Hello,
The situation is this: what we have tried so far hasn't worked.
Your computer has an extremely rare problem. I have seen something very similar occur before, but not exactly what is happening here. Unfortunately, the fix I can apply in the simple case cannot be applied here. Hence we have a problem.
After much searching on the internet, I can find nobody else with your exact problem. Not a single other person. I did say it was rare
What this also means is that there is no known solution for me to work off. I must research the problem myself, and find a solution myself. I have done this before with rare problems: I know how Windows Update works fairly well, and then it is just a case of thinking through the problem, trying to think what is going on internally for this state to have been reached, and what this state is. It is then a case of identifying all areas where the problem could lie, and thinking through what sort of corruption in each of these places could cause the error at hand. Or work from the other end, and think where could this corruption come from. Finally, once I have developed some theories, I must think through definitive tests to identify what is going on on your computer, but by testing on my own computer. I can then narrow down on the theories, and start from the beginning again if I have just ruled out all of my current theories. I must then apply these to the problem at hand, and design a fix for your computer. I must then, finally, think through all the possible consequences of this fix. Only now do I post to you. As I think you can see, there is a lot of work between each of my posts, hence my delay in responding sometimes.
I then get to see the results of the test. If it is successful, great. If it wasn't, then I must start at the beginning again. If the error changes, I must also start at the beginning again, but this time with two errors to think through. I have now applied this entire process three times, and with three failures (a disappointing failure, I must say. I feel extremely let down by this poor performance)
This is how I have been approaching your problem. There is no known solution. I
must create one. I am pretty sure I will get there eventually, but the problem is, I am not sure I can do it quickly, within the next couple of days. I have approximately 24 hours between each post to follow the entire procedure outlines above.
I have given you an overview of how I work now.
So, what about your computer's problem specifically?
Well, basically, SFC is making a mistake. Extremely simplistically (and I must warn you, SFC is horrendously complicated when you drill down to the
how it detects corruptions - ask me at your peril!), there is a folder on your computer called winsxs. This stores every possible version of the file, right from version 1, all the way up to version 10, for example.
However, only one version of the file is active at a time. This version is copied into a folder called System32 (you may have heard of it).
For you, SFC keeps swapping two versions in and out, in and out (of System32, the active copy).
So, you run it once, it copies version 2 into System32. You run it again, it copies in version 3. You run it one more time, it copies version 2 back. Repeat
ad infinitum.
This is your problem. So, why is SFC continuously doing this? Well, that is what I am trying to find out. I genuinely do not know.
Well, after much research, it appears that there are multiple ways of creating this situation. *sigh*. All three fixes I have provided you are a fix for an actual way of causing this. I was not just guessing, or trying lots of stuff. I theoreticized until I came up with a theory which
tested true. I reproduced this cycle on my laptop. In three different ways. And yet, the problem on your computer after fixing these persisted. This strongly suggests that there are more than three ways of causing this problem. After spending tens of hours successfully finding three causes of this problem, finding out that your computer has yet another root cause was seriously disappointing. You have such a difficult problem
I have tried absolutely everything I can at this point. I will not give up the hunt, I want to get to the bottom of this for future users with this same problem. But I cannot do this with you, as it is taking up too much of your precious time. It could take ages, it might come to nothing.
You are just going to have to trust me when I say this next part. I am not just trying to fob you off here, but it is safe to ignore this problem, and this is what I am going to suggest. The situation is that you have two files being flicked in and out. Neither are corrupt, so both will work just fine. The file in question will only be used extremely rarely, and when it is, it won't matter which version is currently active.
You might ask why I tried fixing this at all then, if it can be safely ignored. Firstly, most users don't like being told just to ignore a problem, as they are always left with a slight doubt as to whether it should have been ignored or not. I completely understand, and would feel the same. Therefore, it is best for me to find and fix the problem, and be done with it. No more worrying.
However, here, you can ignore this problem.
I am sorry it had to come to this. Are you willing to just ignore this problem?
However, before I go, I would like to revert the changes made by all three fixing attempts, just to keep everything neat and tidy. Again, I am so, so sorry it came to this. I honestly gave it everything I had, tried everything, but it just wasn't enough
Richard
