How to repair Windows 10 (and 11) in four steps

When Windows 10 gets wonky, try this series of repair techniques — in this guild — to endeavour to ready things right.

mechanic wrench fix engine repair
Thinkstock
Tabular array of Contents

Show More than

Sometimes a Windows x organisation starts misbehaving to the point where repair is needed. This often takes the form of worsening performance or stability, and tin originate from harm to, loss of, or abuse of Windows arrangement files typically institute in theC:\Windows folder bureaucracy. When that happens, users would be well brash to break out the following routine to assistance them set things back to rights.

I initially wrote this story in 2016, simply every bit Windows 10 has evolved over time, some of the steps take changed a fleck. I've now updated it for the latest versions of Windows ten. That said, almost of these approaches likewise piece of work with Windows 7 and viii (with slight variations), and the advice here applies nigh identically to Windows xi, which Microsoft is gradually rolling out to Windows 10 users whose hardware tin support the new OS via Windows Update from Oct 2021 into early 2022.

The Windows x (or 11) repair drill

The idea is to start effort the initial step in the sequence. If that doesn't fix what'southward broken, accelerate to the next step. Proceed working through the steps in order until you reach the finish, and you are jump to set up the vast majority of problems. (The simply remaining step at that point would be to replace the system on which the software is running, and that's exterior the scope of this story.)

The amount of time and effort required for each step goes up incrementally. Some steps involve additional work to restore the prior state of your PC more or less back to where it was prior to taking that footstep. Thus, the virtually important bit of advice I can dispense for those who must venture beyond Step one is this: Brand a consummate backup of your organization to provide a source for files and information that might otherwise go missing. Ignore this advice at your own chance.

Step 1: Using DISM and SFC for system repair

Since I wrote the original version of this story, I've obtained direct communication from Microsoft that information technology's best to run DISM before running the System File Checker, a.k.a. SFC. Hence, I am reversing the social club of events for this step. I'll echo Microsoft and say "E'er run DISM first, then SFC 2nd, not vice versa."

DISM is the Deployment Paradigm Servicing and Direction tool. Information technology's a kind of Swiss Army knife for working with Windows operating organisation images, both offline and online. DISM can often fix things that SFC can observe but that information technology cannot itself fix. DISM supports a raft of capabilities with switches and parameters to match, just basic organization file repair syntax is reasonably easy (though it often requires multiple passes earlier it can set things straight).

You lot must run DISM in an Administrator: Command Prompt window (press the Windows primal + X combination and select Command Prompt (Admin) from the resulting pop-upwards menu) or in an Administrative PowerShell or Windows Last session. Here'southward some sample syntax (consult the TechNet DISM Technical Reference for all the gory details):

dism /online /cleanup-image /checkhealth

Near of the fourth dimension when you lot run this command, the output will find zero amiss, as shown in Figure 1:

win10 repair 01 dism checkhealth IDG

Figure 1: DISM tin check the wellness of whatever Windows image. Hither, information technology reports all is well on a production PC.

The /checkhealth command simply checks the running epitome (that's what /online tells it to do) to see if information technology can detect any harm or corruption. Because it'southward merely checking file hashes and signatures, this control completes in nether one minute on most machines. The practiced thing virtually /checkhealth is that it not only tells yous if it finds harm just if that harm is repairable or not-repairable. If it's repairable, y'all can keep to the /restorehealth selection (covered in the following paragraphs); if it's not-repairable, jump to Step ii.

If DISM reports that component store corruption is institute and is repairable, you lot should try repairs. That syntax reads:

dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

Even if errors were detected in the preceding stride, this control should complete successfully. It replaces decadent or questionable elements in the Windows Side-by-Side (WinSxS) store, reading from a local copy of your Windows image files.

The/restorehealth command can exist tricky to use. Because it tin can actually repair a Windows paradigm, it needs a source from which to attempt such repairs. You can omit the/source option, only if you do, the command will try to catch its files from Windows Update over the internet. This may or may not 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 prototype (.esd, which is used for electronic software downloads of Windows installations, as the file extension is meant to communicate). You lot can also betoken to a separate re-create of aWinSXS folder (the usual directory path is C:\Windows\WinSXS) taken from another PC with like or identical hardware for whichdism ... /checkhealth returns a clean bill of wellness.

