How to restore missing or corrupted system files in Windows 98.

I have heard there is a way in Windows 98 to restore system files that have been corrupted or deleted. Is this true?

This question was answered on March 17, 2001. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

---

Yes, you are talking about an application called System File Checker, or SFC for short You can access SFC by either launching MSINFO32 from the START, run, "msinfo32" and selecting it from the tools drop down menu or by clicking START, run, and typing "SFC" and clicking OK.

SFC can scan your system and check all system files, alerting you to files that are either missing or that have been changed There are different levels of interactivity that can be selected that will either automaticlly restore missing/changed files to asking you what to do for each individual file Beware that this can be a very lengthy operation, especially with higher levels of interactivity This feature can also keep a list of files that have been replaced by newer versions, but you must tell SFC whether each specific file is a newer one and to update its information in this "master" list Be careful with this aspect of SFC as you can potentially cause much grief by providing incorrect information to SFC.

Another feature of SFC lets you restore specific system files by name To do this you need to know exacttly what the file name is, and where it is supposed to reside Sometimes SFC will fill in the files default location, other times you have to specify it Once you provide the file name and location, SFC will ask you where to extract the file from, which will be wherever your Win98 cab files are located, and a location to store previous files if you are replacing a file that already exists as a backup Once the file has been restored, you should restart the system whether prompted to or not.

About the author

Posted by Brian of Data Doctors on March 17, 2001

Need Help with this Issue?

We help people with technology! It's what we do.
Contact or Schedule an Appointment with a location for help!