What order SFC & DISM ?

garlin · Apr 7, 2026

I can provide a counter-example for your repair sequence.

The first SFC replaces any inconsistent files in Windows or the Program Files folders. It trusts whatever files are in the component store as accurate. Suppose you had a bad Windows update, and now your component store is corrupted. SFC cannot detect something's wrong with the store.

If you ran DISM RestoreHealth, it could potentially fix some component store issues. Now the baseline for what are the correct files for SFC to compare against has changed.

Running SFC a second time from the updated store could result in new corrections, simply because the baseline has shifted since the first SFC run.

pseymour · Apr 7, 2026

zbook said:
If the Microsoft sequence was followed in the thread with this result the result could leave the viewer that does not read log files the impression that there were no sfc /scannow problems:
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.

It literally says Windows found corrupt files and repaired them. That's a good indicator that there were indeed problems.

hdmi · Apr 7, 2026

dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
If dism reports that it found issues and that it fixed all of 'em, then reboot.
sfc /scannow
If sfc reports that it found issues and that it fixed all of 'em, then reboot.

EB2XR6 · Apr 7, 2026

mrmatt said:
What about component store cleanup (analyze, startcomponentcleanup) ? Before, or after the other commands, please ?

Thanks.

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore

If DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore reports reclaimable packages then it is upto you if you wish to run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup. Note there are two packages that are included by default as a baseline and will not be removed DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup.

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase will remove everything including the two baseline packages which if you monitor your CBS Log you will see errors related to the two baseline packages. Also if you use the DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase and use System Restore, old System Restore Points will not work.

FrancoDT · Apr 7, 2026

EB2XR6 said:
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase will remove everything including the two baseline packages which if you monitor your CBS Log you will see errors related to the two baseline packages. Also if you use the DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase and use System Restore, old System Restore Points will not work.

Good Co-pilot breakdown of why not to remove the two Un-reclaimable packages:

Why You Shouldn’t Remove Un‑Reclaimable Component Store Packages

Un‑reclaimable packages are marked that way because Windows still needs them. They may include:

Core system libraries
Servicing stack components
Security components
Features that appear unused but are tied to dependencies
Removing them can break Windows in subtle or catastrophic ways.

Windows Update relies on the Component Store to:

Apply cumulative updates
Roll back failed updates
Perform DISM repairs
Enable or disable optional features
If you remove these packages, you may find that:

Updates fail
DISM /restorehealth can’t repair the system
SFC /scannow can’t restore missing files
Feature updates refuse to install

Even if a package looks old or unused, Windows may need it to:

Roll back to a previous version
Support side-by-side assemblies
Maintain compatibility with drivers or apps
Removing these can cause:

Random app crashes
Driver failures
Boot issues

Many people try to shrink WinSxS because it looks huge. But:

Much of the size is hard links, not actual disk usage
Windows already reclaims what it safely can
The “un‑reclaimable” portion is usually small and essential
Trying to manually remove it rarely saves meaningful space.

Microsoft explicitly warns that:

Deleting WinSxS files manually
Using third‑party “cleanup” tools
Removing packages not marked as reclaimable
…can corrupt the OS in ways that cannot be repaired.

This often leads to:

In-place upgrade repairs
Full reinstall
Data loss if the system becomes unbootable

The bottom line
Un‑reclaimable packages are not bloat — they’re the backbone of Windows servicing. Removing them is almost guaranteed to cause problems down the line, even if the system seems fine at first.

zbook · Apr 8, 2026

That thread ran the sequence sfc /scannow first and restorehealth second.

A sfc /scannow then ran a second time after restorehealth.

This is another example where if restorehealth had been run first the computer user could run sfc /scannow second:
(so the purpose of the sequence needs to be understood rather than always)

Code:

    Started on Mon 04/06/2026 at 13:10:22.22
  
        [SFC /ScanNow]
  
Beginning system scan.  This process will take some time.

Results:
 
Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
 
==================================================================

    Started on Mon 04/06/2026 at 13:11:27.76

        [DISM /online /cleanup-image /ScanHealth]

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.19041.3636

Image Version: 10.0.19045.6456
 
The component store is repairable.

The operation completed successfully.
 
