How To Fix Corrupted Files On Windows 11- Step By Step Guide #2023

Byadmin

It’s possible that damaged system files or missing files on your Windows 11 PC are causing window crashes, random errors, program crashes, or a blue screen error. Windows files can be damaged by various causes, including power outages, viruses, malware, hardware issues, update failures, program breakdowns, and so on. Thankfully, there are various options in Windows 11 for repairing or replacing faulty files. So, this article will discuss how to fix corrupted files on Windows 11.

Scan for corrupt files and repair corrupt files

System File Checker (SFC) is a built-in command-line program in Windows that aids you to discover and restore faulty system files. The most frequent way for fixing broken or missing system files in current Windows machines is to run an SFC scan. Let’s look at how to achieve that in more detail:

  • To do so, go to the Start menu or the taskbar’s search icon and type in ‘Command Prompt’ or ‘cmd.’ Then, from the right pane, you need to choose ‘Run as administrator.’
  • Enter the following command into the elevated Command Prompt and click Enter.
  • sfc/ scannow
  • The utility will examine system files for faults or corruption. It will automatically repair/replace any damaged or missing files with a cached copy if any are detected.
  • The procedure will take some time to complete depending on the files and programs on your computer.

By viewing and analyzing System File Checker logs

System File Checker creates a log file entitled ‘CBS.log’ after each scan in which it lists every file that was inspected and repaired.

  • The SFC scan log file is located at the following address:
  • C:\Windows\Logs\CBS
  • Go to the aforementioned directory in File Explorer and double-click the ‘CBS.log’ text document to read the SFC repair data in Notepad.
  • You may also use the following command to generate a second log file in a given location:

findstr /c:”[SR]” %windir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log > “C:\SFClogs\sfclogs.txt”

  • Replace C:\SFClogs\sfclogs.txt with the address to where you want the log file to be stored.

To fix corrupted files, run the DISM commands

DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) is a command utility for administrators and professionals that scans and repairs Windows images such as Windows Recovery Environment, Windows Setup, and Windows PE (WinPE).

If the previous procedure refuses to repair the bad sectors, you may instead conduct a DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) scan. DISM begins by scanning your computer for lost or damaged data related to various Windows services. The appropriate images and data will then be downloaded from the Microsoft server, and the faulty files will be replaced. You’ll need an active internet connection for this to operate.

  • Open Command Prompt as administrator, just like you did for the SFC scan, to launch this utility. Then, one by one, type the following instructions, pressing Enter after each one:

DISM/Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth

  • Type the following command to recover the damaged files when the first command completes the scan.

DISM/Online/Cleanup-Image/restorehealth

Offline Repair using DISM

  • If you don’t have internet access or a connection issue, run the command following to repair your computer offline:

DISM /Image: C:\offline /Cleanup-Image /restorehealth /Source: c:\test\mount\windows

  • The message “Windows Resource Protection discovered damaged files and successfully restored them.” indicates that DISM has located and repaired the corrupted data. After that, you can reboot your pc to see whether the issue has been repaired.

In Safe Mode, launch System File Checker (SFC scan)

The third-party apps and applications are frequently the sources of file corruption or system crashes in Windows. Safe mode runs osnly the bare minimum of drivers and services, with no third-party participation.

As a result, running SFC in this debugging mode may assist you in resolving your problem. Here’s how to do it:

  • To enter Safe Mode, hit Windows+R to bring up the Run command prompt, then, in the text area, write MSConfig and press Enter.
  • To activate the feature, go to the ‘Boot’ column in the System Configuration control panel and check the box next to ‘Safe Boot’ under Boot choices. Then, after clicking ‘Apply,’ you should click ‘OK.’
  • Next, select ‘Restart’ to reboot your PC in safe mode now (automatically), or ‘Exit without restart‘ to restart your PC later (manually). You can preserve your output and correctly exit all open apps if you choose ‘Exit without restart.’
  • Log onto your computer when the machine restarts in safe mode. In the Windows search, type ‘cmd’ and then select ‘Run as administrator’.
  • Enter the following command below into the Command Prompt window and click Enter.

sfc /scannow

  • After the scan is finished, exit safe mode and restart your computer in normal Windows mode. To do so, use the Run command box to launch the System Configuration tool, then type ‘MSConfig’ in the dialogue box and hit ‘OK.’
  • Head over to the ‘Boot’ section in the ‘System Configuration’ box and deactivate the ‘Safe Boot’ option under Boot settings.
  • Afterward, in the window that appears, press ‘Restart’ to reboot your computer in standard mode.

Carry out a system restore to repair corrupted files

This tool will recover your system to a prior state or point in time, undoing any recent modifications to the PC (including damaged files). It will reestablish the previous state of your Windows and key system files. Here’s how to go about it:

  • Pick the ‘Create a restore point’ control panel in the result by hitting the Start menu or pressing the Windows key and searching for ‘System restore’ in the Windows search.
  • When the System Properties box appears, go to the ‘System Protection’ tab and select the System Restore icon.
  • If you have a System Restore functionality, it may indicate a preferred restore point. If you would like to utilize a different restore point, pick the ‘Recommended restore’ alternative or ‘Choose a different restoration point’ option and then click ‘Next.’
  • The new screen displays a list of all accessible restoration points (manual and automated), along with timestamps and brief explanations. Press ‘Next’ after selecting the appropriate restoration point.
  • Focus on choosing a restore point that was created before or at the time your data were damaged.
  • To begin the restoration procedure, you need to press the ‘Finish’ key.

Your system will now be returned to its previous condition before the specified incident, with the undamaged files replacing the damaged files.