How to Fix “The system cannot find the file specified” error?

“The System cannot find the file specified” is it your problem too? Yes, you are not the first one to face this. This kind of error pop-up, usually when one has updated the Windows. DeviceTricks illustrate some simple manual troubleshooting methods which are recommended to perform first before going to an IT specialist. This kind of error is a terror to your Computer and need serious attention towards it.

What is “The System cannot find the file specified” error?

“The System cannot find the file specified” is a common bug for Windows users especially for Windows 10. This error occurs while doing a system image, installing drivers, or accessing files. Such types of errors point towards an error code i.e 0x80070002 or 0x80070003 but depending on the specification of OS, failure type, and other indicators the error code may differ.

Why “The System cannot find the file specified” error occurs?

Some reasons were speculated which may be causing the problem; some of them are listed as under:

• Connection issues
• Missing drive files
• Wrong File resolution
• Issues during backup of files
• Registry issues or invalid keys
• Disk errors in the source volume

When you encounter this message, our suggestion is, do not ignore it, this may lead to malfunctioning of the computer.

How to fix “The System cannot find the file specified” error?

As we have discussed the error and the reasons behind this error, now we will have a look towards the solutions to fix this error:

Scan your computer

• “The System cannot find the file specified” this error is a common bug for windows. In order to fix the problem, it is suggested to run the antivirus and scan the entire system to get rid of the virus.

• If scanning and cleaning the system doesn’t fix the problem, try another method to resolve the problem.

Check the System Log files

• Open the Run Program and search for c:/windows/inf folder.

• Search in the search box for steupapi.dev.log file and open it.

• Press Ctrl+F hotkey and search for “cannot find the file”.

• Copy the missing file and paste it in Windows/inf folder.

• Reinstall it in the system and reboot the PC.

Open Hidden Folders

In Windows 10 some folders are hidden by default. Some of the users reported that they got their error fixed by navigating to the libraries folder. To get access to the libraries folder, follow these steps:

• Press Windows+E keys to launch File Explorer or Double-click on the This PC icon.

• Now navigate to the left sidebar and right-click on an empty area and select show libraries from the menu.

• After this, you can see and check the libraries folder on the left menu.

Uninstall and Reinstall the Driver

• Go to Device Manager with the help of the Run program or Search feature.

• Open the Device Manager and look out for the driver to be uninstalled. Right Click on the driver and select Uninstall from the context menu.

• Confirm the un-installation process. Once the Driver is Uninstalled, download the driver again from the official website and Reinstall it.
• Restart your computer and check for the error.

Update Windows

• Press Win+I and go for updates and security options. Open the folder.

• Check for the latest updates and install all the listed updates.

• Once finished with the installation, restart the system to complete the Windows updating.

• If updating Windows will not solve the problem try the next method to fix it.

Run SFC Scan

• Right-click on the start button and select “Command Prompt (Admin)” and type “sfc/scannow”. Press enter to run a full scanning of the system.

• The scanning will run for approximately 5–10 min.
• On completion, if everything is fine, the message will display on your screen “Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity Violations”.

• The display of the message shows that the system has successfully repaired missing or corrupted files in Windows with SFC.

Modification of Registry Keys

• Press Windows+R to open the Run program and type regedit in the search box and enter OK.

• Before fixing the problem first secure the current registry condition. Create the backup by selecting File. Right-click the File folder and enter Export.
• Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version.

• Expand the Current Version folder and look out for Run Once Key. Create it if the key is not found by simply right-clicking on the Current version folder. Select the New> Key from the context menu.
• Name the key as Run Once and check on the left pane if the key is created or not.

• Close the registry editor and restart the Windows.
• If the error still persists keep trying another method.

Run chkdsk Scan

To fix this error you can try to run chkdsk scan to repair the damaged or corrupted files. Follow these steps:

• Press Windows+X keys and select command prompt(Admin) from the contextual menu.

• Type chkdsk /f X: and press Enter. (Here ‘X’ should be replaced by the appropriate letter of your disk partition).

• Wait for the process to finish the repair. Restart your computer and check for the error.

Use WinRAR

Some users reported that they received this error while deleting a file. In such a case you can use WinRAR to delete the file. To do so follow these steps:

• Right-click on the problematic file and select Add to archive option.

• Check the option Delete files after archiving and press Ok.

• By doing so you can completely delete the archive to remove the file without any problem.

Delete ProfileImagePath Key

• Open Registry Editor.

• Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version\Profile List.

• Expand the Profile List and check whether the ProfileImagePath value is available on the right pane.
• If certain sub-keys do not show the values or the data is empty, right-click and choose Delete option to delete it from the menu.

Delete the Config value from the registry

• Open the Registry Editor.

• Navigate to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Network\Config key.

• Right-click on Config Key and select Delete.

• Reboot the system.

Conclusion

“The system cannot find the file specified” error has the potential to affect your computer and its functioning. We hope the aforesaid methods have resolved the issue. Let us know in the comment section which method worked for you? Wanna some more DeviceTricks? Stay tuned to this space to get the latest updates on errors related to Windows, Mac, and Android. 

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