Restore Wim Files Windows 10

Posted : admin On 10/15/2019

The File History tool in Windows 10 lets you restore your files if they're corrupted or inadvertently deleted. Here's the most straightforward way to handle the task. In my last article, I showed. May 20, 2019  In this guide, we'll show you the steps to use the DISM command tool to repair the local image of Windows 10, which you can use with the System File Checker to. In this guide, we'll show you the steps to use the DISM command tool to repair the local image of Windows 10, which you can use with the System File Checker to fix problems with your installation.

In my last article, I showed you how to enable and configure File History from the new Windows 10 user interface and how to create a backup. As I explained, once your initial backup is complete, File History will monitor all the files and folders you chose and back up any files you change.

Of course, the ultimate goal of File History is to be able to restore files that have been corrupted or inadvertently deleted. There are three places that you can begin a restore operation in Windows 10; however, they all perform the same basic operation. For the sake of expediency, I'll cover only one of them in detail, since it is the easiest to find and makes the most sense. Let's take a closer look.

Initiating a restore operation

You can launch a File History restore operation by accessing a file's Properties page and using the controls on the Previous Versions tab. Alternatively, you can launch the File History tool and navigate to the Restore command at the bottom of the Backup Options page. But neither of these methods is as intuitive as launching the restore operation from within File Explorer, so that's the approach we'll take.

To get started, select the Home tab and go to the Open section. There you'll see the History button, shown in Figure A. When you click this button, File History will launch in restore mode.

Figure A

You can launch a restore operation from within File Explorer.

Restoring versions of a file

Let's say you edited a file but now want to revert to a version before you made the changes. To perform this type of a restore operation, select the file in File Explorer and then click the History button. File History will open the most recent backup copy of the file in a preview mode, as shown in Figure B.

Figure B

Clicking History opens a preview of the selected file.

At the top of this window is the Address bar, which displays the path and name of the file. Directly below the Address bar, you'll see information about the most recent version of the File History backup. In this case, the backup of this file is from December 10, 2015, at 7:37 PM and it's version 4 of 4. To the left is the outline of the previous version. You can scroll through all the available versions by using the Previous and Next buttons at the bottom of the screen.

As you do, you can scan through the various versions of the file's contents in the preview window. Once you locate the version you want to restore, just click the green Restore button. File History will then prompt you for the next step, as shown in Figure C.

Figure C

The Replace Or Skip Files dialog offers these options.

The default choice is Replace The File In The Destination. If you want to double-check before proceeding, select Compare Info For Both Files. This will open a File Conflict dialog like the one shown in Figure D. You can select both files, which will append a number to the copied file's name, then decide later which one you want to keep.

Figure D

The File Conflict dialog will allow you to keep both files.

If you click Skip This File, File History will automatically restore the next file. This seems like an odd behavior and might just be a bug that slipped through. Even so, if it turns out that isn't the version that you want, you can always repeat the restore operation, as the file is still a part of the backup. In other words, you can restore a version of a file multiple times if you want or need to.

You'll also notice the cog icon in the upper-right corner of the window. Clicking the icon and choosing Restore To will open the Restore To dialog. Here you can select another location on your hard disk to restore the file, as shown in Figure E. This option also allows you to have two versions of the file so you can decide later which one to keep.

Figure E

You can restore the file to another location on your hard disk.

Regardless of which restore options you choose, you'll see a copy operation progress dialog box complete with a graph. When the operation is complete, the folder containing the restored file will open.

Restoring individual files

Another situation where you might want to perform a restore operation from File History is when an individual file, or group of files, has been accidentally deleted. Or maybe you intentionally deleted the file and now wish you hadn't.

To restore a deleted file, open the folder where the file used to be and click the History button. File History will display all the files contained in the most recent backup of that folder, as shown in Figure F. You can then use the Previous button to locate the file.

Figure F

When restoring a deleted file, select the folder where the file used to be. File History will show you all the files contained in the most recent backup of that folder.

