10 Ways to Overcome The System Cannot Find The File Specified

 An operating system error can prevent you from running applications or accessing any files. Talking about the errors, many Windows 10 users have complained on forums that they cannot access their files due to 'The System Cannot Find the File Specified'.

If you are experiencing The System Cannot Find the File Specified as an error message, don't worry. Because this is a pretty standard windows error. There are actually various factors that can trigger the 'The System Cannot Find the File Specified' error message.

You may get error messages because your system files are missing or corrupted, files required for certain software are missing or corrupted, disk failure, partition problems, wrong file information, etc.

How to Fix The System Cannot Find the File Specified

Thankfully, we have come up with some of the best methods that can fix the 'The System Cannot Find the File Specified' error message in no time. So, here we are going to share the best 10 methods to fix 'The System Cannot Find the File Specified' from Windows 10 computer.

1. Install Windows Updates

The 'The System Cannot Find the File Specified' error message mostly occurs on older versions of Windows. So, the solution to fixing the error message also lies in installing Windows Update. So, to install pending Windows Updates, follow some of the simple steps given below.

1. First press Windows Key + I on your keyboard to open Windows Settings.

2. After the Settings window opens. There you need to click 'Update & Security'.

Updates & Security

3. In the next window, you need to click on the 'Check for Updates' button.

Install Windows Update

Now the Windows update utility will check for pending updates, if it finds them, it will install them on your computer.

3. Update Drivers

If you are getting the 'The System Cannot Find the File Specified' error due to a driver issue, then you need to update the old driver. You can uninstall & reinstall the driver from Device Manager, or you can rely on a third-party tool to update the driver. We highly recommend you guys to use a third-party tool to update all the drivers, because manually updating all the drivers is a tedious task. So, you can install an application to update all your drivers like Driver Booster.

4. Use System File Checker

In this method, we need to use the Command Prompt to use the System File Checker (SFC) to fix the 'The System Cannot Find the File Specified' error message. So, let's check how to use SFC command in CMD.

1. First press Windows Key + R then type cmd then press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER key to open Command Prompt in Administrator mode.

2. Now you will see an open Command Prompt window. There you have to enter the following command ' sfc /scannow' and press Enter.

Run SFC In CMD

3. Now, wait for the System File Checker (SFC) utility to complete the scan.

Make sure to restart the computer after the scan is complete. This will most likely fix the 'The System Cannot Find the File Specified' error from your computer.

5. Use CHKDSK Scan

If the SFC command still doesn't work to fix the problem. You can run CHKDSK to scan for corrupted files and fix the “The System Cannot Find the File Specified” error. To use it, follow the steps below.

1. Just like before, open Command Prompt in Administrator mode.

2. Now enter the following command in Command Prompt chkdsk /r

Run CHKDSK in CMD

3. Press the Enter key to run this command and it will automatically fix the error.

4. After this command is complete, restart your PC.

6. Check System Logs

If all the above methods still fail to fix The System Cannot Find the File Specified from your computer, then we suggest you to check the system log file. Here are the steps you need to follow.

1. Go to the C:/Windows/INF file directory and open the INF folder

2. In the INF folder, find the setupapi.dev.log file and open it.

3. Now press CTRL + F and search for cannot find the file' and press Enter.

4. Now you will get the missing files. Simply, copy & paste into the Windows/INF folder.

Check System Logs

Now restart your computer to fix 'The System Cannot Find the File Specified' from Windows 10.

7. Edit Registry Files

This is one of the methods you can try to fix “The System Cannot Find the File Specified” issue.

1. Press Windows Key + R simultaneously to open the Run Dialog box then type regedit and press Enter.

Note: Modifying the registry comes with certain risks, you should first export the registry to make a backup. Click File > Export to create it.

3. After you have backed up the registry, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion.

4. Open the key and look for the RunOnce button. You can create it if this key doesn't exist. Click the CurrentVersion button and choose New > Key from the menu.

New Key RunOnce

5. Type RunOnce as the new new key.

7. Check if the RunOnce key is there.

RunOnce Registry Editor

8. Exit the Registry Editor and restart your PC.

8. Remove ProfileImagePatch Key

So, if you are still getting the 'The System Cannot Find the File Specified' error message while creating a system image or backup, then you need to give this method a try. The problem occurs when Windows caches old Profile image path. So, follow these methods to fix the 'The System Cannot Find the File Specified' error message from Windows 10.

1. First, press Windows Key + R to open the Run Dialog box. In the RUN Dialog box, enter 'regedit' and press Enter.

2. Now in the Registry editor, you need to browse to the patch HKEY _LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows NT\\CurrentVersion\\ProfileList

3. Now open ProfileLisk key and check all sub-keys whether they have ProfileImagePatch value in right side pane.

4. If you find a sub-key that has a ProfileImagePath value, delete it.

Remove ProfileImagePatch Key

Now simply restart your computer and 'The System Cannot Find the File Specified' will be fixed.

9.Format USB

Maybe The system cannot find the file specified error may occur while inserting your USB flash disk, so you can format your drive to fix the problem. Follow the steps below to do this.

Note: This will erase all data on the USB flash drive, so make sure to backup your USB to avoid data loss.

1. First open This PC > right click on your USB flash drive then click Format.

2. Make sure the Quick Format option is checked.

3. Click Start to format it.

Format USB Flash Drives

10. Scan for Viruses And Malware

Malware and Viruses sometimes damage important system files. So, System cannot find file specified error can also occur due to threats and viruses. So, if you are using an Antivirus program, then run a deep scan. If you don't have any antivirus app, you can try apps like Malwarebytes to remove virus and malware threats from your computer.

Easy Solution To Overcome The System Cannot Find The File Specified

Although the fix given earlier is a bit technical and if you have no technical computer knowledge then it must be hard for you to do it. So, to make this process easier for you guys, try installing the PC Repair Tool application.

It is one of the best repair tools which can easily deal with all kinds of Windows related problems like registry errors, DLL errors, driver issues, update errors and many more.

And the most important part, you don't need to type any commands and do anything manually. It will automatically scan, detect and fix errors and also improve the performance of your PC.

Conclusion

So, here are some of the best methods to solve 'The system cannot find the file specified error' from Windows 10 computer. Make sure to carry out the fixes one by one carefully and hopefully one of these methods can help you fix your problem.

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That's all for the article 10 Ways to Overcome The System Cannot Find the File Specified. Look forward to other interesting articles and don't forget to share this article with your friends. Thank you…

Resa Risyan

Just an ordinary person who wants to share a little knowledge, hopefully the knowledge I provide can be useful for all of us. Keep in mind! Useful knowledge is an investment in the afterlife.