Speaking of errors, users reported The system cannot find the file specified error on Windows 10. According to users, they are getting this error while trying to access certain files, so today we’re going to show you how to fix it.
How can I fix The system cannot find the file specified on Windows 10?
Solution 1 – Change your registry
According to users, you can fix this error simply by making few changes to your registry. Modifying the registry comes with certain risks, therefore we strongly advise that you export your registry and create its backup, just in case. To modify the registry, do the following: After your PC restarts, The system cannot find the file specified error should be resolved completely. Once again, we have to mention that modifying the registry can lead to certain issues, so be extra cautious and be sure to create a backup. If you can’t edit your Windows 10’s registry, read this handy guide and find the quickest solutions to the issue.
Solution 2 – Open the Libraries folder
According to users, you might be able to fix this problem simply by navigating to the Libraries folder. This folder is hidden by default in Windows 10, and in order to access it, you need to do the following: Users reported that accessing the Libraries folder fixed the issue for them, so be sure to try this simple solution. If you need more info on how to enable Libraries in Windows 10, check out this simple guide.
Solution 3 – Install the latest updates
According to users, this was an issue in the past, but you can easily fix it by installing the latest updates. Windows updates often fix both hardware and software errors, therefore we strongly suggest that you install the latest updates. Windows 10 usually installs the updates automatically, but you can also check for updates manually by following these steps: Windows 10 will now check if updates are available. If so, it will download and install the updates automatically. If you can’t open the Setting app, take a look at this article to solve the issue. Having trouble updating your Windows? Check out this guide that will help you solve them in no time.
Solution 4 – Format your USB flash drive
Users reported The system cannot find the file specified error while inserting their USB flash drive. This issue can also appear with any removable storage, and in order to fix it, you need to format your drive. To do that, follow these steps: By disabling the Quick Format option all your files will be completely removed and unrecoverable. Some users are also suggesting to use ImageUSB software. This software will format your drive and fill it with zeroes thus fixing this problem. Keep in mind that this process can take a while, so you’ll have to be patient. If you encounter the Windows cannot format this drive error, follow the quick steps from this guide to solve the issue.
Solution 5 – Use chkdsk
If you’re getting The system cannot find the file specified error, that might be because the file is damaged or corrupted. To fix this problem, you need to run chkdsk command and scan your files. This is relatively simple, and you can do it by following these steps: chkdsk is giving you headaches? Check out this quick guide to fix any issues with it.
Solution 6 – Use WinRAR
According to users, The system cannot find the file specified error appears when trying to delete a specific file or folder. If that’s the case, you might be able to fix the problem by using WinRAR. To fix the problem, do the following: Your file will be moved to the archive and the original will be deleted from the hard drive. Now you can just delete the archive to completely remove the file.
Solution 7 – Delete ProfileImagePath key
The system cannot find the file specified error can occur while using Windows Backup, and it will prevent you from creating your backup. According to users, you might be able to fix this problem by deleting certain values from your registry. Changing the registry can lead to stability issues, so before you make these changes, we strongly advise you to back up your registry and create a System Restore point. To delete this key from the registry, do the following: After deleting the problematic profile, close Registry Editor and check if the issue is resolved. As we already mentioned, modifying the registry can lead to certain issues, therefore we strongly recommend that you create a backup before making any changes. Can’t access the Registry Editor? Things aren’t as scary as they seem. Check out this guide and solve the issue quickly.
Solution 8 – Enable Automount
If this problem appears while using Windows Backup, you can fix it by using diskpart and automount commands. Diskpart is a powerful tool for hard drive management, so be extra cautious while using it. By using this tool you can cause damage to your system, so keep in mind that you’re using this tool at your own risk. To run diskpart on Windows 10, follow these steps: If the issue still persists, you need to do the following: After your PC restarts, check if the issue is resolved. Once again, diskpart is powerful tool, and if you’re not careful you can delete files or make your system unbootable, so be extra cautious with it. If you’re having trouble accessing Command Prompt as an admin, then you better take a closer look at this guide.
Solution 9 – Check if your system partition is active
The system cannot find the file specified error can occur while using Windows Backup. To fix the issue, you need to check if your system partition is set to active. To do that, follow these simple steps: Disk Management won’t load on Windows 10? Count on us to solve the problem.