Once you locate the file you want to restore, select it and click the green Restore button. File History will display a copy operation progress dialog box and restore the deleted file. Again, when the operation is complete, the folder containing the restored file will open.

The operation is the same for restoring a deleted folder.

Restoring after a hard disk crash

If you have a major hard disk failure, you can use File History to restore the most recent versions of all your files. Once you have Windows 10 installed on your new hard disk, reconnect your external hard disk and launch File History.

To do so, access Settings from the Start menu or from the Action Center, select the Upgrade & Security tile in the Settings window, and select the Backup tab. On the Back Up Using File History page, click the Add A Drive button. Windows 10 will then search for and prompt you to select a drive. When you select the drive containing your backup, File History will recognize that it already contains a set of files. You can begin the restore operation using the steps I explained above for restoring individual files and folders.

What's your take?

File History makes it easy to restore files in the event of an accidental deletion or a hard disk failure. Are you using File History? If so, what has been your experience? Share your opinion in the discussion thread below.

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On Windows 10, the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) is a tool designed for administrators to prepare, modify, and repair system images, including the Windows Recovery Environment, Windows Setup, and Windows PE. However, you can also use the tool with Command Prompt to fix common problems with the hidden recovery image on your device.

Usually, when your computer is experiencing performance issues, doesn't start correctly, or you're troubleshooting unexpected errors, you can use the System File Checker tool to scan, detect, and replace corrupted or missing system files using the locally available recovery image.

However, if the replacement files inside the Windows 10 image are damaged in any way, the SFC command won't work. In this particular situation, you can use DISM to scan and repair the 'install.wim' image, which you can then use with SFC to repair your installation.

In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the steps to use the DISM and SFC tools with Command Prompt to bring your device back to a healthy system state.

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Warning: Although these are non-destructive commands, you'll be making system changes. This means that it's recommended to create a temporary full backup before proceeding.

How to run DISM to repair an image of Windows 10

Using the Deployment Image Servicing and Management command tool you have three main options to repair an image of Windows 10, including CheckHealth, ScanHealth, and RestoreHealth, and you want to run them in that hierarchy. Also, depending on the severity of the issue, there are additional settings that you can use with the RestoreHealth option to repair an image using different sources.

Checking issues with DISM using CheckHealth option

Open wim files windows 10

You can use the CheckHealth option with DISM to quickly determine if there are any corruptions inside the local image. However, the option won't perform any repairs.

To check for issues within the image with DISM, use these steps:

  1. Open Start.
  2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

  3. Type the following command to perform a quick health check and press Enter:

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

Once you complete the steps, the command will run and verify if there is any data corruption that needs fixing.

Checking issues with DISM using ScanHealth option

Alternatively, you can run DISM with the ScanHealth option to perform a more advanced scan to check if the Windows 10 image has any problems.

To perform an advanced scan with DISM, use these steps:

  1. Open Start.
  2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

  3. Type the following command to perform an advanced DISM scan and press Enter:

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

After you complete the steps, the advanced scan will take several minutes to determine if the local image needs repairing.

Repairing issues with DISM using RestoreHealth option

If there are issues, then you can use DISM with the RestoreHealth option, which will run an advanced scan and repair any problems automatically.

  1. Open Start.
  2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

  3. Type the following command and press Enter:

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

    Quick note: While the command is running is normal to see the process stuck at 20 or 40 percent, after a few minutes, the process will complete successfully.

Once you complete the steps, the Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool will connect to the Windows Update servers to download and replace any damaged files in the local image for Windows 10 as necessary.

Repairing issues with DISM using WIM image

When using DISM is very much unlikely to run into issues, but if Windows Update is causing problems, you'll need to use an alternative source to repair the files using another image with the Source option.

Before you can specify a different source, you'll need an install.wim or install.esd file from another computer, bootable installation media, or ISO file. Also, it's essential that the source of the good known files matches the same version, edition, and language of Windows 10 that you're using.

