DISM and SFC both repair Windows, but they work at different layers — using them in the wrong order is a common reason “the fix didn’t work” when it actually would have, if run correctly.
# SFC checks and repairs protected system files, using the LOCAL component store as its source sfc /scannow # DISM repairs the component store itself - what SFC relies on DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth # The correct order when SFC alone doesn't fix things: # 1. DISM /RestoreHealth first (repairs SFC's source of truth) # 2. THEN run sfc /scannow again
Why the Order Matters
SFC repairs corrupted system files by copying good copies from the local Windows component store — but if that store is itself corrupted, SFC has nothing valid to copy from and fails silently or incompletely. DISM’s /RestoreHealth repairs the component store first (pulling from Windows Update by default), which is exactly why running DISM before SFC fixes cases where SFC alone repeatedly reports it “could not fix some of the files.”