[Solved] Windows Resource Protection Found Corrupt Files

You’re likely to see the error “Windows Resource Protection Found Corrupt Files But Was Unable to Fix Some of Them” when you’re already experiencing computer problems. Slower performance, crashes, or glitches are the expected results of corrupted system files, so it’s something that you should address and repair right away.

Often the problems can be solved by the scans fixing the errors they find, but sometimes if they can’t, you have to do more involved fixes manually. 

What is Windows Resource Protection?

Windows Resource Protection is a way for Windows to maintain its critical system files. Certain files are essential for Windows to operate correctly. If you don’t have them or they’re removed, the computer won’t work as intended.

Sometimes you get the Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files message after completing a System File Checker scan. It lets you know that you potentially have corrupt files.

However, this utility isn’t unheard of to mark good files as corrupt, especially if they pertain to certain third-party programs like NVIDIA. Since Windows doesn’t see the file it expects because NVIDIA stores it in a different place, it reports a missing or corrupt file.

There is no direct way to know whether the file it’s marking is good or bad. You will want to keep investigating to see whether it’s an issue when only essential files are loaded.

How to Fix Windows Resource Protection Found Corrupt Files?

Once you’ve received this message, you’ll have to troubleshoot your computer in a way that might seem a bit repetitive. Unfortunately, running the same scan in different Windows environments is necessary to determine what’s wrong precisely.

Run System Scans

The first thing you should do to figure out what files could potentially be corrupt is a few scans with built-in Windows utilities.

The Deployment Imaging and Services Management utility is one that you want to run before you run System File Checker. However, if you’re troubleshooting a computer that isn’t Windows 8 or later, it isn’t necessary, and you can move straight to running System File Checker.

1. Navigate to C:\Windows\Logs\DISM
2. Select dism.log.
3. Choose Delete.
   
4. Confirm that you want to delete the log.
5. Press Windows key + X.
6. Choose Windows PowerShell (Admin).
7. Click Yes. You have to give the program permission to have administrator access to your computer to run these scans properly.
8. Type “dism /online /cleanup-image /scanhealth” without quotes and then press Enter.
   
9. Let the scan finish before you continue. It can take a bit of time.
10. Open C:\Windows\Logs\DISM again. Open dism.log.
11. Make a separate file listing any errors it reports. Delete dism.log when you’re done and return to the PowerShell window.
12. Type “dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth” without quotes and press Enter.
    
13. Wait while DISM scans your drive again and attempts to repair any problems it finds. Make sure not to close the PowerShell window as soon as the scan is over. You can use the same window to run other scans.
14. Reopen the new dism.log to see whether the errors are removed. If not, keep a note of the corrupted files for later. Return to the PowerShell window. 
15. Type “sfc /scannow” without quotes and then press Enter.
    
16. Wait for the scan to complete.
17. Type “chkdsk X: /f /r /x” without quotes and then press Enter.
    
18. Type “y” without quotes to confirm that you want to run CHKDSK the next time you reboot your computer.
19. Reboot the computer.
20. Wait for the scan to complete.

At this point, you want to see if the error reoccurs now that you’ve run scans that can automatically fix problems. If it doesn’t, one of the scans fixed the issue that caused the error message to appear.

System File Checker will usually fix problems it finds if it finds any at all. However, you might also get the error telling you that Windows Resource Protection Found Corrupt Files and that they can’t be fixed automatically.

If you do, you’ll want to try to rerun System File Checker in a couple of different ways. If it still doesn’t work, you’ll have to replace the corrupted files manually and can do it simultaneously and in the same way as the corrupted files from dism.log. 

Running Scans in Safe Mode

Windows Safe Mode gives users an environment loaded with only the most important files and drivers. You won’t have and don’t need networking for this, so make sure to select a normal safe mode when it comes time to choose.

1. Hold down the Shift key.
2. Click Start.
3. Click the Power icon.
4. Click Restart.
5. Let the computer restart while you continue to hold the Shift key down. You can let go once the computer starts booting again.
6. Click Troubleshoot.
7. Choose Advanced Options.
   
8. Choose Startup Settings.
   
9. Select Restart.
   
10. Choose Safe Mode when the new menu appears after it reboots.
11. Repeat steps 1-16 from the first section in Safe Mode. 

You’re trying to see whether SFC and DISM can repair corrupted files now that they aren’t prevented from accessing certain things by additional programs or drivers running. 

