Question

Difficulty: MediumResolving System File Corruption and Driver Issues

A desktop technician is servicing a Windows system that experiences severe graphical distortion and frequent kernel blue screen crashes (BSOD) immediately after boot following a recent display adapter driver update. Additionally, system file integrity checks fail because the local Windows image payload is damaged. Which of the following troubleshooting actions should the technician perform to stabilize the system and restore file integrity? (Select TWO.)

  1. Boot the system into Safe Mode and roll back the display driver using Device Manager.Answer
  2. Execute dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth from an elevated command prompt prior to running System File Checker.Answer
  3. C
    Run sfc /scannow before repairing the Windows component store to automatically fix DISM source corruption.
  4. D
    Use the Indexing Options utility in Control Panel to rebuild system driver cache files.

Answer

The technician should boot into Safe Mode to roll back the display driver via Device Manager and run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth from an elevated command prompt prior to performing an SFC repair scan.
Rolling back the driver in Safe Mode eliminates driver-induced system instability, while running DISM RestoreHealth repairs the damaged component store payload so system file repair tools can function correctly.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Address system instability caused by the faulty graphics driver
Booting into Safe Mode prevents the corrupted graphic driver from loading, allowing stable access to Device Manager to roll back the driver to its previous version.
Safe Mode uses basic display drivers, preventing the driver-induced crash on boot.
2
Repair the local Windows image payload
Executing DISM with the RestoreHealth switch downloads or reconstructs healthy component store files from Windows Update or local repair sources.
SFC requires a healthy component store to replace corrupt system files effectively.

Key Concept

Resolving System File Corruption and Driver Issues via Safe Mode, Device Manager Rollback, and proper DISM/SFC sequencing
Rate this question