SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker

How to Repair Windows 7 System Files with System File Checker​

   Information

The sfc /scannow command (System File Checker) scans the integrity of all protected Windows 7 system files and replaces incorrect corrupted, changed/modified, or damaged versions with the correct versions if possible.

   Tip

If you get the Windows Resource Protection Could Not Start the Repair Service error when trying to run SFC, then make sure that the Windows Modules Installer service is enabled, click on Start, and set to Manual.

Services - Start or Disable

OR

Copy and paste the command below in the elevated command prompt, and press Enter. After the Windows Modules Installer service has started, try running the SFC command again

net start trustedinstaller

   Note

The KB3022345, KB3035583, and KB3068708 updates will cause SFC to give you a false mismatch message in SFC for files related to these updates.

You can safely ignore these results in your SFC details since it will not affect SFC from being able to repair other system files.

   Warning

Be aware that if you have modified your system files as in theming explorer/system files, running sfc /scannow will revert the system files such as explorer.exe back to it's default state. Make the appropriate backups of your system files that you have modified for theming if you wish to save them before running sfc /scannow.

:note: For the updated Windows 10 tutorial, please see - SFC Command - Run in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Tutorials

CONTENTS:

• Option One: To Run the SFC /SCANNOW Command at Boot
• Option Two: To Run the SFC /SCANNOW Command in Windows 7
• Option Three: How to See and Read Only the "SFC" Scan Results from the CBS.LOG

OPTION ONE

To Run the SFC /SCANNOW Command at Boot

1. For how, see METHOD TWO at this link: SFC /SCANNOW : Run in Command Prompt at Boot

   Note

Using OPTION TWO below is recommended if able.

If you would like to get help with your SFC issue, then be sure to upload and attach your sfcdetails.txt file from OPTION THREE below in your post.

OPTION TWO

To Run the SFC /SCANNOW Command in Windows 7

1. Open an elevated command prompt or an elevated PowerShell, and do step 2 or 3 below for what type of scan you would like to run.


2. To Scan and Repair System Files
NOTE: Scans the integrity of all protected system files and repairs the system files if needed. Please see red WARNING box at the top of this tutorial.
A) In the elevated command prompt, type sfc /scannow, press Enter, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: This may take a little bit to finish.


3. To Only Verify if the System Files are Corrupted
NOTE: Scans and only verifies the integrity of all proteced system files only. This command will not change your system files as in the red WARNING box at the top of this tutorial.
A) In the elevated command prompt, type sfc /verifyonly, press Enter, and go to step 4 below.
4. When the scan is complete, hopefully you will see all is ok like the screenshot below.

   Note

• If SFC could not fix something, then run the command again to see if it may be able to the next time. Sometimes it may take running the sfc /scannow command 3 or more times to completely fix everything that it's able to.
• If not, then download and run the 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) System Update Readiness Tool for your same installed 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 7, restart the PC afterwards, and try the sfc /scannow command again.
• If still not, then try using OPTION ONE above to run the sfc /scannow command at boot.
• If still not, then you can attempt to run a System Restore using a restore point dated before the bad file occured to fix it. You may need to repeat doing a System Restore until you find a older restore point that may work.
• If still not, then you can use the steps in the TIP box in the OPTION THREE section below to manually replace the files that SFC could not fix if there are not to many fix.
• If there are to many files to manually fix, or you prefer not to use OPTION THREE below, then you could do a repair install without losing anything.

If you would like to get help with your SFC issue, then be sure to upload and attach your sfcdetails.txt file from OPTION THREE below in your post.

5. When done, close the elevated command prompt.

OPTION THREE

How to See and Read Only the "SFC" Scan Results from the CBS.LOG

   Note

When SFC runs, it logs it's actions into the C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. The steps in this option will show you how to see only the specific SFC entries with the [SR] tags in this CBS.log. This can be helpful to show you what files SFC could not fix automatically if you wanted to try and manually replace them.

