Windows 10 system integrity check (SFC & DISM)

Just like with Windows 7 and Windows 8.x, Windows 10 supports integrity checking and repair using two tools, SFC and DISM. Very useful when you’re experiencing errors and you’re suspecting corrupt Windows files might be the reason for that. There are however often complications with SFC and DISM tools in Windows 10 and all the guides I’ve found online didn’t provide sufficient help or guidance to make them work. This one however does thanks to fellow users from TechPowerUp (especially “jboydgolfer” 🙂 ) who helped me figure out why SFC and DISM tools fail to repair OS.

Basic Integrity Repair

Right click Start button and select Command Prompt (Admin). Into the command prompt, type in (or copy&paste it):

sfc /scannow

If you get a message there were corrupt files found, but SFC was unable to repair them, type in this (or copy&paste it):

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

If this one ends with error 0x800F081F – The source files could not be found you’ll have to use the Advanced Repair guide below…

If DISM completes and repairs errors, use the sfc /scannow again. It should also repair files without any problems this time around. If it doesn’t, continue reading below…

Advanced Integrity Repair

You’re reading this part if both, SFC and DISM ended with error messages.

You’ll have to download Windows 10 ISO image from here first. Make sure you download the edition and version (32bit or 64bit) that you’re using for the given system.

Find the ISO image file you’ve just downloaded from Microsoft webpage on your drive, right click it and select Mount option. This will mount the ISO image to your This PC (just like USB drive). Check which drive letter it is using. You’ll need it down below…

Right click Start button and select Command Prompt (Admin). Into the command prompt, type in (or copy&paste it):

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:WIM:X:\sources\Install.wim:1

Replace X with the actual letter to which Windows 10 mounted your ISO image. It looks like this on my system. For me it was letter E. It might be some other for you.

If DISM completes with message:

The restore operation completed successfully.
The operation completed successfully.

Yay, you made it! 😀 Now, use the sfc /scannow again and it should complete fine as well. It should report finished task with message:

Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired
them.

Congrats, you’ve managed to get SFC and DISM to work and do their job. You can now right click the mounted drive in your This PC and select Eject. This will unmount the ISO image. That’s it. Store the ISO for later use, either for OS re-installation or for repairs like this.

If you have any other issues or you’re unsure what to do in certain step, drop me a message below and I’ll try to figure it out or update the guide to make it more understandable.