Admin Tips
- Windows Server 2008/2003/2000/XP/NT Administrator Knowledge Base
  - Windows Vista
    - Admin Tips
      - Troubleshooting
        Resolving Problems After Applying an Update

Section(s): Troubleshooting
Published on Sep 30, 2008.
Last Modified on Jul 03, 2008.
Last Modified by Mitch Tulloch.
Rating: Not Rated

You can use System File Checker to try and resolve problems that occur after an update has been applied.

I’ve heard a few stories if people applying SP1 to Vista or some other update to Vista and suddenly something stops working. For example, one user I heard about suddenly found that his system wouldn’t detect USB flash drives after applying SP1. What can you do if this happens?

You can try running System File Checker (SFC.exe) on the affected computer. SFC is a command-line tool used with Windows File Protection (WFP) that can scan protected operating system files and verify their versions. To use SFC, open an elevated command prompt and type sfc scannow at the command prompt. This scans your protected operating system files and replaces any incorrect versions found with the correct versions of the files. And if any files can’t be replaced by SFC, you can follow the instructions in this KB article to correct the situation.

About Mitch Tulloch

Mitch Tulloch is a widely recognized expert on Windows administration, networking, and security. He has been repeatedly awarded Most Valuable Professional (MVP) status by Microsoft for his outstanding contributions in supporting users who deploy and use Microsoft platforms, products and solutions. Mitch has published over two hundred articles on different IT websites and magazines, and he has written or contributed to almost two dozen books and is lead author for the Windows 7 Resource Kit from Microsoft Press. For more information, see www.mtit.com .