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Windows and Office

Quick Tip: Scan Windows 7 system files to repair errors

Takeaway: Despite our best efforts, every once in a while, Microsoft Windows 7 system files will become corrupted. A simple scan can fix these system errors.

Knock on wood, this has not happened to me in a very, very long time, but every once in a while the Microsoft Windows system files will become corrupted and report errors. The solution to this annoying, but fixable, problem is to repair the files. A reboot of the PC will often do the trick, but there is a way to repair files while Windows 7 is running and, presumably, you are working productively.

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First you will need to start a permission-elevated command-line prompt. Type command into the Desktop Search box and then right-click on the Command Prompt menu entry and select the Run as Administrator item (Figure A).

Figure A

Run the command prompt as administrator.

After accepting the elevated permissions, at the prompt type this command:

sfc /scannow

Now the system will verify the system files and repair any corrupted files (Figure B).

Figure B

Scan for errors.

My test system had no errors (Figure C); however if it did, this scan would have repaired any corrupted files, but without forcing a system reboot.

Figure C

No errors were found.

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Mark Kaelin

About Mark Kaelin

Mark Kaelin is a CBS Interactive Senior Editor for TechRepublic. He is the host for the Microsoft Windows and Office blog, the Google in the Enterprise blog and the iOS App Builder blog.

Mark Kaelin

Mark Kaelin
Mark Kaelin is a CBS Interactive Senior Editor for TechRepublic. He is the host for the Microsoft Windows and Office blog, the Google in the Enterprise blog and the iOS App Builder blog.
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