Solution 10 – Change shadowcopy storage area
If The system cannot find the file specified error appears on your PC, you can fix it by changing the shadowcopy storage area size. This can be a risky procedure, so we advise you to create a backup just in case. To change shadowcopy storage area, you need to do the following: If the issue still persists, open Command Prompt again and enter vssadmin delete shadows /all command.
Solution 11 – Add a printer manually
Few users reported that this issue occurs while trying to add a printer. If you have the same problem, you might want to try adding the printer manually. This is a simple procedure, and you can do it by following these steps: According to users, this error occurs while installing HP printers, but if you have this problem with any other printer, be sure to try this solution.
Solution 12 – Copy the files manually
Apparently this error can occur while trying to install certain devices, and users reported The system cannot find the file specified error while installing an Epson scanner. Few users were able to solve this issue simply by finding the missing file in Windows folder and copying it to the appropriate location. According to users, they fixed the problem with their device by finding the usbscan.sys file in Windows folder and copying it to Windowsinfsetupapi.dev folder. This solution only works for particular devices, and you’ll mostly need to transfer a different file on your PC. We have to warn you that making changes in Windows folder can be dangerous, so be sure to create a backup if you plan to make changes to Windows directory. Can’t use copy paste in Windows 10? Follow this guide and fix the issue quickly.
Solution 13 – Uninstall all HP applications
According to users, this error appears while installing a printer driver on some HP laptops. If you’re getting The system cannot find the file specified error, you might be able to fix it by uninstalling all HP applications. To do that, follow these steps: Need more info on how to uninstall programs and apps in Windows 10? Take a look at this guide. Few users reported the same problem, and according to them, the error is caused by McAfee antivirus. To fix the issue, you need to disable McAfee by following these steps:
Solution 14 – Change the drive letter for System Reserved partition
The system cannot find the file specified error can appear while trying to use Windows Backup. If that’s the case, you might be able to fix the problem by revealing System Reserved partition. We have to mention that changing System Reserved partition settings can lead to certain issues, so keep in mind that this procedure isn’t risk-free. To make the necessary changes, follow these steps: Close Disk Management and check if the issue is resolved. We have to mention that System Reserved partition will remain visible, so don’t make any changes to it. This isn’t the best solution, but it’s a solid workaround that might work for some users.
Solution 15 – Delete the Config value from the registry
According to users, The system cannot find the file specified error can appear while trying to reinstall network driver. If that’s the case, you need to open Registry Editor and delete a single value from it. Before making any changes, we advise you to check Solution 1 to see how to back up your registry. To remove the problematic key, do the following: If you need to undo any registry changes in Windows 10, check out this guide and learn how you can do it.
Solution 16 – Use download manager
Few users reported that this problem appears while trying to install downloaded applications. If you’re getting The system cannot find the file specified error while trying to install certain application, you might want to redownload the setup file. Users reported that using a download manager such as Internet Download Manager fixed the issue for them so we advise you to try that. Sometimes your download can become damaged or corrupted, so be sure to try using a download manager. Looking for the best download managers for Windows 10? Check out this list with our top picks.
Solution 17 – Check if necessary services are running
This error can appear with almost any software, and users reported The system cannot find the file specified error while using VMware. To fix the problem, you need to start appropriate VMware services, and you can do that by following these steps: Another way to start VMware services is to use Command Prompt. This method is faster, and you can perform it by following these steps: If the issue still persists, you might have to completely reinstall VMware and check if that solves the problem.
Solution 18 – Check if your USB port is powered
Apparently this issue appears while using Windows Backup feature. To fix The system cannot find the file specified error, it’s advised to connect any external hard drives to powered USB ports. Few users reported that you can fix the issue simply by connecting an external hard drive to a different port. It seems that Windows Backup feature requires external storage to be connected to a powered USB port. SPONSORED After connecting the device to a different USB port, check if the issue is resolved. USB not working in Windows 10? Don’t let that ruin your day. Fix it quickly with the help of this guide.
