SFC can’t fix corrupted Windows file, manual replacement doesn’t fix

I recently set up a new Windows 10 PC (then v20H2), and whilst customizing it, I replaced the default “new email” sound (C:\Windows\Media\Windows Notify Email.wav) with the Win8.1 version, which I like better. However, I did this by overwriting the original Win10 audio file with the Win8.1 one, rather than just adding the Win8.1 file to the same directory and renaming it (“Windows Notify Email_Win8.1.wav” or whatever). Turns out that was a mistake …

I’ve since updated Windows to v21H1 (19043.1023). Earlier today I ran SFC /scannow for the first time on this system, and it “found corrupted files but was unable to fix some of them”. In the CBS log I find this:

Code:

2021-06-06 02:39:15, Info                  CSI    00000217 Hashes for file member [l:24]'Windows Notify Email.wav' do not match.
 Expected: {l:32 ml:33 b:b04f63d689ae7d627a5dc7895bbe53fb3bf470a43c4f1f6339dd4ab8890ffa6f}.
 Actual: {l:32 b:7897e75ba5b52a8e53431e7af5758a84acdf2d50d6d2a9dd2d90fee0034e11c0}.
2021-06-06 02:39:15, Info                  CSI    00000218 [SR] Cannot repair member file [l:24]'Windows Notify Email.wav' of Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Sounds, version 10.0.19041.1, arch amd64, nonSxS, pkt {l:8 b:31bf3856ad364e35} in the store, hash mismatch
2021-06-06 02:39:15, Info                  CSI    00000219 Hashes for file member [l:24]'Windows Notify Email.wav' do not match.
 Expected: {l:32 ml:33 b:b04f63d689ae7d627a5dc7895bbe53fb3bf470a43c4f1f6339dd4ab8890ffa6f}.
 Actual: {l:32 b:7897e75ba5b52a8e53431e7af5758a84acdf2d50d6d2a9dd2d90fee0034e11c0}.
2021-06-06 02:39:15, Info                  CSI    0000021a [SR] Cannot repair member file [l:24]'Windows Notify Email.wav' of Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Sounds, version 10.0.19041.1, arch amd64, nonSxS, pkt {l:8 b:31bf3856ad364e35} in the store, hash mismatch
2021-06-06 02:39:15, Info                  CSI    0000021b [SR] This component was referenced by [l:154]'Microsoft-Windows-Client-Desktop-Required-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.19041.1023.ACD49602CE22B8D2FE76CB65181A0F3C34476C610F7967574610C8CF843FB4AB'

Here’s a rundown of everything I tried next:

• I ran sfc /scannow multiple times, but the error never went away.
• I then ran dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth, followed by dism /online /cleanup-image /checkhealth, which found no component store corruption.
• Then some more sfc /scannow passes; still corrupted.
• CBS.log then mentioned something about “the version in the store is also corrupted”.
• I downloaded the 21H1 Media Creation Tool, which I used to download a fresh Win10 v21H1 ISO, which I mounted to I:\.
• I ran dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth /source:I:\sources\install.esd /limitaccess. Completed successfully.
• dism /online /cleanup-image /checkhealth. Clean bill of health for the component store.
• sfc /scannow, several passes. Still doesn’t fix it.
• Maybe if I replace the file manually?
• I extracted the “Windows\Media\Windows Notify Email.wav” straight from the new ISO’s install.esd, and copied it over the corrupted file on my drive. Successful replacement, no errors of any kind.
• sfc /scannow. Still corrupted, SFC still can’t fix. (That’s when I took the above CBS.log excerpt.)
• I tried deleting the affected file from C:\Windows\Media (actually I just moved it to my desktop).
• sfc /scannow gave the same error, and weirdly, CBS.log said the same thing as ever – hash mismatch, rather than “file is missing” or similar. (Didn’t download/replace a new copy.)
• Incidentally, I checked the C:\Windows\Media folder permissions and enabled full control for TrustedInstaller. Didn’t change anything.
• (Not mentioned: Several reboots throughout all this, just to be safe.)

I’m out of ideas. Even manually replacing the allegedly corrupted file with a copy directly from a brand-new ISO doesn’t work. Even weirder, when I run the file through a hash tool, it gives me the exact same hash (SHA256) that the CBS log says SFC is looking for (“b04………a6f”), rather than the “actual” one. As far as I can tell, it’s a perfectly good copy, yet SFC keeps flagging it as corrupted. And I refuse to do something drastic like resetting my PC, undoing weeks of work setting it up (lots of apps & configurations), just to get SFC to stop tripping over one measly little 160 KB .wav file.

