Use DISM to Repair Windows 10 Image  

Brink said:

Hello @iamc3k,

If you haven't already, you might see if resetting Windows Update may fix the update issue.

Reset Windows Update in Windows 10

Brink,

Thanks. I'll give that a go tomorrow. I'll report back.

Ken

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Out of curiosity, I ran DISM Scanhealth on my laptop. Here's the result:



As you can see, the DISM image is the same as my Desktop, 10.0.18362.900. My Laptop Image Version is 10.0.18363.959.

The versions are different, just like my Desktop, yet the DISM scan completes with no error. That leads me to believe the the error in my Desktop RestoreHealth is NOT related to the version difference.

@iamc3k,

May I add if the reset Windows Update proposed by @Shawn doesn't work, you can go for a Repair Install aka In-place Upgrade for which I am a bit more sanguine about. Your error messages are indicating, in all likelihood, a corruption of your Windows Update database.

Brink said:

Great news Ken.

I think I mis-wrote what I intended. The computer that passed the DISM? It was a different one than the problem one. I was just making note of the DISM version and how it differed from the OS version.

3 Desktops and 1 Laptop all pass DISM Scanhealth with DISM version 10.0.18362.900 and OS version 10.0.18363.959
The one "bad" desktop is still failing sfc /scannow and I am unable to rebuild the DISM library, even with /limited access. I mistakenly thought that the error may have been due to the different versions between DISM and the OS. Instead, the other four computers conclusively prove that the versions can differ. (In fact, the "bad" computer has the same DISM and OS versions as the "good" computers.)

Unable to work on the rig thus far today. I may get to it later tonight. (An in-place upgrade is probably what I'll try.)

@iamc3k
You are correct that the version of DISM used does not need to exactly match the image you are trying to repair, but the same, or newer version of DISM would help, as sometimes new DISM capabilities are introduced. You can also launch the DISM version from the \sources folder of your mounted ISO image, if desired.

When running DISM /RestoreHealth and pointing to an install.wim file, you have to be sure that the Index that you reference in the Install.wim matches your Edition of Windows. You referenced Index:1 in your command line (which is fine, if that Index happens to match your Edition). Usually, Home Edition is Index:1. The standard install.wim or install.esd from an official Microsoft Windows 10 ISO, may include 11 different Editions. Use the command below to check your .WIM file contents:

Code:

DISM /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:D:\Sources\install.wim

Once you determine the Index number that matches your Windows Edition (e.g. Core/Home or Pro, etc.) you can check its build number:

Code:

DISM /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:D:\Sources\install.wim /Index:6

Then use that Index number in your /RestoreHealth DISM command:

Code:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:WIM:D:\Sources\install.wim:6

or

Code:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:ESD:D:\Sources\install.esd:6

As was already suggested, an in-place upgrade, performed by mounting the ISO for the same, or newer version of Windows 10 and running setup.exe will often fix things. Since you are running an older version of Windows 10, you might be happy to use a newer version instead. If you want Version 2004, you can first download that ISO file instead of depending on Windows Update to fetch it properly. That way if the upgrade fails for some reason, you don't have to go through downloading 4+ GB again and again.

Also, try performing a clean boot before you attempt the upgrade or repair:

• use msconfig to disable all non-Microsoft Services
• use Task Manager to disable all items shown on the Startup tab
• Restart
• mount your desired ISO file and run setup.exe to upgrade or repair Windows 10
• you can enable any Services or Startup items that remain disabled after the successful upgrade is completed.

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If you want version 18363.900, you could run the script from UUP Dump to create that ISO version.

Here is a link to the 64-bit 18363.900 at UUP Dump.

DonCuthbert said:

@iamc3k
You are correct that the version of DISM used does not need to exactly match the image you are trying to repair, but the same, or newer version of DISM would help, as sometimes new DISM capabilities are introduced. You can also launch the DISM version from the \sources folder of your mounted ISO image, if desired.

When running DISM /RestoreHealth and pointing to an install.wim file, you have to be sure that the Index that you reference in the Install.wim matches your Edition of Windows. You referenced Index:1 in your command line (which is fine, if that Index happens to match your Edition). Usually, Home Edition is Index:1. The standard install.wim or install.esd from an official Microsoft Windows 10 ISO, may include 11 different Editions. Use the command below to check your .WIM file contents:

Code:

DISM /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:D:\Sources\install.wim

Once you determine the Index number that matches your Windows Edition (e.g. Core/Home or Pro, etc.) you can check its build number:

Code:

DISM /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:D:\Sources\install.wim /Index:6

Then use that Index number in your /RestoreHealth DISM command:

Code:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:WIM:D:\Sources\install.wim:6

or

Code:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:ESD:D:\Sources\install.esd:6

As was already suggested, an in-place upgrade, performed by mounting the ISO for the same, or newer version of Windows 10 and running setup.exe will often fix things. Since you are running an older version of Windows 10, you might be happy to use a newer version instead. If you want Version 2004, you can first download that ISO file instead of depending on Windows Update to fetch it properly. That way if the upgrade fails for some reason, you don't have to go through downloading 4+ GB again and again.

Also, try performing a clean boot before you attempt the upgrade or repair:

• use msconfig to disable all non-Microsoft Services
• use Task Manager to disable all items shown on the Startup tab
• Restart
• mount your desired ISO file and run setup.exe to upgrade or repair Windows 10
• you can enable any Services or Startup items that remain disabled after the successful upgrade is completed.

- - - Updated - - -

If you want version 18363.900, you could run the script from UUP Dump to create that ISO version.

Here is a link to the 64-bit 18363.900 at UUP Dump.

