Use DISM to Repair the Windows 8 or 8.1 Component Store (Historical)

Historical support note: Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 are no longer supported by Microsoft. These commands are retained for maintenance of legacy systems.

DISM can check the Windows component store for corruption and, when a valid repair source is available, repair it. The DISM health options used here are supported on Windows 8 and later.

1. Open an elevated Command Prompt

Press Windows + X and open Command Prompt (Admin) on the original Windows 8/8.1 interface.

2. Check whether corruption is already recorded

Run:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

CheckHealth is a quick check. It reports whether the image has already been flagged as corrupted and whether that corruption is repairable.

3. Scan the component store

Run:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

This performs a deeper scan and can take several minutes.

4. Repair the component store

If corruption is found, run:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

By default, an online repair may use Windows Update to obtain replacement files. If Windows Update is unavailable or DISM reports that source files cannot be found, use a matching Windows installation source rather than repeatedly clearing update caches.

5. Run System File Checker

After DISM completes successfully, run:

sfc /scannow

SFC checks protected Windows system files and replaces damaged copies when possible.

Restart the PC after the repairs complete.

Official references

• Microsoft DISM repair options: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/dism/repair-windowsimage