Any help in figuring this out would be really appreciated. (All system specs in the “My Computer” tab thingy are current.)

Noc said:

I ran sfc /scannow multiple times, but the error never went away.
I then ran dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

Were you, as the SFC tutorial recommends, online when you ran this Dism command?

Noc said:

And I refuse to do something drastic like resetting my PC, undoing weeks of work setting it up (lots of apps & configurations), just to get SFC to stop tripping over one measly little 160 KB .wav file.

This would not be the first time that SFC has reported unnecessary errors.

Perhaps you could try deleting the file completely then seeing if that SFC & Dism command combination can cope with fixing its non-problem.
- When I did a similar task in Windows 7, I had to boot from the InstallUSB to be able to delete the corresponding [faulty] copy in the component store.

Best of luck,
Denis

Simplest and most routine way- an in-place upgrade repair install which keeps all progs and data.

Noc said:

I just did, with no change – DISM /restorehealth says it completes successfully, and sfc /scannow still says it can’t fix the corrupt file.

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@FreeBooter
My Windows Update works fine, and SFC reports no error with downloading source files.

Also, forgive me if I’m mistaken, but don’t the rest of your instructions essentially accomplish the same thing I did in these steps?:



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Yeah, I just found out about this “repair install”. Definitely less off-putting than a full reset, though I’m not sure just how many settings would need to be reconfigured. Does it reset all or most Windows settings? Are any third-party apps/customizations affected?

For now I think I’ll try waiting until the next major update, which I’ve been told elsewhere functions similarly in replacing system files with fresh copies, which might fix the issue. If it still doesn’t, then I’ll try a repair install.

I think you will find that the In-Place Repair will retain 99%+ of any custom tweaks. The biggest factor is where you made those tweaks. If they are deep down inside Windows, they are likely to be reverted, else you probably will not notice much of anything. Some font changes, cosmetics like that. Your 3rd party apps will be unaffected. Store Apps, if used, should also be retained with all your settings. It's the least disruptive method of repair. Make copies of any unusual mods you have made so you can put them back.

Try3 said:

When I did a similar task in Windows 7, I had to boot from the InstallUSB to be able to delete the corresponding [faulty] copy in the component store.

Noc said:

What do you mean by this exactly?

The component store is where SFC looks for good copies of system files and where offline DISM looks unless you tell it otherwise. Every system file is there.
C:\Windows\WinSxS
You will find another copy of the Windows Notify Email.wav file there -
C:\Windows\WinSxS\amd64_microsoft-windows-shell-sounds_31bf3856ad364e35_10.0.19041.1_none_cd0389b654e71da2

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Noc said:

Is it something you suggest I try?

Recovering from tampering with system files was a nightmare. I had to do so because I had deliberately put a fault in one so I could investigate how SFC operated.
I think you would not make the situation any worse by removing the copy of the .wav file from the component.
There's a chance that then repeating

Noc said:

I ran sfc /scannow multiple times, but the error never went away.
I then ran dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

would replace the file in both locations.


If not, I agree that a Repair install is worth trying. A Repair Install is also called an In-Place Upgrade and is the method several people use to update to new Windows 10 Versions as well - it is a method worth learning for its own sake.
- The last Cumulative Update has to be repeated afterwards because the Repair install will revert the installation to the Build of the ISO/InstallUSB from which it was run.
- Some Registry tweaks might be lost. All tweaks & settings used to be at risk during early Windows 10 Versions but now it's really just Registry tweaks to the system itself that might be reset. For example, I remove most of the entries from the context menu, New sub-menu and I have to repeat that after most Version updates by re-running ["re-merging"] the .reg file concerned.
Repair Install - TenForumsTutorials
Download Windows 10 ISO File - TenForumsTutorials {I generally use Option 1 or Option 5}

If a Repair install also fails to fix the problem then so will a Version update & I think you will just have to live with it until some more compelling reason to reset or clean install appears [and hopefully that will be shortly after never].

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Why didn't you make a system image before altering that .wav file?


Best of luck,
Denis

For now I think I’ll try waiting until the next major update, which I’ve been told elsewhere functions similarly in replacing system files with fresh copies, which might fix the issue. If it still doesn’t, then I’ll try a repair install.

An in-place upgrade repair install uses the same basic mechanism as any major upgrade (feature update) - e.g. restore point are deleted, Windows.old created.. but replaces system files with ones from an older version of the same major build not newer ones. Both reset services to default.

You'll be waiting until perhaps October or so, and then be advised to hang back as the next one could be a biggie.
Wait for the flak to settle- maybe 3 or 4 months after public release.