Don,

Thanks. I checked my install.wim and my Home Edition was, indeed, index 1.

Strangely, with the DISM version as indicated (10.0.18362.900) in the install.wim file, even mounting the iso on a drive and running DISM pointing to THAT install.wim with remote access denied (so no internet updates), the restore health command failed. In fact, that is visible in my Command Prompt screenshot.

I tried the same procedure, but allowing internet: again, a fail.

That, to me, is puzzling: a known good install.wim was unable to Restore-Health to my DISM library.

I'm now trying the repair install.

iamc3k said:

Don,

Thanks. I checked my install.wim and my Home Edition was, indeed, index 1.

Strangely, with the DISM version as indicated (10.0.18362.900) in the install.wim file, even mounting the iso on a drive and running DISM pointing to THAT install.wim with remote access denied (so no internet updates), the restore health command failed. In fact, that is visible in my Command Prompt screenshot.

I tried the same procedure, but allowing internet: again, a fail.

That, to me, is puzzling: a known good install.wim was unable to Restore-Health to my DISM library.

I'm now trying the repair install.

Builds 18363.xxx still includes many of the same version files as 18362.xxx. 18363 is basically 18362 with an "Enablement Package" added, that activates some capabilities and features that are not enabled in 18362.

The version of DISM may not have changed in 18363.900 from 18362.900, but there may be other files that are different, that happen to be the ones needing repair. So an 18362 ISO may not match enough to repair an 18363 Windows image, especially if the corrupted files originated in a later Cumulative Update.

Ideally, the repair source would be a Windows image that has the same version and all of the same Cumulative Updates applied to it as the one that you are trying to repair. You can even share the Windows folder from another PC on the network and use that as the /Source for the required repair files. Often one can get away with using the base image found on a Windows ISO, but sometimes there could be files corrupted that were originally replaced via some subsequent Cumulative Update.

With enough disk space, you could keep a separate image of Windows 10 offline and keep applying the CUs to it, just for use as a repair Source. You could also build an up-to-date Windows image and keep it in a folder for this purpose. I think all you would need is to use DISM to apply the install.wim to that folder and then do the same with the latest CU, or the CU that matches the Windows install that you are hoping to repair. I don't really know if .NET updates factor into these DISM /RestoreHealth repairs or not.

In the past, I have seen where having an install.wim that is compressed smaller than DISM's "max" compression was an issue. Applying an image in uncompressed form to a folder, or pointing to another computer's Windows folder instead would avoid any issue with the WIM file's compression type.

DonCuthbert said:

Builds 18363.xxx still includes many of the same version files as 18362.xxx. 18363 is basically 18362 with an "Enablement Package" added, that activates some capabilities and features that are not enabled in 18362.

The version of DISM may not have changed in 18363.900 from 18362.900, but there may be other files that are different, that happen to be the ones needing repair. So an 18362 ISO may not match enough to repair an 18363 Windows image, especially if the corrupted files originated in a later Cumulative Update.

Ideally, the repair source would be a Windows image that has the same version and all of the same Cumulative Updates applied to it as the one that you are trying to repair. You can even share the Windows folder from another PC on the network and use that as the /Source for the required repair files. Often one can get away with using the base image found on a Windows ISO, but sometimes there could be files corrupted that were originally replaced via some subsequent Cumulative Update.

With enough disk space, you could keep a separate image of Windows 10 offline and keep applying the CUs to it, just for use as a repair Source. You could also build an up-to-date Windows image and keep it in a folder for this purpose. I think all you would need is to use DISM to apply the install.wim to that folder and then do the same with the latest CU, or the CU that matches the Windows install that you are hoping to repair. I don't really know if .NET updates factor into these DISM /RestoreHealth repairs or not.

In the past, I have seen where having an install.wim that is compressed smaller than DISM's "max" compression was an issue. Applying an image in uncompressed form to a folder, or pointing to another computer's Windows folder instead would avoid any issue with the WIM file's compression type.

Don, that is some excellent advice!

However...

I'll summarize my situation (since I started this journey a few pages back) and then my thoughts.

1. SFC /Scannow could not run. I followed the sfc /scannow troubleshooting: they all failed.
2. I then went to rebuild my component library, using this DISM tutorial. (In all cases, I verified the language, location, and index for all attempts.) As stated, the version numbers differed, but that could be minor. The restorehealth option failed.
3. I downloaded 3 different Win10 ISO builds; an older one for my 1909 install, one I had on a USB stick; and the latest 2004 build from Microsoft's MCT. In all cases, pointing my DISM restorehealth /limitaccess to those install files failed. (2 are .esd, one is a .wim). I also tried all three without the /limitaccess. Those also failed. (My usb: I tried it in both usb 3.x and 2.0 ports. All failed.)
4. I used Brink's reset update method. No joy: my sfc /scannow and DISM scanhealth and/or restorehealth still failed.
5. Having reset windows update in step 4, I then repeated step 3...for all 3 install files.
6. I tried a repair install (in-place upgrade). That failed. I tried it twice, once each for my v1909 ISO files. That failed.

I have just run Macrium restore, picking a June 2nd OS backup. Why that one? It was a random choice. I just ran sfc /scannow...and it worked! (It shows my Windows Version as 10.0.18363.836.)

Macrium, once again, has saved the day.

My thoughts: I will check my DISM using /scanhealth. (DISM version 10.0.18362.1 is showing: and it worked!)

I have NO idea why I could not even get a repair install to work. (Version numbers matched, etc.) I do like the idea of using networked install.wim's to cross-check one another.

My next step is to update this current working install (from June 2nd), and then I'll just reach back and restore my documents, etc.