How can I fix this error in the DISM log file?

Question

I want to repair a corrupted Windows installed on a hard disk through another PC.The wim file that I use as a source for repair was extracted from another wim file that contains several versions of Windows, and I actually extracted a version of Windows that matched version of my corrupted Windows. I received the following message in the log file of the DISM command, I want to know what it means? Does it refer to a corrupted file system? How should I fix this error?

Command used :

Dism /image:G:\ /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:H:\install.wim /LimitAccess /Logpath:H:\dism.log

Error message:

Warning CBS The alternate source path directory could not be accessed [HRESULT = 0x8007007b - ERROR_INVALID_NAME]

"Does it refer to a corrupted file system?" - No; It means the source directory couldn't be accessed. — Ramhound, Feb 14 '24 at 15:52
Dism /image:C:\ /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:D:\install.wim /LimitAccess /Logpath:D:\dism.log
@harrymc — SEPEHR, Feb 14 '24 at 16:22
@SEPEHR - "Which directory does it say?" - It would be "D:\install.wim" — Ramhound, Feb 14 '24 at 16:25
@SEPEHR - I am positive. Considering, the error message you received, "The alternate source path directory could not be accessed." — Ramhound, Feb 14 '24 at 16:42
@ Andrew Morton - "What is the size of the D:\install.wim file?" - 3.28 GB — SEPEHR, Feb 14 '24 at 20:02
@Ramhound - Why can't the directory be accessed? How can I fix the problem? — SEPEHR, Feb 14 '24 at 20:09
@SEPEHR - It's likely a syntax problem. Why are you not editing your question? Why do you need to provide the windows image. You should be able to use /Online. What problem are you trying to resolve by running this command? — Ramhound, Feb 14 '24 at 20:20
@Ramhound - What do you mean by "syntax problem"?
I want to repair a corrupted Windows installed on a hard disk through another PC, that's why I don't use the online parameter. — SEPEHR, Feb 15 '24 at 00:29
Let’s start over: run dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:D:\install.wim, if that doesn’t work, then the path to the windows image file isn’t correct. Provide a screenshot of the folder that contains the file with the full path show. This windows image is the mounted ISO I presume? Which means it’s a read only directory. [Edit] your question to include this information. It’s unfair but what I am asking for is very reasonable, asking what I mean by a “syntax problem” is frustrating since what I mean is crystal clear — Ramhound, Feb 15 '24 at 01:23

JW0914 · Answer 1 · 2024-02-16T13:57:50.907

The command structure is incorrect - correct command to repair the Component Store [Windows\WinSxS] of an offline Windows image:

There's no need to export a WIM from a multi-index ESD/WIM, as the index number must be specified regardless
- Doing so creates more problems than it solves since an install.esd is always <4GB due to its compression ratio being 33% more efficient than WIM's, whereas an install.wim will always be >4GB (an issue for an EFI bootable Install USB formatted as FAT32)

Ascertain the ESD/WIM index numbers and version/build info via /Get-ImageInfo:

# Default install.<esd|wim> index numbers - Home: 1 | Pro: 6
  Dism /Get-ImageInfo /ImageFile:"H:\install.<esd|wim>"
Verify version and build information:
Dism /Get-ImageInfo /ImageFile:"H:\install.<esd|wim>" /Index:#

PS $ Dism /Get-ImageInfo /ImageFile:"E:\sources\install.esd"

  Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
  Version: 10.0.22621.2792

    Details for image : E:\sources\install.esd

      Index : 1
      Name : Windows 11 Home
      Description : Windows 11 Home
      Size : 16,168,829,996 bytes

      Index : 2
      Name : Windows 11 Home N
      Description : Windows 11 Home N
      Size : 15,506,889,019 bytes

      Index : 3
      Name : Windows 11 Home Single Language
      Description : Windows 11 Home Single Language
      Size : 16,153,401,297 bytes

      Index : 4
      Name : Windows 11 Education
      Description : Windows 11 Education
      Size : 16,463,631,301 bytes

      Index : 5
      Name : Windows 11 Education N
      Description : Windows 11 Education N
      Size : 15,808,633,936 bytes

      Index : 6
      Name : Windows 11 Pro
      Description : Windows 11 Pro
      Size : 16,479,089,353 bytes

      Index : 7
      Name : Windows 11 Pro N
      Description : Windows 11 Pro N
      Size : 15,810,170,147 bytes


PS $ Dism /Get-ImageInfo /ImageFile:"E:\sources\install.esd" /Index:1

   Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
   Version: 10.0.22621.2792

