sfc /scannow questions

Hi:

 

Just a few questions about XP's "SFC /scannow". I'm not familiar with it: after years using the Win9x version,
which I found informative and useful, I can't decipher this at all.

 

After a 3 week delay getting a backup DVD for my new OS, I finally had the chance to run SFC. The scan took
about 25 minutes without interruption, completed, and prompted me to insert the system CD to restore some
dll's. When I did,  I got the "Welcome To XP" Screen asking what I wanted to do. None of the choices applied, so I
did nothing, and the DVD powered down. And that was it- no further prompts. I clicked on the 'retry' button, and
everything disappeared.

 

So I went to the Event Viewer, and looked at the System entries for Windows File Protection, and found several
ehome *dll entries looking like this:

Event Type: Information
Event Source: Windows File Protection
Event Category: None

Description:
The system file c:\windows\ehome\ehcircl.dll could not be copied into the DLL cache.  The specific error code is 0x00000000 [The operation completed successfully.].  This file is necessary to maintain system stability.

 

Hardly reassuring! I did a manual search for that file, and indeed it was not to be found anywhere on my hard drive, nor on the backup CD. (The ehome folder relates to my Media Center Edition of XP.)

 

Somewhat more worrisome was the entry:

Windows File Protection scan found that the system file c:\windows\microsoft.net\framework\v1.0.3705\gacutil.exe has a bad signature. This file was restored to the original version to maintain system stability.  The file version of the system file is 1.0.3705.0
The protected system file c:\windows\microsoft.net\framework\v1.0.3705\gacutil.exe could not be restored to its original, valid version. The file version of the bad file is 1.0.3705.0  The specific error code is 0x00000000 [The operation completed successfully.]

 

A manual search of my HD found 2 versions of gacutil.exe in that folder, v1.0.3705, and v1.1.4318.0, but none on my backup DVD.

 

Questions:
1) Am I describing typical SFC behaviour, or am I doing something wrong?
2) Why is this app finding bad files "necessary to maintain stability" for which good copies are not found on the backup DVD?
3) Could Dell software updates (for ehome files), or critical updates from Windows (for net\framework files) account for this?

    I have no current problems (system stability or otherwise) with this PC.
4) Should I even bother running this program? (I used to consider the Win9x version routine maintenance, but couldn't find a

    single reference to it for XP on this board since last year.)

 

Sorry for the long post.

 

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Dim. 9100

Pentium D 3 GHz Dual Core

XP MCE 2005

 

Dim. XPS T600

P3

Win98SE