Time to share another useful Microsoft Windows command-line utility tool. If you have experienced the "Blue Screen of Death", a crash, service pack installation failure, windows update failures or observed general Windows system file corruption error messages, then this utility tool might be useful to you.
Many common Windows Update errors which result from new system file corruption can be corrected using the Windows DISM.exe tool. Failed application or update installs often result in corruption of some of the system files. These utilities are designed to detect corrupted file and repair them. It targets the currently running operating system for repair. The DISM tool must be run from the Windows Command prompt (cmd), with an account that has administrator privileges using " Run as administrator ".
DISM = Windows "Deployment Image Servicing and Management" tool.
- Before using any software utility program, make sure you first have
permission and authorization to do so. Most Importantly of all: Back up your system programs and
any data files before using any utilities such as this one. Create a Restore Point to protect the basic settings too. Do this now. Take precautions before using any utility programs and do so at your own risk. You are responsible for your data, programs and computer.
- Please make sure you have reviewed my earlier article on how to run the System File Checker (SFC) tool first. The SFC tool scans Windows operating system files for corruption AND restores any found corrupted files, all automatically! The SFC often quickly corrects many system errors and I always run that utility first. DISM is more thorough, but takes more time to run.
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Before using the DISM (or SFC) utilities, set a new restore point using the very useful "Restore Point"
feature found in Windows (discussed in an earlier post). Make sure you have enough time available for the computer to run this utility (overnight is best). Once started, it will show a progress bar. Do not interrupt the process.
To run the DISM.exe utility, close down all applications for now. Make sure your account has Administrator privileges, then open up the Command Prompt using the " Run as administrator " option (you must do this so the system32 path is selected).
At the command line prompt, Type the command line below (make sure to include the spaces, exactly as shown):
DISM /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
Optionally, for some O/S enter: DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
The screen should show " Deployment Image Servicing and Management Tool " with the version #. Image Version plus some [ ] showing the progress. When it is finished, it should report that "The operation completed successfully". Type 'EXIT' to close the Command Prompt screen, then Reboot your computer.
References:
1. Microsoft Windows Support Page:
