers will exist affected past rolling dorsum to the restore point you've selected. In this case, at that place'south no impact, as shown in Figure 7. If something were to exist afflicted, it would testify up in either the acme or bottom listing in that results pane.

win10 repair 07 restore programs drivers IDG

Effigy vii: The current restore betoken has no impact. Simply older restore points will provide a list of drivers and programs that need to be reinstalled if you revert to that restore betoken.

Information technology usually takes betwixt 5 and fifteen minutes to revert to a restore point. The amount of additional endeavor to catch support to where you left off depends on the number of items that need to be installed or updated, as shown in Figure 7. This can take from minutes to an hr or more depending on size and scope.

All this said, I don't use Restore Points anymore. I've come across occasional issues with failed restores, and I've seen enough of give-and-take in Microsoft Community and TenForums among other users who've had similar problems. My preference is to restore an epitome congenital using Macrium Reflect (free or commercial; I use both). Information technology's faster than Organisation Restore, and I've never been unable to restore a valid, integrity-checked Reflect backup. You decide what'due south best for you; I use Reflect.

Restoring an image backup is much like reverting to a restore signal: cull the epitome (usually by date and time) to which y'all'd like to roll back, then initiate the restore procedure. For example, Macrium Reflect offers a "Restore" carte, then allows you to browse stored backup files to pick the one you want in an Explorer-based Open window.

If reverting to a restore indicate or image fill-in doesn't work (or you lot don't accept either of these), it's time to move on to Step iii.