Download Windows 10 ISO file

The recommended method for accessing a good image is using the Media Creation Tool to download an ISO image of Windows 10.

To download the ISO file of Windows 10, use these steps:

  1. Open this Microsoft support website.
  2. Click the Download tool now button.
  3. Double-click the MediaCreationTool1xxxx.exe file to launch the app.
  4. Click the Accept button to agree to the terms.

  5. Select the Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC option.

  6. Click the Next button.

  7. Click the Next button again.

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  8. Select the ISO file option.

  9. Click the Next button.
  10. Select the destination for the ISO file.

  11. Click the Save button.

  12. Click the file location link to open File Explorer.

  13. Click the Finish button.
  14. Double-click the Windows.iso file to mount the image.

  15. In File Explorer, note the drive letter for the mounted image.

After you complete the steps, you can use DISM with the Source option to repair the local image of Windows 10.

Fix Windows 10 recovery image

To run DISM specifying a source (install.wim) image, use these steps:

  1. Open Start.
  2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

  3. Type the following command and press Enter:

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:E:sourcesinstall.wim

    In the command, make sure to replace 'E,' for the letter that corresponds to your ISO mount point.

  4. (Optional) Type the following command to limit the use of Windows Update and press Enter:

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:Fsourcesinstall.wim /LimitAccess

  5. (Optional) Type the following variant of the previous command to accomplish the same task and press Enter:

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:wim:F:sourcesinstall.wim:1 /LimitAccess

Restore Wim File Windows 10

Once you complete the steps, the command will scan and repair any issues using the install.wim image that you specified.

Repairing issues with DISM using ESD image

Alternatively, if you have an encrypted install.esd image from a recent upgrade, you can use it to repair the damaged files.

Open Wim Files Windows 10

To run DISM specifying a source (install.esd) image, use these steps:

  1. Open Start.
  2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

  3. Type the following command and press Enter:

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:C:$Windows.~BTSourcesInstall.esd

    In the command, make sure to change 'C:$Windows.~BTSources,' for the path that corresponds to the location of the install.esd file (if applicable).

  4. (Optional) Type the following command to limit the use of Windows Update and press Enter:

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:C:$Windows.~BTSourcesInstall.esd /LimitAccess

  5. (Optional) Type the following variant of the previous command to accomplish the same task and press Enter:

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:esd:C:$Windows.~BTSourcesInstall.esd:1 /LimitAccess

  6. (Optional) Type the following command to use an install.esd file located in another drive and press Enter:

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:D:SourcesInstall.esd

    In the command, make sure to change 'D:Sources,' for the path that corresponds to the location of the install.esd file.

After you complete the steps, the Deployment Image Servicing and Management command tool will run and repair the damaged files using the files included in the install.esd image. Once the process completes, the log files will be saved on %windir%/Logs/CBS/CBS.log and %windir%LogsDISMdism.log capturing any issues found and those that were fixed.

How to run SFC to repair installation problems on Windows 10

The instructions outlined above will repair any issues inside the local image that's part of the current installation. But they don't fix any problems with the actual Windows 10 installation. However, now that you have a working image, you can use the System File Checker to repair common issues preventing Windows 10 from running correctly.

To use the SFC command tool to repair the Windows 10 installation, use these steps:

  1. Open Start.
  2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

  3. Type the following command and press Enter:

    SFC /scannow

    Quick tip: If errors are found, you may want to run the command about three times to make sure that everything is fixed correctly.

Restore Wim Files Windows 10 Free

Once you complete the steps, the System File Checker will scan your device and repair any system files using the good files from the local image to restore the health of Windows 10.

Although the above command should be enough to fix an installation, there are a lot of SFC commands that you can use to repair Windows 10.

We're focusing this guide on Windows 10, but you can also use DISM to service images on Windows 8.1 and Windows 7, but the options available will vary depending on the version of the OS.

More Windows 10 resources

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:

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