Windows 8.1, 10 Refresh Problems Caused by Missing Files

Some users have been reporting that they can’t use the refresh/reset system in Windows 8.1 because of some “missing files“. We report their problems and give you more details about the issue below

Nope, we are not done yet – there are a bunch of other Windows 8.1 problems and issues that need to be brought upon the surface so that more folks could know about it. A good number of Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 users have been reporting that they have problems with the refresh/reset system and apparently they are “missing some files“. Here’s what one of them is saying:

Having some issues in windows 8.1 and would like to refresh/reset system, but it says that some files are missing and asks me to put in recovery media. I created a recovery media in the system but when i try to run it, it says that it is not the right one.  Ie, right now, I cannot refresh or reset my system.  My only system restore backups go back to November 10th–so not past installation of win 8.1.  Ps, the issue is that indexing service takes over my computer until it overheats and shuts off.  And there appears to be 80 gb unspoken for on my computer used by something.

A solution for his problem would be to create a USB (Universal Serial Bus) recovery drive and then use it to refresh the Windows 8.1 system. You can follow Microsoft’s own tips on this article. Another user is saying the following, even after creating a recovery media.

So I’ve been having a graphics driver / display related issue which has not been solved by uninstalling my drivers and doing a complete driver sweeper run. Thus I figured maybe it was time to do a full refresh hoping that would get all traces of the drivers from my system and registry. Trying this and using a burnt copy of the ISO that I initially installed Windows 8 on his system (I upgraded via the windows store), this failed with the refreshed system complaining about the media i supplied when asked.

I figured the recovery media was for 8 and my system was 8.1 and that was the issue. Searching i found a MS page describing how to create 8.1 media for this purpose. Following this failed too, as for some reason it refused to accept my product key. I have no idea why. My system was normally activated. I began to wonder if 8.1 product keys were different from 8. And using the belarc advisor I can see that my 8.1 system is activated using a 8 product key. At this point I’m all pretty terribly confused and wondering if i can ever use refresh or reset.

At the moment we don’t know exactly what is causing the problem, but we know that it is causing the following errors (quite a lot of them):

• C:Windowsdiagerr.xml – error opening
• C:Windowsdiagwrn.xml – error opening
• C:WindowsMEMORY.DMP – error opening
• C:WindowsInstaller4c66aad.msi » MSI » required.cab » CAB – error reading archive
• C:WindowsLogsCBSCBS.log – error opening
• C:WindowsLogsDPXsetupact.log – error opening
• C:WindowsLogsDPXsetuperr.log – error opening
• C:WindowsMicrosoft.NETFrameworkv3.0Windows Communication FoundationSMSvcHost.exe.config – error opening
• C:WindowsMicrosoft.NETFramework64v3.0Windows Communication FoundationSMSvcHost.exe.config – error opening
• C:WindowsPanthersqmSetup00.sqm – error opening
• C:WindowsPantherUnattendGCsetupact.log – error opening
• C:WindowsPantherUnattendGCsetuperr.log – error opening
• C:WindowsPLASystemSystem Diagnostics.xml – error opening
• C:WindowsPLASystemSystem Performance.xml – error opening
• C:Windowssecuritydatabasesecedit.sdb – error opening
• C:WindowsSoftwareDistributionDataStoreDataStore.edb – error opening
• C:WindowsSoftwareDistributionDataStoreLogsedb.log – error opening
• C:WindowsTasksAdobe Flash Player Updater.job – error opening
• C:WindowsTasksGoogleUpdateTaskMachineCore1cec43c80df64d.job – error opening
• C:WindowsTasksGoogleUpdateTaskMachineUA.job – error opening
• C:WindowsWinSxSamd64_microsoft-windows-c..rformance-perftrack_31bf3856ad364e35_6.3.9600.16384_none_4c9196811ed79b13traceanonconfig.xml – error opening
• C:WindowsWinSxSamd64_microsoft-windows-n..n_service_datastore_31bf3856ad364e35_6.3.9600.16384_none_c1ecf0b709f6bdc7dnary.xsd – error opening

Read Also: Driver Booster Discovers Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 Outdated Drivers

Do you have any idea on how this Windows 8.1 problem could be overcome?

Other ‘missing files’ related issues

There are many specific files missing and related issues. For example, if your Windows keeps refreshing and does not stop, there is actually a great fix guide written by us in order to help you.

Sometimes your system might make some files and folders disappear. That problem might occur on all Windows versions, and can be the result of an important update that has some errors. In that case, you can restore your files and folders and fix this problem by following the steps from this article.