Sometimes this will work – other times, it won’t. However, it is quicker and easier to try rather than manually replacing files from SFC and DISM when they won’t repair themselves.

Manually Replacing Files

The alternative to manually replacing files – which requires a decent working knowledge of Windows and another computer with clean, non-corrupt files – is reinstalling a clean copy of Windows. If you’d rather skip to that instead of replacing the corrupt files, it is not a bad idea.

Also, always back up your work and anything on your computer you want to save before replacing system files.

You should perform these steps in Safe Mode as well. Steps 1-4 are only necessary if the System File Checker says it can’t run the scan at all. If it’s running fine, then start at Step 5.

1. Press Windows key + R.
2. Type “%windir%\winsxs\temp” without quotes. Click OK.
3. Search the folder for two other folders named PendingDeletes and PendingRenames. If no such folders appear, click in the white space of the folder, choose to create a new folder, and create a folder called PendingDeletes and one called PendingRenames.
   
4. Close the folder.
5. Press Windows key + X.
6. Choose Windows PowerShell (Admin).
7. Click Yes to confirm.
8. Type “sfc /scannow” to run another System File Checker scan.
9. Let the scan complete.
10. Type “findstr /c:”[SR]” %windir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log >”%userprofile%\Desktop\sfcdetails.txt”” without the first and last quotation mark.
    
11. Press Enter.
12. Navigate to your desktop and open the file sfcdetails.txt.
    
13. Make a note of what files are damaged and can’t be replaced according to the document.

At this point, you need to find good copies of these corrupted files. For that, you’ll have to gain access to another copy of Windows. 

Take a type of portable storage like a USB drive, locate the files on the good computer, and copy them onto your drive. When they’re copied, remove the drive safely and bring it back to the computer you’re troubleshooting. Copy the new files to the desktop of the machine on which you’re working.

1. Press Windows key + X.
2. Choose Windows PowerShell (Admin).
3. Click Yes.
4. Type the following commands, pressing Enter after each one. You need to replace “badfile” with the full filename and location of the bad file and “goodfile” with the full filename and location of the good file.
   For example, if you’re trying to replace sds.dll in C:\Windows\Logs, the badfile entry would read C:\Windows\Logs\sds.dll and the goodfile entry would read C:\Users\Username\Desktop\sds.dll. 
   • takeown /f badfile
   • icacls badfile /GRANT ADMINISTRATORS:F
   • copy goodfile badfile
5. Type “exit” without quotes and then press Enter.
6. Restart the computer

At this point, the error related to those corrupt files should be gone. If not, you should reinstall Windows if they’re Windows files. If they’re files related to third-party programs, you can try one more thing. 

Removing Third-party Programs 

Sometimes a third-party program has the files being reported in the error log you saved to the desktop. If that’s what you’re seeing, the best thing you can do is remove the program, get rid of any residual files, and reinstall a fresh copy.

1. Press Windows key + X.
2. Choose Settings.
3. Click Apps.
4. Type the name of the app you’re looking for in the search box. You can also scroll down the alphabetized list to find it.
5. Click the app.
6. Choose Uninstall.
   
7. Follow the prompts to complete the process. The process will vary depending on which program you’re trying to uninstall.
8. Close the Settings window.
9. Press Windows key + R.
10. Type in “%appdata%“without quotes and press Enter.
11. Delete any folders related to the program you uninstalled from AppData/Roaming.
    
12. Click AppData in the navigation window to open the AppData folder.
13. Open the Local folder.
14. Delete any folders related to the program you uninstalled.
    
15. Check the instructions from the program’s manufacturer for a clean removal to make sure you delete any other folders or settings left behind.
16. Reboot your computer and install a fresh copy of the program.

Doing this could help clear any errors related to non-Windows files. 

How Do Files Get Corrupted

The most common way for files to get corrupted is for an error to occur while saving information. For example, if your computer saves data and your power goes out, you might end up with errors in your system files.

There are a few ways to prevent this error from occurring in the first place.

1. Always properly shut down your computer. You shouldn’t hit the power button unless you have to because the computer isn’t responding to anything else. If you have a blue screen, you might want to run a scan after to ensure it hasn’t damaged anything. 
2. Consider purchasing an uninterruptible power supply so that if your home loses power, you have time to save your work and turn off your computer correctly. 
3. Run CHKDSK from time to time and ensure that your drives are in good shape. Aside from errors, you could also experience drive failure and lose your data if things go poorly. Always keep backups. 

Doing these will keep your computer in a better state and help avoid any corrupted file errors.