Computer and Software Support


SFC /? 

 

This command brings up the help file.

To get help with the SFC command, do the following

  1. Open Command Prompt

  2. Type SFC /? (There is a space between the SFC and the /)

   

  1. Press Enter

 

Scans the integrity of all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct Microsoft versions

SFC [/SCANNOW] [VERIFYONLY] [/SCANFILE=<file>] [/VERIFYFILE=<file>] [/OFFWINDIR=<offline windows directory> /OFFBOOTDIR=<offline boot directory>]

/SCANNOW - Scans integrity of all protected system files and repairs files with when possible
/VERIFYONLY - Scans integrity of all protected system files. No repair operation is performed.
/SCANFILE - Scans integrity of the referenced file, repairs file if problems are identified. Specify full path <file>
VERIFYFILE - Verifies the integrity of the file with full path <file>. No repair operation is performed.
/OFFBOOTDIR - For offline repair specify the location of the offline boot directory.
/OFFWINDIR - For offline repair specify the location of the offline windows directory

Example

  • sfc /SCANNOW

  • sfc /VERIFYFILE=c:\windows\system32\kernel32.dll

  • sfc \SCANFILE=d:\windows\system32\kernel32.dll /OFFBOOTDIR=d:\ /OFFWINDIR=d:\windows

  • SFC \VERIFYONLY

 

NOTES:

  • You must be logged on as member of the Administrators group to run sfc.

  • If sfc discovers that a protected file has been overwritten, it retrieves the correct version of the file from %systemroot%system32\dllcache folder, and then replaces the incorrect file.

  • If the %systemroot%\system32\dllcache folder becomes corrupt or unusable, use sfc /scannow, sfc /scanonce, or sfc /scanboot to repair the contents of the Dllcache directory.