System files in Windows 7 or Vista can be corrupted due to various reasons like operating system malfunction, application corruption, improper system shutdown, installing service packs during execution of background defragmentation, and virus attack. In most cases of system file damage, Windows crashes and refuses to start, resulting in inaccessibility of the data saved in the hard drive. To overcome system file corruption, Windows provides an inbuilt repair tool to repair damaged system files. The tool is known as System File Checker tool (SFC.exe). However, there are many situations wherein the system files remain corrupt even after running the above utility. For such situations, the user needs to reinstall Windows operating system and perform restoration from an updated data backup. But, in case of deficient backup, the user can recover formatted files/folders by using a commercial File Recovery Software.

To elaborate the above situation, consider a case wherein your system files get corrupt after a fatal virus attack. To repair the files, you use SFC.exe tool. To do so, you follow the below steps:

1.On the command prompt follow the underneath steps: Click 'Start' and select 'All Programs'. Choose 'Accessories' and then right-click on 'Command-prompt'. Lastly, click on 'Run as administrator'. 2.Once command prompt appears, type the below command: sfc/ scannow

The above steps, although successful in most cases, can fail under two situations:

1.You are unable to start your system, and therefore not able to run the command. 2.The command fails to repair the corrupted system files and displays the below error message: “WINDOWS RESOURCE PROTECTION COULD NOT PERFORM THE REQUIRED OPERATION”

For surmounting the above issues and booting your system, you will need to follow the below steps:

1.Reinstall Windows on your system. 2.Restore files/folders from an updated backup.

However, in the absence of an up-to-date backup, the user needs to recover the files from a third-party File Recovery Software. Such File Recovery tools use effective techniques to recover all formatted files and folders. These tools are easy-to-operate as they are built with intuitive user-interface.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is a superb File Recovery tool that recoups all lost files, after any logical damage in the hard drive. The tool supports recovery from Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003, and 2000 based hard drives. The read-only utility supports NTFS, NTFS5, FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, and VFAT file systems.