How to Run the System Maintenance Troubleshooter
Beginner
How-To · Windows
A built-in, easy-to-miss tool for broken shortcuts, disk volume errors, and clock drift — not a fix for corrupted system files, despite sometimes being listed as one.
- Search "troubleshoot" in the Start menu and open Troubleshoot settings, then look under "Other troubleshooters" for System Maintenance (on older Windows versions, this lives in Control Panel > Troubleshooting > System and Security > System Maintenance instead).
- Run it, and when prompted, uncheck "Apply repairs automatically" first if you want to review what it finds before anything changes — otherwise it fixes issues as it finds them.
- It specifically checks for broken shortcuts (invalid references to programs or files), desktop icons unused for about three months, disk volume errors like bad sectors and cross-linked files, an incorrectly set system clock, and old troubleshooting history taking up space.
- Let it complete fully, then click "View detailed information" to see exactly what it found and fixed, rather than just noting that it finished.
- Know what this tool isn't: despite sometimes being listed as a fix for corrupted system files, it doesn't actually repair those — that's what sfc /scannow and DISM are for. This tool's disk volume error check is genuinely useful on its own terms, just not for that specific problem.
Running into an error instead of just needing the how-to? Check our Windows troubleshooting guides or the error lookup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this fix the same things as sfc or DISM?
No — it's a different tool entirely, focused on broken shortcuts, disk volume errors, unused desktop icons, and clock sync, not corrupted system files. Use sfc/DISM for file corruption instead.
How often should I run this troubleshooter?
There's no need for a regular schedule — running it occasionally, or when you notice one of the specific issues it addresses (like broken shortcuts), is reasonable.
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