The sfc / scannow command is a well-known way to check the integrity of all your system files Windows. It can be useful in many scenarios and help you with various Windows problems. So, if for some reason you are not able to start Windows, that is, if for some reason your computer refuses to open, then maybe it's time to run System File Check (sfc).
Fortunately, the sfc command supports offline scanning of a Windows installation, even if it doesn't start properly. What it actually does is check all Windows files (even dlls) and if it finds any problematic replace them with the original. All you need is a bootable media containing the Windows 8/8.1 setup, in other words the Windows 8/8.1 installation DVD or a bootable USB stick. In our previous article here, you will find the way to download the iso Window installation file.
The steps you will need to take to run a scan with the sfc command and without the requirement to connect to the Internet, is:.
- Put the dvd installation or whatever other bootable installation media you have and boot your computer. (You may need to press some buttons or change the BIOS options to boot from the DVD after
USB, etc.) - When the "Install Window" screen appears, press the keys Shift + F10 together. This will open the command line.
- Type the word in the command line pane notepad and press Enter. Do not close the command-line window. In the notebook that appears, open the menus File -> Open. Click "This Computer" in the left pane of the Open dialog to view your computer's disks. Note the appropriate drive letter of the partition where you have the damaged Windowws installed. In the image below, it is on disk D:.
- Now, type the following text at the command prompt:
sfc / scannow / offbootdir = D: \ / offwindir = D: \ Windows
Note that offbootdir contains the drive letter where the damaged one is located functional and offwindir is the folder in which the damaged operating system is located.
Press Enter to execute the command.
When you run the computer normally Windows is usually in C: // Windows. But booting your computer from a bootable dvd or anything other than C: then the letter on the disk where the corrupted operating system is located may no longer be C but some other letter. This is why it is necessary to check the letter of the operating disk.
That's all. Now let the SFC tool denergy checking and correcting any integrity problems. It will automatically fix any problems it finds. The process will take you about 10 minutes. Just know that if you have broken, tampered or any other files in your computer instead of the normal ones then sfc will logically see them as corrupted and replace them.
Finally, restart your computer by removing the bootable medium to see if the sfc command has resolved the problem.
