How to Run System File Checker “sfc /scannow” on Windows 11/10

System File Checker or sfc.exe is a tool prepared by Microsoft to scan and recover corrupted Windows system files, it is located in the C:WindowsSystem32 folder. Well, on this occasion, WinPoin will tell you how to run System File Checker.

On Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista, System File Checker integrated with Windows Resource Protection, which protects keys and registry folders and system files that are considered important. So, if at any time you find that some system files were hacked or maybe you accidentally applied some tweaks or replace system files to customize Windows the way you want, but instead cause Windows or your PC to not work properly, then you can consider for run this tool first before you try a system restore later.

To run System File Checkerplease follow the steps that WinPoin has prepared below:

• Type cmd in the search box, don’t forget to right click and select Run As Administrator option.
• In the command prompt window, type the following words and press Enter:

sfc /scannow

• The sfc tool will run for a while and if any damage is found replace it on reboot.
  *If you can’t start System File Checker and you’re getting an error that says “Windows Resource Protection Could Not Start the Repair Service”, you probably should check if the Windows Module Installer service is disabled. To check, you can type services.msc in the search field and press Enter. The status of this service should be set to Manual.

After running System File Checkeryou may see one of many messages — some of which will show a message like the one below:

1. Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations
2. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them
3. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them
4. Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation
5. System File Checker SFC cannot repair corrupted member file
6. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them
7. Windows Resource Protection could not start the repair service

If any of the above messages appears and sfc can’t fix your problem (starting from no. 4-7), then you can try running System File Checker in Safe Mode or repair Windows Component Store using DISM and see if it works.