What is ‘The system cannot find the file specified’ error in Windows 10?
If you are facing ‘The system cannot find the file specified error’ while trying to launch a program, install driver or access certain files/folders in computer, then you are in right place for the solution. Here, you will be guided with easy steps/methods to resolve the issue. Let’s starts the discussion.
‘The system cannot find the file specified’ error: It is common Windows problem usually occurred on Windows 10 or earlier Windows OS version. This error may be appeared under various conditions including when you attempt to access a local hard drive, external hard drive or USB, and more in Disk Management in Windows computer. This error can also be appeared when you attempt to access files/folders in your Windows computer, launch certain program or specific program, install driver, or creating a backup of system.
In sort, this error prevents you from performing various tasks in your Windows computer. For example, when you try to open specific program like Microsoft Visual Studio, you may face this error instead of access the program you want to run. There could be several reason behind this issue including corruption in system files, issues with system registry, issues with connection, source volume may contain disk errors, something went wrong in system backup file or backup process, and/or other reasons.
Corruption in system files, system image and issues with disk drives can be resolved in Windows computer by running Windows build-in SFC scan, DISM scan and CHKDSK scan. Also, you can modify certain registry settings in order to fix the issue. It is possible to resolve this error with our instructions. Let’s go for the solution.
How to fix The system cannot find the file specified error in Windows 10?
Method 1: Fix ‘The system cannot find the file specified’ error with ‘PC Repair Tool’
‘PC Repair Tool’ is easy & quick way to find and fix BSOD errors, EXE errors, DLL errors, problems with programs/applications, malware or viruses issues, system files or registry issues and other system issues with just few clicks. You can get this tool through button/link below.
Method 2: Open ‘Libraries’ folder in Windows 10
One possible way to fix the error is to open ‘Libraries’ folder which is hidden by default in Windows 10.
Step 1: Open ‘This PC’, ‘My Computer’ or ‘Computer’ by double-click its icon in Windows desktop
Step 2: In the opened window, in left pane, right-click on empty space and select ‘Show Libraries’ option, and check if you can sees the Libraries folder in left pane, and check if the error is resolved.
Method 3: Update Windows 10 OS
Updating Windows 10 OS to latest update version can resolve issues in Windows computer. Let’s try.
Step 1: Press ‘Windows + I’ keys on keyboard to open ‘Settings’ App in Windows 10
Step 2: In ‘Settings’ app, go to ‘Update & Security > Windows Update’ and click on ‘Check for updates’ button, and the install the available update
Step 3: Once done, restart your computer to see the changes and check if the error is resolved.
Method 4: Check the System Log Files in Windows 10
Another possible way to fix the issue is to check System log files.
Step 1: Open ‘File Explorer’ and navigate ‘C:/Windows/inf’ folder
Step 2: Once you are inside correct folder, find and double-click on setupapi.dev.log file.
Step 3: Find ‘cannot find the file’ by hitting ‘CTRL + F’ keys on keyboard to open ‘Find’ dialog box, enter the ‘cannot find the file’ to search. This will show you the list of missing files. Select the desired one, copy it and paste it into Windows/INF folder
Step 4: Once done, reinstall the driver and then restart the computer, and check if the error is resolved.
Method 5: Update or reinstall drivers in Windows 10
This error can also be occurred due to issue with some installed driver on your computer. You can reinstall or update the driver in order to fix the issue.
Step 1: Press ‘Windows + X’ keys on keyboard and select ‘Device Manager’
Step 2: In ‘Device Manager’, find and right-click on the driver that is causing the problem, and select ‘Uninstall’. Follow on-screen instructions to finish uninstall and after that restart your computer
Step 3: After that, download and reinstall the latest version of driver from its manufacturer official site in computer and check if error is resolved.
Download or reinstall Drivers update in Windows 10 [Automatically]
You can also try to download/install drivers with ‘Automatic Driver Update Tool’. This software will automatically find and download the latest updates for all Windows drivers including sound card drivers, video drivers and others, and then install them into computer.
Method 6: Run SFC Scan, DISM scan and CHKDSK Scan tool in Windows 10
You can repair system files, system image and disk drive errors by running SFC Scan, DISM Scan and chkdsk scan tool in computer in order to resolve this error.
