Windows XP has the ability to protect itself from system instability caused by 3rd party software overwriting important system files. This used to be (and still is in fact), a problem with Windows 95 and Windows 98. With the introduction of Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft made a real effort to stop this from happening Windows File Protection By default, Windows File Protection is always enabled and allows Windows
digitally signed files to replace existing files safely. Currently, signed files are distributed
through:
# Windows Service Packs
# Hotfix distributions
# Operating system upgrades
# Windows Update
# Windows Device Manager
If you introduce a file replacement in any other way, Windows File protection will overwrite your file! An important part of Windows File Protection is the command line utility: System File Checker (sfc.exe) You will often see references to scannow sfc in online newsgroups etc. This is a great tool for troubleshooting Windows XP problems.
