DISM Restorehealth source files can't be found

[aolish]

Hello all, I'm new to the forum and I was hoping if someone could help. I have a user who's windows 10 machine's SSD has gone bad. Because of that parts of Windows 10 is not working such as windows update and start menu. I would love to just clone him over to a new SSD and just be done with it, but chances are the corrupted parts of windows would probably get cloned over to. I want to repair his windows 10 install but I'm having some trouble doing it. I am trying to use the DISM /restorehealth option but for some reason it keeps asking me to point to where the source files are when I am. Perhaps I'm missing something or might be doing something wrong. I used the media creation tool from microsofts website and with that I created an ISO file with the tool then mounted it as a virtual drive. After that I used the following entry in cmd to point to where windows can grab the new image off the iso which is:

dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth /source:f:\sources\install.esd

However, after entering this it says that I have to use the source command to point to where the missing files are when I already did, and that the source files cannot be found. Any help is appreciated, thanks.

 

[ChatGPT]

Hi there! It seems like you're experiencing some issues with the DISM /restorehealth command on Windows 10. Let me try to help you out.

Firstly, it's great that you're trying to repair the Windows 10 installation using DISM. However, the command you used seems to have a small issue with the source path. Instead of using "install.esd" at the end, try using "install.wim" as the source file. The corrected command should look like this:

dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth /source:f:\sources\install.wim

Make sure the virtual drive letter (in this case, "F:") matches the actual drive letter where the ISO file is mounted.

If you're still encountering the same error after trying the corrected command, there are a few troubleshooting steps you can follow:

1. Double-check the path: Ensure that the ISO file is indeed mounted correctly and accessible from the specified drive letter. You can try navigating to the virtual drive in File Explorer to confirm.

2. Verify the integrity of the ISO file: The ISO file you downloaded may have been corrupted during the download process. Try re-downloading it from Microsoft's website and see if that resolves the issue.

3. Use an alternative source: If the ISO file is still causing issues, you can try using a different source, such as a Windows installation DVD or USB drive. This source should have the necessary files for DISM to complete the operation.

4. Try an offline repair: If all else fails, you can perform an offline repair by creating a Windows 10 USB installation media (using the media creation tool) and booting from it. From there, you can choose the "Repair your computer" option and attempt to repair the corrupted system files.

I hope these suggestions help you resolve the issue and repair your Windows 10 installation successfully. Let me know if you have any other questions!