TL;DR: How to repair Windows system files with SFC and DISM

KB ID 2610140001

Problem: I want to check Windows for damaged or missing system files and repair them with the built-in tools, in the right order.
Applies to: System File Checker (sfc.exe), Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM.exe), Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)
Time to fix: 20 to 60 minutes, mostly waiting for the scans

Symptoms, platforms, difficulty and more

Symptoms: You would do this when Windows features stop working, a Windows Update or an optional feature or role fails to install (for example error 0x800f081f, "The source files could not be found"), or Windows crashes in ways that point at damaged system files. The tools print "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations", "found corrupt files and successfully repaired them", or "found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them".
Platforms affected: Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server
Difficulty: Intermediate (command line, administrator rights)
Verified on: Not yet tested by KEH-TECH on a live system. Steps and commands checked against Microsoft Learn on 14 October 2026.
Category: How-to
Updated: 14 Oct 2026
Tags: Command Prompt, DISM, SFC, Windows, Windows Server

The fix only. No explanation, no diagnosis. Read the full article if any of this does not match what you are seeing.

Open an elevated Command Prompt (search for cmd, then Run as administrator).
Repair the component store first:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Then check and repair the system files, and restart if it asks:

sfc /scannow

Run sfc /scannow again until it says no integrity violations were found.
If DISM says the source files could not be found (0x800f081f), point it at matching install media and stop it using Windows Update:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:wim:D:\sources\install.wim:1 /LimitAccess

The media must be the same Windows version as the PC and patched to the latest cumulative update. List the image indexes with DISM /Get-ImageInfo /ImageFile:D:\sources\install.wim.

← Full article, with the diagnosis and the why

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Updated on October 14, 2026