1. Open an "elevated command prompt" (right click -> Run as administrator).

2. In the elevated command prompt, copy and paste the command below, and press Enter. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: This will place a sfcdetails.txt file on your desktop with only the SFC scan result details from the CBS.LOG in it.

findstr /c:"[SR]" %windir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log >"%userprofile%\Desktop\sfcdetails.txt"

3. Close the elevated command prompt.

4. Open the sfcdetails.txt file on your desktop to see the SFC scan details in the CBS.LOG.

5. You can safely delete the sfcdetails.txt file afterwards if you like.

   Tip

If you need to replace a corrupted system file that SFC cannot fix, then this will show you how to by extracting a new copy directly from your Windows 7 installation DVD.

Extract Files from Windows 7 Installation DVD

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Run the System File Checker in a Command Prompt at Boot
• How to Do a System Restore in Windows 7
• How to Do a Repair Install to Fix Windows 7
• How to Run Disk Check in Windows 7
• How to See Windows 7 Reliability and Problem History with Reliability Monitor
• How to Extract Files from the Windows 7 Installation DVD
• How to Troubleshoot a Problem by Performing a Clean Startup in Windows 7 or Vista

 

[Brink]

Hello Jesse,

You can do so by running a SFC scan using OPTION TWO, then use OPTION THREE to create a sfcdetails.txt file to see the log file.

 

[Jesse Williams]

I don't know how to create a sfc.details.txt. How do I do that?

 

[Brink]

No problem. Option Three in the tutorial will show you how to step by step.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html#option3

 

[Jesse Williams]

Brink, when I enter that text in the command prompt, it keeps saying "The system path cannot find the path specified".

I entered this text in the command prompt "findstr /c:"[SR]" %windir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log >"%userprofile%\Desktop\sfcdetails.txt".

 

[Brink]

In that case, it sounds like it may be an error made when entering the command.

Did you copy and paste the command?

 

[Jesse Williams]

Yes, I copied and pasted the command.

 

[Brink]

Give the command below a try to see if it may work, to see if it may be an issue with your environmental variables.

findstr /c:"[SR]" C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log >"%userprofile%\Desktop\sfcdetails.txt"

If you still get the error, then verify if you have the folder below.

C:\Windows\Logs\CBS

 

[Jesse Williams]

I still received the error. However, when I typed in C:\Windows\Logs\CBS, I got a folder that says CBS and a Text Document that says CBS/CBS.

 

[Brink]

Ok. Test to see if this below opens your Desktop folder without error.

%userprofile%\Desktop

If so, try copying and pasting the command below one more time.

findstr /c:"[SR]" %windir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log >"%userprofile%\Desktop\sfcdetails.txt"

 

[Jesse Williams]

What place do I enter %userprofile%\Desktop at?

 

[Jesse Williams]

Okay. I did that. It did open the desktop folder without error.

 

[Brink]

Ok, good. Try copying and pasting the command below in an elevated command prompt one more time.

findstr /c:"[SR]" %windir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log >"%userprofile%\Desktop\sfcdetails.txt"

 

[Jesse Williams]

I am still getting the same error.

 

[AddRAM]

Jesse, what has told you you have corrupted files ?

You are well aware of the updates that cause a false corrupt file reading, that were discussed earlier, corret ?

 

[Jesse Williams]

The SFC commands has told me that I have a corrupt file. Follow the link, and that will direct you to the whole thing of what is going on. http://www.sevenforums.com/windows-...ate-service-registration-missing-corrupt.html

 

[Brink]

I must admit that I don't know why the command won't work for you when it has no problem finding either location by themselves.

 

[Jesse Williams]

I don't know either. Is there another way I can see what files are affected and how to repair them?

 

[Brink]

You can copy your CBS.log file from the %windir%\Logs\CBS folder to your desktop, then try the command below to see if it'll create a sfcdetails.txt file for you.

findstr /c:"[SR]" "%userprofile%\Desktop\CBS.log" >"%userprofile%\Desktop\sfcdetails.txt"

 

[Jesse Williams]

Okay. Well, every time I try to open the CBS Log, it says Access Denied.

 

[Brink]

You will have to copy the CBS.log to your desktop first, then run the command I posted above.