How to Repair Corrupted Windows System Files using SFC and DISM
If you have used Windows for a long enough time, you may encounter an issue with corrupted system files.
This can be due to:
- An improper system shutdown (e.g., power loss).
- A failing hard drive or SSD.
- Faulty RAM
- A failed Windows update.
- A third-party program that modifies system files (e.g., anti-virus).
- A user accidentally deleting a system file (rare, but can happen).
Corrupted system files can cause Windows to become unstable, leading to blue screens, application crashes, slow performance, and possible data loss.
In this blog post, I will show you how to initiate a Windows system repair using SFC and DISM.
First let’s open PowerShell as Administrator (your computer may show “Command Prompt (Admin)” instead).
Now let’s type in: sfc /scannow
Wait for the process to complete.
Now if SFC has found no issues (like shown in the image above), then you should be OK. However, if SFC finds issues that it cannot fix, or if you’re experiencing more significant problems, you can then run DISM. This tool can help fix issues that SFC might not be able to address. You can run it with the command: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Wait for the process to complete.
Please note that in some cases, system file corruption can be too severe for these tools to resolve. If that’s the case, you may need to restore from a system backup (if available) or perform a complete re-installation of Windows.
Posted in Code Snippet, Command Prompt, Computers, Internet and Servers, Operating Systems, PowerShell, Software, Tips & Tutorials
Resetting Your Graphics Driver on Windows 10/11 with a Simple Keyboard Shortcut
Have you ever experienced screen glitches, freezes, or other display issues while using Windows and wished you did not have to reboot to fix the issue? Fortunately, there’s a quick way to reset your graphics driver that may resolve these problems without the need to restart your PC.
In this blog post, I will show you how to do it:
- Ensure all your work is saved as this process has a (very small) potential to crash the computer.
- Hold down the ‘Control’ (Ctrl) and ‘Windows’ (Win) keys on your keyboard.
- While holding those keys (Ctrl + Win), press the ‘Shift’ key and the ‘B’ key simultaneously.
- Control + Win + Shift + B
- Control + Win + Shift + B
- Once the screen goes blank, release all the keys.
- Wait for the screen to come back on and see if your issues have been solved.
That is all there is to it.
Please remember, this isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Some people may still require a reboot to resolve their issues, but this tutorial may save some people time rebooting when they did not need to.
Posted in Computers, Operating Systems, Tips & Tutorials
How to Restart the Windows File Sharing Service
This quick tutorial will show you how to restart the Windows file sharing service on your Windows desktop / server. This can be useful if you encounter issues sharing files on your computer, and cannot or do not want to reboot the system.
This tutorial is intended for Windows 10 / 11 and Windows Server 2016 or later. It assumes that you have already enabled and configured Windows file sharing on your computer.
- Open the Start menu and type “services.msc” in the search box. Press Enter to open the Services window.
- Alternatively, you may use the keyboard combination Win+R to open the Windows run box and type in “services.msc”.
- Alternatively, you may use the keyboard combination Win+R to open the Windows run box and type in “services.msc”.
- Locate the service named “Server” in the list of services.
- Right-click on the service and click “Restart”. This will stop and start the service again.
- Now you can verify if your issue has gone away. If not, then a reboot might be in order.
That’s it! Hopefully someone will find this tutorial useful.
Posted in Computers, Internet and Servers, Operating Systems, Software, Tips & Tutorials