==================================================================

    Started on Mon 04/06/2026 at 13:12:37.61

        [DISM /online /cleanup-image /RestoreHealth]

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.19041.3636

Image Version: 10.0.19045.6456
 
Error: 0x800f081f

The source files could not be found.
 
Use the "Source" option to specify the location of the files that are required to restore the feature.
For more information on specifying a source location, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=243077.
The DISM log file can be found at C:\Windows\Logs\DISM\dism.log
 
==================================================================

The second "SFC /ScanNow" was skipped, as the first output the following:

Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
 
==================================================================

mrmatt · Apr 10, 2026

So, today ran dism /restore, followed by sfc /scannow.

Ran DISM /online /cleanup-image /analyzecomponentstore. It reported the following (sorry I don't know how to do screenshots):

Reported size: 14.41 gb
Actual size: 13.30 gb
Shared with Windows: 5.32 gb
Backups & Disabled: 7.98 gb
Cache & Temporary: 335.04 kb

Reclaimable packages: 15.

Cleanup recommended.

I am trying to follow everything, but is it safe to delete the 15 packages ? I don't see any non-reclaimable packages.

Thanks.

Try3 · Apr 10, 2026

mrmatt said:
I don't know how to do screenshots

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mrmatt · Apr 10, 2026

Hope this will do (still learning), managed to take a copy with ALT + PrintScrn:

gunrunnerjohn · Apr 10, 2026

There's no burning reason to regularly clean up the component store. I look at that option maybe once or twice a year. The unused stuff isn't hurting anything, and there have been plenty of posts here about issues after the cleanup. Do you really need a few gigabytes on your boot drive that badly?

KevTech · Apr 10, 2026

gunrunnerjohn said:
There's no burning reason to regularly clean up the component store.

Yes as there is a task that automatically does cleanup.

Task Scheduler Library\Microsoft\Windows\Servicing

FrancoDT · Apr 10, 2026

mrmatt said:
am trying to follow everything, but is it safe to delete the 15 packages ? I don't see any non-reclaimable packages.

Yes it's safe to run clean up, no worries. After you do you will have two packages remaining and even though they will show as reclaimable those two will not remove with cleanup as they are actually un-reclaimable. Those two you need to leave alone and not remove by force as they are needed for future Windows updates and/or recovery operations.

KevTech · Apr 10, 2026

FrancoDT said:
Those two you need to leave alone and not remove by force as they are needed for future Windows updates and/or recovery operations.

And yet many have removed them without any issues with updates or partitions.

FrancoDT · Apr 10, 2026

KevTech said:
And yet many have removed them without any issues with updates or partitions.

All depends on the update, not everyone will have an issue, at least not right away. Insiders seem to be more prone to issues. Myself, I had multiple WU install issues after using the command to forcably remove those two unreclaimable packages and everytime I had to do a repair install to get the update.

That was enough for me especially after researching it and finding out those unreclaimable packages did indeed have a purpose and we're unreclaimable for a reason. I leave those two alone now.

Taliseian · Apr 10, 2026

Since SFC relies on the Component Store to correct any issues and it needs to be without errors or it could make the situation worse, doesn't it make sense to ensure the Component Store was updated and without errors first before running SFC?

EB2XR6 · Apr 10, 2026

Taliseian said:
Since SFC relies on the Component Store to correct any issues and it needs to be without errors or it could make the situation worse, doesn't it make sense to ensure the Component Store was updated and without errors first before running SFC?

Exactly.

gunrunnerjohn · Apr 10, 2026

KevTech said:
And yet many have removed them without any issues with updates or partitions.

And others have removed them and then had to do a repair installation! Why take the chance? What are you really gaining?

KevTech · Apr 10, 2026

gunrunnerjohn said:
And others have removed them and then had to do a repair installation!

I can't help what under qualified people do.

mrmatt · Apr 10, 2026

Will leave alone for now.

FrancoDT · Apr 10, 2026

mrmatt said:
Will leave alone for now.

As you have 15 (a lot), I would go ahead and run component store cleanup to safely remove the reclaimable packages and bring that number down to two. As I said just leave those leftover remaining two packages alone as it's not worth the risk of future Windows Update errors. Been there, done that.

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