System File Checker, or SFC, is one of the best features of Windows; it is also one of the least used. And that\u2019s too bad. Many computer problems can be easily solved by running it, yet very few people use it. To be honest, we often forget about it too. It just so happens that this week we had a problem with one of our computers, used SFC to repair some system files that had been altered during one of our infamous experiments. Yes, we do things like that sometimes\u2026<\/p>\n
The System File Checker is used to scan for missing, altered or corrupted system files and to extract the original (correct) file and replace or repair damaged files. You will find SFC on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7<\/p>\n
Probably one of the reasons why SFC isn\u2019t more widely used is because it\u2019s not a simple point-and-click program. It requires users to run it from a DOS-like window and enter commands and use command-line switches. But before you decide to skip this tip \u00a0\u2013 with all this talk of DOS boxes and commands and switches \u2013 don\u2019t skip this tip. Most of you could benefit from this tip, and with just a little patience, all of you could learn to run it. So, hunker down, and we\u2019ll make it as simple as possible.<\/p>\n
There are only slight differences in these instructions for different versions of Windows. In Windows XP you can run this without opening the Command window with administrator rights, while Vista and Windows 7 users will need to open the Command window as an administrator. While you may be the only person who ever uses your computer, on Vista and Windows 7, you\u2019re not, by default, an Administrator. Somewhere in Microsoft\u2019s big brain, they\u2019ve decided Windows is safer if users aren\u2019t administrators by default. This must have occurred to them after Windows XP came out. But that\u2019s a discussion for another day.<\/p>\n
Before you start to run System File Checker, make sure you have your Windows installation disk inserted in your CD\/DVD drive. If you want to repair or replace missing, altered or damaged files, that\u2019s where Windows is going to get them. If you\u2019re one of those who doesn’t \u00a0have a Windows installation CD, the restore (or “recovery”) disk that came with your computer should work for you.<\/p>\n
Plan on at least 45 minutes to run System File Checker. It may not take it that long but sometimes it can even take longer. Whether or not SFC tells you to, you should reboot after you\u2019ve run System File Checker, especially if it has repaired or replaced any files.<\/p>\n
OK. To run System File Checker (hereinafter known as SFC because I\u2019m tired of typing System File Checker) do this:<\/p>\n
Windows XP users \u2013 Press the Windows Key + the \u201cR\u201d key. In the Run command line type CMD and press enter.<\/p>\n
Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Click Start, All Programs, System Tools, Accessories, and right-click on \u201cCommand Prompt\u201d and select \u201cRun as administrator\u201d. This is important. If you don\u2019t do this, you won\u2019t be able to do any of the following.<\/p>\n
OK. Now that you\u2019re all sitting there with a big black box on your screen (we hope), you need to type in some commands. DOS stuff is not very forgiving, so you have to type these commands exactly \u2013 and spaces are important too.<\/p>\n
To run SFC so that it scans and replaces\/repairs altered, missing, or damaged Windows System Files, type the following at the cursor:<\/p>\n
SFC \/SCANNOW<\/p>\n
(Note: there is a space between SFC and the backslash, see it? Good. Don\u2019t forget that space!)<\/p>\n
Here are some other commands and switches you can use with SFC:<\/p>\n
SFC \/VERIFYONLY<\/p>\n
The SFC \/VERIFYONLY command scans the integrity of all protected system files but doesn\u2019t repair or replace any damaged, missing, or altered files.<\/p>\n
SFC \/SCANFILE<\/p>\n
The SFC \/SCANFILE command allows you to check the integrity of a single file. For instance:<\/p>\n
SFC \/SCANFILE=c:windowssystem32kernel32.dll<\/p>\n
There are other SFC commands and switches you can use, but for us and most of you, the only command you\u2019ll need to use is:<\/p>\n
SFC \/SCANNOW<\/p>\n
So there you go. Try System File Checker to check the integrity of your Windows system files. It works well and can fix some of those common, nagging Windows errors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
System File Checker, or SFC, is one of the best features of Windows; it is also one of the least used. And that\u2019s too bad. Many computer problems can be easily solved by running it, yet very few people use it. To be honest, we often forget about it too. It just so happens that this week we\u2026 Read More »<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1198,1202,1199,1201,1200],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1903"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1903"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1905,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1903\/revisions\/1905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}