Full Guide to DISM Online Cleanup Image in Windows 7

Is your Windows 7 system feeling sluggish or encountering issues that hinder your productivity? Fortunately, you can revitalize your aging Windows 7 with the DISM online cleanup image command. In this article, we'll explore how this powerful tool can breathe new life into your operating system.

What is the DISM command?

DISM, or Deployment Image Service and Management Tool, is a command line utility that plays a critical role in Windows system maintenance. It can be used to service and prepare Windows images, including Windows PE, Windows Recovery Environment, and Windows Setup.

One of the most common uses of DISM is to check the integrity of operating system files and repair system files that are corrupted, damaged or modified.

Can you run DISM online cleanup image in Windows 7?

Everything goes fine until you find that Windows updates and service packs fail to install or the system is having instability issues and other strange problems. Attention, corruptions may occur in system files! You should take immediate measures to repair these corrupted files.

However, there are some users report that the DISM command isn't available on Windows 7 and earlier version. This statement is half right. From Microsoft forum, I get that DISM does not work well on 64GB drive. If you want to use this command line, you need 128 GB or bigger drive on your Windows 7. 

Besides, there is a risk of data loss if you make a mistake in the process. To avoid this problem, you need to backup your system in advance.

Backup Windows 7 in case DISM fails

One or more system backup keeps things simple. It enables you to restore the system to the previous working state when your computer goes wrong due to corrupted system files or other factors. With a system backup in hand, you don’t have to worry about DISM errors and data loss any more.

Learn the instructions below to backup Windows 7:

1. Download AOMEI Backupper and open it after you've successfully installed this freeware.

2. Click Backup and System Backup subsequently.

3. Change the Task Name as you like. The required system partitions are selected by default. Select a destination path (here is F:\) to store the image backup.

4. Click Start Backup to begin backup.

Tips:

• Options: you can enable email notification, backup compression and backup splitting here.

• Schedule: check this box to set up an auto backup based on Daily, Weekly or Monthly. To enjoy Event triggers and USB plug in modes, you should do an edition upgrade.

• Scheme: click it to delete old backup images automatically. This feature is available in Pro version and higher versions.

• Remember the steps to restore system: Home > the system backup task > Restore.

How to use DISM online cleanup image in Windows 7?

Windows 7 can accumulate unnecessary files over time, leading to sluggish performance. You can use "DISM online cleanup image" to fix your corrupted files:

1. Type cmd in the search box (in the bottom left of the taskbar) and then right click Command Prompt to choose Run as administrator. Enter the administrator username and password if prompted.

2. Type the following command and press Enter to scan, detect, and fix corrupted system files, ensuring your Windows 7 is running smoothly:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

*This may take about twenty minutes to complete. Do not make any changes during the repair process.

3. Additionally, if you encounter issues during Windows updates, running the following command can help you resolve these problems:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

Although your system performance and stability will be improved after running these commands, the repair process takes a long time. You must always be careful with those operations, as data loss might occur if you make a mistake in the process.

Besides, you may meet DISM online cleanup image error 87 when using the above commands. Error 87 often indicates a syntax error in the command, even if you have written the commands correctly.

More command to use in Windows 8/10/11

For users who are running Windows 8 and above versions, you can run the following command to check if there are any corrupted files:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

And type the command below to see if any corruption has been detected:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

*After running these commands, it will report if the system files are healthy, repairable or irreparable.

DISM vs. System File Checker

You probably know another command to scan and repair corrupted or missing system files:

sfc /scannow

What's the differences bewteen DISM cleanup image and SFC /scannow? 

SFC /scannow is primarily used to repair individual system files at the user-level, while DISM Cleanup Image is used to clean up and optimize the entire Windows image, which includes the operating system, its components, and other packages.

The choice between the two depends on your specific needs and the level of repair or maintenance required for your Windows system. It's not uncommon to use both tools in combination to ensure the overall health and integrity of the system.

Verdict

When your system files get corrupted, you can repair them by running DISM /online/ cleanup image/ in Windows 7. This command line may fail sometimes. However, system backups created by AOMEI Backupper Standard eliminate your worries. More pleasing, this freeware can be used to create bootable backup for Windows 10/8/7.