The syntax for paradigm files is where things can get interesting. To indicate to theinstall.wim file that shows up in ISO downloads for the Windows 10 installer on a USB flash drive designatedL:, for instance, yous must use the following source specification (which uses the offset paradigm it finds inside the .wim file, designated :ane):

/source:WIM:L:\sources\install.wim:1

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

/source:ESD:L:\sources\install.esd:1

If yous run into difficulties getting this to piece of work, try adding the/limitaccess switch to your command strings. This stops DISM from attempting to grab source files from Windows Update, which it will sometimes exercise fifty-fifty if pointed at a local source. If you lot just can't get either of these to work, try aWinSXS folder instead.

Note: the version and language for the/source image must be identical to that for the epitome to exist repaired. This may mean using HeiDoc.net, UUP Dump, or Microsoft'southward Media Cosmos Tool to grab the right Windows 10 or 11 version/build (run across my article "The best places to find Windows 10 ISOs" for details on how to use 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 2 shows typical DISM output using /restorehealth:

win10 repair 02 dism restorehealth IDG

Figure two: Even when DISM /checkhealth finds errors, the /restorehealth choice is unremarkably successful. (Click image to enlarge information technology.)

Side by side, it's 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 anything amiss if yous enter SFC /scannow at the control line.

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

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

win10 repair 03 sfc scannow corrupt IDG

Figure 3: If SFC finds questionable files, it will repair them if it can. Hither, it succeeds. (Click image to enlarge it.)

win10 repair 04 sfc scannow clear IDG

Figure iv: Somewhen, SFC volition 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 signal, so the odds are in your favor that you won't have to keep going. But if DISM tin can't set up your Windows image, or SFC tin can't or won't brand repairs to your system files, proceed to Step two.

Footstep 2: Try a recent restore signal or image backup

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

win10 repair 05 system restore IDG

Figure 5: Access available restore points using the "System Restore…" push button.

To look at restore points, you lot must piece of work through the System Restore wizard. Click the System Restore... push button to launch the magician, then click the Next button on the kickoff pane of the wizard to see a list of restore points available to y'all. (If you don't similar what you meet, or you don't see something from earlier your troubles started on this motorcar, click the Show more restore points checkbox for a complete list of what's available to you.) Click the restore bespeak to which you would like to revert.

Figure 6 shows the lone restore point available on my examination PC.

win10 repair 06 restore point item IDG

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

Because I have only 1 restore point — I don't utilise them much any more, for reasons I'll explain coming up — I picked that particular to testify you what appears when you select a restore point in this utility. If you click the Browse for affected programs button it volition tell you if any programs or drivers will be affected by rolling back to the restore indicate you've selected. In this case, there's no bear on, every bit shown in Figure vii. If something were to be affected, it would evidence up in either the pinnacle or bottom listing in that results pane.

win10 repair 07 restore programs drivers IDG

Effigy 7: The current restore point has no impact. But older restore points will provide a list of drivers and programs that need to be reinstalled if you revert to that restore indicate.

It usually takes between v and 15 minutes to revert to a restore signal. The corporeality of additional try to take hold of support to where you lot left off depends on the number of items that need to be installed or updated, as shown in Figure vii. This can have from minutes to an 60 minutes or more depending on size and telescopic.

All this said, I don't employ Restore Points anymore. I've run into occasional bug with failed restores, and I've seen enough of discussion in Microsoft Community and TenForums among other users who've had similar problems. My preference is to restore an image built using Macrium Reflect (complimentary or commercial; I use both). Information technology'due south faster than System Restore, and I've never been unable to restore a valid, integrity-checked Reflect backup. You lot make up one's mind what's best for y'all; I use Reverberate.

Restoring an image backup is much like reverting to a restore point: choose the image (usually by date and time) to which you'd like to whorl back, then initiate the restore procedure. For instance, Macrium Reflect offers a "Restore" menu, and so 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 y'all don't take either of these), it's fourth dimension to movement on to Step 3.