PowerEdge: How to run sfc /scannow from the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)

Summary: Info on running the System File Checker in the Windows Recovery Environment in Windows Server

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Instructions

This article provides information about running the System File Checker (sfc.exe) in the Windows Recovery Environment in Windows Server.

 

When attempting to run the System File Checker (sfc.exe) within the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), you may receive the following error:

Windows Resource Protection could not start the repair service.

The error is shown in the screenshot below (Figure 1 (English-only)):

command prompt showing sfc /scannow windows resource protection error 
Figure 1: Windows Resource Protection Error

When running sfc /scannow in WinRE, two switches must be added to the command in order to run it in offline mode:

  • /offbootdir=<disk> indicates the boot drive letter.
  • /offwindir=<folder> indicates the folder where Windows is installed.

The following is an example of the command with these switches added:

sfc /scannow /offbootdir=D:\ /offwindir=D:\Windows
Important: The drive letter required in both switches is the drive letter as it appears in WinRE. This is typically a different letter from the one assigned to the same partition when Windows is running, because WinRE enumerates partitions differently.  

 

Affected Products

Microsoft Windows Server 2016, Microsoft Windows Server 2019, Microsoft Windows Server 2022
Article Properties
Article Number: 000137221
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 30 Jan 2026
Version:  6
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