In the earlier days of Windows users would speak towards a phenomenon dubbed bit rot in which, over time, Windows would slowly grind to a slow crawl. Seemingly the only solution once you found yourself in the situation was to reinstall. Whether you believe such a thing as bit rot or software rot exists or it’s all just an illusion – you likely know it’s not the best practice to install gobs of software, especially demo or trial ware, even if you run the software uninstaller once you’re finished.

Windows has matured amazingly well and has grown to resist many problems its users could induce within the system. Windows system files are protected by User Account Control prompts from spyware or trojans, or even accidental poking and prodding users but sometimes some corruption can still sneak in. It’s logical to conclude that such corruption can have a detrimental effect on system stability.

Should your PC develop a temperamental attitude and begin crashing there is an initial first step you should take that may save you a whole lot of wasted time and aggravation.

System File Checker or SFC is an internal Windows command that can be used to scan all the protected Windows file for corruption or otherwise missing files. SFC is aware of the versions of files or even what files are expected on a currently working Windows install and by cross-checking it’s internal database, it will replace any problematic files with those fresh from the installation media. The scan only takes a few minutes to run and could mean the difference between a working system and an afternoon spent trying to determine why the non-working system dislikes you.

Open a Command Prompt with administrative privileges.

Execute the command sfc /scannow.

Windows will handle the rest of the heavy lifting but it may prompt you to insert your installation media to restore the original files from – so be sure you have it handy.