Solution 19 – Remove Windows.old folder
According to users, The system cannot find the file specified error can appear due to Windows.old folder. Windows.old folder appears if you upgrade your Windows or if you perform a clean install of Windows 10. This folder holds your previous Windows installation, and it allows you to restore it. Windows.old folder can cause this error to appear while using Windows Backup feature, and to fix the problem, you need to remove Windows.old folder. This is relatively simple, and you can do it by following these steps: After removing Windows.old folder from your PC, check if the problem is resolved. If you need more info on how to delete the Windows.old folder on Windows 10, check out this dedicated guide. Problems deleting all your junk files? Follow this guide to solve Disk Cleanup issues and save your drive.
Solution 20 – Restart Windows Backup service
If you’re getting The system cannot find the file specified error message while trying to run Windows Backup, we recommend that you restart Windows Backup service. To do that, follow these steps: Some users are also recommending to remove Samsung Magician software from your PC. +If you have this software installed, remove it and check if that solves the issue.
How can I fix The system cannot find the file specified error?
Solution 1 – Move the problematic file
According to some users, you might be able to fix this problem simply by moving the problematic file to a different folder. Users reported that moving the problematic file to the root folder, such as C: for example, fixed the issue for them. This is a simple workaround, but it might fix the issue for you, so feel free to try it out. Can’t move a certain file in Windows 10? Follow this guide and solve the problem easily.
Solution 2 – Remove problematic software
Some users reported that The system cannot find the file specified error appears every time they start their PC. This can be quite annoying, and according to users, you can fix this problem simply by removing the problematic applications. It seems that this problem is caused by Apple software, Real Player and Spybot Search & Destroy. If you have any of these programs installed, we advise you to remove them in order to fix this problem. To do that, you need to follow these steps: After uninstalling the problematic applications, you can run CCleaner and use it to remove any remaining files related to these apps. Lastly, restart your PC and check if the error message appears again. If you want to get rid of any software leftovers from your Windows 10 PC, this guide will certainly help you do that.
Solution 3 – Use bcdedit command properly
Several users reported The system cannot find the file specified error message while trying to run bcdedit command in Command Prompt. This usually occurs if you’re not starting this command properly. To fix the issue, you need to do the following:
Solution 4 – Show file extensions
Sometimes you might get The system cannot find the file specified error message in Command Prompt if you don’t know the file’s exact extension. By default, Windows 10 hides file extensions from the user, and this can sometimes lead to certain problems. For example, let’s assume that you have a file called file.txt. This might look like a normal text file, but let’s see what happens if we enable file extensions for files. To do that, simply click the View tab and check File name extensions. Now let’s see how our file.txt looks like. After revealing the file extensions, the full name of the file is file.txt.txt. If you try to access file.txt.txt instead of file.txt in Command Prompt, you’ll see that it works without any issues. There’s also another way to check the file extension of your files in Command Prompt. Simply navigate to the desired folder in Command Prompt and enter dir command. List of all directories and files in that folder will now appear. As you can see, you can now easily find the full name and extension of any file in that directory. This isn’t an error, and it’s more of a beginner’s mistake. In the future, before trying to access a certain file, be sure to check for its full name by using the dir command or by revealing file extensions. Need more info on how to show file extensions in Windows 10? Take a look at this useful guide.
How can I fix The system cannot find the file specified error in uTorrent?
Solution 1 – Delete the problematic torrent
If you’re getting The system cannot find the file specified error while using uTorrent, you might be able to temporary fix it by using this solution. To fix the problem, follow these simple steps: Keep in mind that this is just a temporary workaround, so it’s quite possible that the same error message will appear again. We also have to warn you that this method will completely delete the torrent and all associated files from your PC. If you’re getting the System cannot find path uTorrent error in Windows 10, follow this article to solve the problem.
Solution 2 – Check the torrent’s download folder
Sometimes The system cannot find the file specified error occurs if your download folder path isn’t correct. To fix this issue, be sure to manually select the download folder for each torrent. To do that, follow these steps: Alternatively, you can set a default download folder for all torrents by doing the following: After doing that, the error message should be completely resolved.
