It is a good idea to check your system's integrity every now and then; especially if you are having some difficulty with your machine. The operating system needs certain files to run properly and issues may occur if any files are missing or corrupted. The system file checker checks and restores missing or damaged system files.

• Click on "Start"
• Click on "Run".
• Type sfc.exe /scannow ( type this exactly as you see it including the space, dot and the forward slash ).
• Click "Ok".
• A window will open and disappear and another small window will appear titled "windows file protection"
• This checks and restores your system.
• If a message asking you to put your xp home or professional disk in the cdrom drive comes up then you will need to find that disk - ( it should have come with your computer) and put it in the drive. You may need to click "Retry". If many files are missing then you may need to click "Retry" more than once.
• Putting the windows disk into the drive may cause the windows installation autoboot to pop up but you can safely cancel out of this or shut it down - or ignore it - because it is not connected to "sfc".
• When the process is over, all your system files should now be intact. The process doesn't give a finishing statement so you will know it is over when the Windows file protection" box disappears.