Step 1: Press ‘Windows + X’ keys on keyboard and select ‘Command Prompt as Administrator’
Step 2: Run SFC Scan. Type ‘sfc /scannow’ command and hit ‘Enter’ key to execute
Step 3: Once executed, run chkdsk scan. Type ‘chkdsk C: /f /r /x’ command and hit ‘Enter’ key execute
Step 4: Once executed, run DISM scan. Type following command and hit ‘Enter’ key to execute
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Step 5: Once executed, restart your computer and check if the error is resolved.
Method 7: Fix The system cannot find the file specified error using Registry Editor
Step 1: Press ‘Windows + R’ keys on keyboard, type ‘regedit’ in the opened ‘Run’ dialog box and hit ‘OK’ button to open ‘Registry Editor’
Step 2: In the opened window, click on ‘File > Export’, select ‘All’ under ‘Export Range’ and click on ‘Save’ button to save the backup of registry entries that could help you to restore your registry to its original states in case of anything goes wrong.
Step 3: Now, navigate to following path
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
Step 4: Find ‘RunOnce’ key under ‘CurrentVersion’ in left pane. If this key doesn’t exist, right-click on ‘CurrentVersion’ key and select ‘New > Key’ and name the key to ‘RunOnce’
Step 5: Now, navigate to the following path
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Step 6: Check if RunOnce key is created inside CurrentVersion folder. If not, repeat ‘step 4’ to create ‘RunOnce’ key and then close ‘Registry Editor’ and restart computer
Step 7: After restart, please check if the error is resolved.
Method 8: Format the drive that causing error
If you are receiving ‘The system cannot find the file specified’ error while trying to access USB drive or other removable drives, or external hard drives, then you can try to fix the issue by formatting the drive.
Step 1: Open ‘File Explorer’, find and right-click on the drive that is causing ‘The system cannot find the file specified’ error, and select ‘Format’
Step 2: In ‘Format’ window of drive, select ‘Quick Format’ option and then hit ‘Start’ button to start formatting. Make sure you have select correct File System type like NTFS, FAT32 or others in formatting window.
Method 9: Use WinRAR
Sometime, this error can be occurred while try to delete a specific file or folder in computer. You can fix the issue by using WinRAR.
Step 1: Open ‘File Explorer’, find and right-click on the problematic file and select ‘Add to archive’
Step 2: In the opened window, check ‘Delete files after archiving’ checkbox and hit ‘OK’ button
Step 3: After that, try deleting the file that was causing error and check if the error is resolved.
Method 10: Delete ‘ProfileImagePath’ key in Registry Editor
If this error is occurred while creating backup on your System using Windows Backup tool, then you can try to fix the issue by deleting certain key values.
Step 1: Open ‘Registry Editor’ using ‘Method 7’ and navigate to following path
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
Step 2: Expand the sub key in left pane one-by-one and check ‘ProfileImagePath’ value in right pane, If this value doesn’t exist inside the subkey under ‘ProfileList’, then right-click on the subkey that doesn’t contain ‘ProfileImagePath’, and delete the subkey by selecting ‘Delete’ option
Step 3: Once done, close ‘Registry Editor’ and check if the error is resolved.
Method 11: Change certain services settings in Windows 10
One possible way to fix the issue is to change certain Windows services settings.
Step 1: Press ‘Windows + R’ keys on keyboard, type ‘services.msc’ in the opened ‘Run’ dialog box and hit ‘Ok’ button to open ‘Services’ window
Step 2: In the ‘Services’ window, find and double-click on ‘Background Intelligent Transfer Services’ to open its ‘Properties’. In Properties window, select ‘Automatic’ or ‘Automatic (Delayed Start)’ option from ‘Startup Type’ dropdown and hit ‘Start’ button under ‘Service Status’ section
Step 3: Now, repeat the same step for ‘Cryptographic Services’ and ‘Windows Update’ service
Step 4: Once done, restart your computer and check if the error is resolved.
Conclusion
I hope this post helped you on How to fix The system cannot find the file specified error in Windows 10 with several easy steps/methods. You can read & follow our instructions to do so. That’s all. For any suggestions or queries, please write on comment box below.