Solution 3 – Perform a Disk Cleanup
According to users, you can fix The system cannot find the file specified in uTorrent simply by performing a Disk Cleanup. Sometimes temporary files or old Windows installations can interfere with uTorrent and cause this error to appear. Several users reported that Disk Cleanup fixed their problem, so we suggest that you try it out. Regarding Disk Cleanup, we already explained how to perform it in one of our previous solutions, so be sure to check it out. While performing Disk Cleanup be sure to select all available options in order to remove all unnecessary and old files. Can’t get rid of the temporary files? After following these easy steps, you’ll delete them like a pro.
Solution 4 – Delete uTorrent installation manually
Sometimes The system cannot find the file specified error can appear if your uTorrent installation is corrupted. According to users, uTorrent isn’t available on the list of installed applications, and it starts on its own. If you have the same problem, and you can’t remove uTorrent, you need to follow these steps: Can’t open Task Manager? Don’t worry, we’ve got the right solution for you.
How can I fix The system cannot find the file specified?
Solution 1 – Use Chromebook Recovery utility
According to users, this error can appear while trying to format specific USB flash drives. It seems that The system cannot find the file specified affects USB flash drives that are used as Chromebook recovery image holders. In order to fix the problem, users are suggesting to use Chromebook Recovery utility to erase the USB drive. After doing that, the flash drive will start working in Windows 10, and the error will be resolved. To fix the problem, follow these steps: After doing that, you’ll be able to format the flash drive once again from your operating system. Keep in mind that this solution only works with USB drives that are used as recovery media for Chromebook.
Solution 2 – Use clean command in diskpart tool
If you’re having The system cannot find the file specified error while using your USB flash drive, you might need to use diskpart to fix it. This process will remove all files from your flash drive, so create a backup if you need to. To clean the USB flash drive, do the following: Now your USB flash drive is clean from any files, and in order to use it, you need to format it. To do that, follow these steps: As you can see, this process is relatively simple, but you need to be extra cautious while using diskpart tool.
Solution 3 – Make changes to your registry
The system cannot find the file specified error appears for some users while inserting a USB flash drive to their PC. To fix this problem, you need to make some changes to your registry. Before making any changes, we advise you to create a backup of the registry, just in case. In some rare cases %SystemRoot% variable might not work properly, and that will cause this error to appear. After making the necessary changes and replacing the value with the absolute path, the issue should be resolved.
Solution 4 – Format the drive on Mac or Linux
If you can’t access your flash drive on Windows due to The system cannot find the file specified error, you might need to format it on Mac or Linux first. According to users, they solved the issue simply by connecting their flash drive to any Mac or Linux computer and formatting the drive using FAT32 file system. After formatting the drive, connect it to your Windows 10 PC and follow the Solution 2 to clean the drive using diskpart tool.
Solution 5 – Disable automount
In one of our previous solutions, we mentioned how enabling the automount feature can fix The system cannot find the file specified when inserting a USB flash drive. However, it seems that in some cases you can fix this error by disabling automount in diskpart. To do that, you need to follow these steps: After disabling automount, you should be able to format your removable storage without any errors. After you’re done, you might want to enable the automount feature. To see how to do that, check out one of our previous solutions.
Solution 6 – Delete and format all partitions
This solution will delete all files from your hard drive, so if you’re going to use it, be sure to back up all your important files. Since this solution will delete all files, we suggest that you use it only with a new PC that doesn’t have any important files stored on it. Users reported that after reinstalling their operating system they are unable to initialize their additional hard drive. According to them, they are unable to initialize it due to The system cannot find the file specified error message. If you have this or any other similar issue, you can fix it by using Partition Wizard software. Simply create a bootable flash drive with this tool and start your PC from it. After the tool starts, you need to delete all your partitions on the drive that you can’t initialize and format them again. After that, initialize partitions as GPT. If you want to convert MBR to GPT disk without data loss, check out this awesome guide. Want to create a Windows 10 bootable UEFI USB drive? Follow the steps from this article and do it in no time. Once again, this solution will delete all files from the problematic drive, so be sure to use this solution as a last resort or only with a new PC or an empty hard drive. The system cannot find the file specified error can affect your PC in many different ways. This can be an annoying error, but we hope that you solved it by using one of our solutions. If you have any other questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section below and we’ll surely check them out.
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