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Paul_Steel's avatar
Paul_Steel
Copper Contributor
Jun 20, 2026

Unable to use RestoreHealth in DISM

Hi all, 
I had a windows update fail with 0x800f0831 which indicates corrup files.

So I ran the DISM commands

DISM /ONLINE /CLEANUP-IMAGE /SCANHEALTHD

DISM /ONLINE /CLEANUP-IMAGE /CHECKHEALTH

DISM /ONLINE /CLEANUP-IMAGE /RESTOREHEALTH

However RestoreHealth failed saying it could not find the source
So I tried

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:H:\Sources\install.wim /LimitAccess
and again it stated it could not find the source.

So I inspected the install.wim file and my system Win11 Pro is actually on index 6, so I then tried

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:H:\Sources\install.wim:6 /LimitAccess

And still it could not find the source.?

So what is going on?

 

1 Reply

  • Attila Matyas's avatar
    Attila Matyas
    Brass Contributor

    The Disk name is usually originally "C" not "D", but if you have installed an operating system on the "D" disk, that's one thing. Before the Commands, you should always start with "sfc /scannow", and if it finds something, then when you restart your computer, you type the commands in order.

    Component store corruption is no problem with the system files, but simply the software distribution folder in windows is full of all kinds of things, you want to get rid of.

    1) Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /checkhealth

    2) Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /scanhealth

    3) Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /Restorehealth

    4) sfc /scannow

    5) Dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore

    6) Dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

     

    But as I mentioned, always start with sfc/scannow, and after the commands in order. The name of the drive is doesn´t matter.

    The next step is to delete the "Software Distribution" folder in Windows. Which is located in the Windows Folder, This PC> Windows

    These steps will stop the update services, type them line by line into the command prompt:

    net stop wuauserv

    net stop cryptSvc

    net stop bits

    net stop msiserver

    Now you continue, by renaming the Software Distribution folder to "Software Distribution Old"

    ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old

    ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 catroot2.old

    Now you go into the Windows Folder, and find the Folder called "Software Distribution Old" right click and "Delete"

    Now you must restart the services one by one.

    net start wuauserv

    net start cryptSvc

    net start bits

    net start msiserver

    Close CMD and restart the machine and your problems will be fixed; you can check for updates.

     

    You cannot "install" a .wim (Windows Imaging) file, as it is a disk-based archive file used to deploy or repair Windows rather than an executable application. If you are trying to use a WIM file, you likely want to apply it as an operating system, extract/repair it, or convert an .esd file into a .wim

    If you don´t know where windows are installed on your machine, then double click on "This PC" on desktop, and you will see a Windows Icon on the top of that disk, wherein Windows is installed.