Windows 10: sfc /scannow error after 1709 update

Two questions, what is an "inplace upgrade" and after downloading the iso, how do I point to it via dism?

 

To perform an in place upgrade repair you will need to open file explorer and click on the windows iso flash drive. Then launch setup or setup.exe. Make sure that you do not click install. Instead look in the left lower corner and click on repair your computer. Then follow the text and images in this link:
Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade Installation Upgrade Tutorials

In many cases that will fix operating system problems.
If you need to go deeper and fix registry problems you may need to create a Macrium backup image. Then clean install followed by restoring the image.

If scannow and restorehealth fail to fix the OS you may be able to fix the OS without an in place upgrade repair. This would be by running a dism command with the iso as the source file. And if this fails then you would perform the in place upgrade repair.

 

thx for the answer. The question is how to point to the iso as the source file for the dism command

 

This is the DISM command that works with esd:
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:esd:E:\Sources\Install.esd:1 /limitaccess
Change the drive letter to what is visible in file explorer.
This is the DISM command that works with wim:
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:wim:E:\sources\install.wim:1 /limitaccess

 

what is wim and what is esd. how do i know which one i want to use?

 

The files on the iso can be in different formats. So when using the source files with the dism command you want to make sure they are consistent.
See this link: Iso, esd or wim? Solved - Windows 10 Forums

On the computer that I am using file explorer displays the letter G for the windows 10 iso.
So this command will evaluate the iso to see whether it is esd format and the results will be displayed.

C:\Windows\system32>dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:g:\sources\install.esd /index:1
Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.15063.0
Details for image : g:\sources\install.esd
Index : 1
Name : Windows 10 Pro
Description : Windows 10 Pro
Size : 15,305,539,033 bytes
WIM Bootable : No
Architecture : x64
Hal : <undefined>
Version : 10.0.15063
ServicePack Build : 0
ServicePack Level : 0
Edition : Professional
Installation : Client
ProductType : WinNT
ProductSuite : Terminal Server
System Root : WINDOWS
Directories : 19668
Files : 101896
Created : 3/18/2017 - 8:40:43 PM
Modified : 4/12/2017 - 9:15:12 PM
Languages :
en-US (Default)


The operation completed successfully.


C:\Windows\system32>

 

WIM is a Windows Image File and is the usual format for images in ISO files. ESD is a more compact version of a Windows image, optimized for online download (ESD stands for Electronic Software Download, in fact). When you grab an ISO from Microsoft you'll usually get one or more WIM files therein. When you upgrade through Windows Update, you'll usually get ESD files because they're more compact and thus faster to transfer over the wire.
HTH,
--Ed--

PS: @Kari might have more to say on this subject, so I'm invoking his name here (hopefully, not in vain!;-).

 

Short answer: an ESD file (Electronic Software Delivery is a compressed (and sometimes also encrypted) WIM file.

A bit longer answer:

When speaking about Windows install media, the install.wim and the install.esd files are the same, ESD file being a compressed WIM file.

Acronym WIM comes from Windows IMaging File Format. When speaking about Windows install media, the install.wim file in Sources folder of the media conytains everything to install Windows.

An install.wm file is an archive containing all components and packages required to install Windows. It also contains so called metadata to tell Windows setup the folder structure and hierarchy, where to put individual files when it will be extracted. Basically, when you boot a PC from Windows install media and start Windows setup, it runs a DISM command deploying Windows from the install.wim. Deploying in here means Windows setup extracts the WIM archive and copies its content to specific folders on user's hard disk.

An install.esd file is the same file than install.wim, its just somewhat smaller because it has been additionally compressed. Installation from an ESD based media takes a bit longer because before Windows setup can work with it, it needs to be decompressed,

In my opinion, there's no logic in Microsoft's chosen delivery policy. If a user chooses to use Windows Media Creation Tool and downloads an ISO image using it, he / she will get an ISO with install.esd file. If the same user joins Windows Insider program and downloads an Insider ISO, it will come with install.wim file.

Install.esd file cannot be used in many operations requiring access to Windows install media. If you have a Windows 10 ISO or USB flash drive created with Media Creation Tool, you might want to convert its install.esd to install.wim: Convert ESD file to WIM using DISM in Windows 10 Tutorials