      Details for image : E:\sources\install.esd

         Index : 1
         Name : Windows 11 Home
         Description : Windows 11 Home
         Size : 16,168,829,996 bytes
         WIM Bootable : No
         Architecture : x64
         Hal : <undefined>
         Version : 10.0.22621
         ServicePack Build : 525
         ServicePack Level : 0
         Edition : Core
         Installation : Client
         ProductType : WinNT
         ProductSuite : Terminal Server
         System Root : WINDOWS
         Directories : 22687
         Files : 102254
         Created : 2022.09.24 - 20:47:30
         Modified : 2022.11.11 - 07:04:21
         Languages : en-US (Default)


PS $ Dism /Get-ImageInfo /ImageFile:"E:\sources\install.esd" /Index:6

   Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
   Version: 10.0.22621.2792

      Details for image : E:\sources\install.esd

        Index : 6
        Name : Windows 11 Pro
        Description : Windows 11 Pro
        Size : 16,479,089,353 bytes
        WIM Bootable : No
        Architecture : x64
        Hal : <undefined>
        Version : 10.0.22621
        ServicePack Build : 525
        ServicePack Level : 0
        Edition : Professional
        Installation : Client
        ProductType : WinNT
        ProductSuite : Terminal Server
        System Root : WINDOWS
        Directories : 22867
        Files : 103384
        Created : 2022.09.24 - 20:47:30
        Modified : 2022.11.11 - 07:04:29
        Languages : en-US (Default)

/Cleanup-Image has a hierarchical order, so first run /StartComponentCleanup to clean the Component Store of any broken hard links, then run /RestoreHealth:

# Clean the offline image's Component Store:
  Dism /Image:"G:\Windows" /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
Specify the index number at the end of the /Source parameter:
ESD:
Dism /Image:&quot;G:\Windows&quot; /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:esd:&quot;H:\install.esd&quot;:1 /LimitAccess /Logpath:&quot;H:\dism.log&quot;


WIM:
Dism /Image:&quot;G:\Windows&quot; /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:wim:&quot;H:\install.wim&quot;:1 /LimitAccess /Logpath:&quot;H:\dism.log&quot;

While the OP mentioned this in their question, the /Source must match the exact version [23H2, 24H1, etc.] of the offline Windows image being repaired (I'm unsure if the build version must also match)

Once /Cleanup-Image has successfully completed its repair of the Component Store, Sfc /ScanNow must also be run against the offline image to repair the OS files (/Cleanup-Image and /ScanNow are inextricably linked):
```
# Repair offline Windows image OS files:
  Sfc /ScanNow /OffBootDir=G:\ /OffWinDir=G:\Windows /OffLogFile=H:\sfc.log
Export repair details to seperate log for efficient viewing:
FindStr /c:"[SR]" "H:\sfc.log" > "H:\SFCdetails.log"
```
^{(Log files are easier to read and sift through via the Log syntax in VS Code)}

"Dism /Image:G:\Windows /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:wim:H:\install.wim:1 /LimitAccess /Logpath:H:\dism.log"
I ran this command and it gave this error :

"Unable to access the image. Make sure that the image path and the Windows directory for the image exist a you have Read permissions on the folder." — SEPEHR, Feb 15 '24 at 20:39
@SEPEHR That's an ACL permissions issue - I'm assuming it's being run from an Admin terminal? Try using the original install.esd, and if it's still giving the error, extract the Component Store [Windows\WinSxS] from the correct install.<esd|wim> index and change to /Source:"H:\Windows\WinSxS" to see if it still gives the error from and Admin terminal — JW0914, Feb 15 '24 at 22:00
@ JW0914 - As you said, I extracted "Windows\WinSxS" to C: drive and ran this command: [Dism /Image:G:\Windows /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:C:\New Folder\Windows\ WinSxS /LimitAccess /Logpath:H:\dism.log] and gave this error: [DISM doesn't recognize the command-line option "Folder\Windows\WinSxS".] — SEPEHR, Feb 17 '24 at 19:58
Hes quoting source, maybe you should too ;) /Source:"C:\New Folder\Windows\WinSxS" — Danijel, Feb 17 '24 at 22:59
@SEPEHR If that does not resolve, please copy/paste all terminal content and the %WinDir%\Logs\DISM\dism.log and %WinDir%\Logs\CBS\cbs.log into separate code boxes within your question. This answer and its commands are pulled directly from the linked to man pages (the same content can be output with Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /? - I'm unsure if Dism /Image:G:\Windows /Cleanup-Image /? will result in the help being displayed) — JW0914, Feb 18 '24 at 12:43

How can I fix this error in the DISM log file?

1 Answers1

Verify version and build information:

Specify the index number at the end of the /Source parameter:

ESD:

WIM:

Export repair details to seperate log for efficient viewing:

Linked