A feature called System File Protection, borrowed from Windows 2000, prevents newly installed programs from overwriting critical system files with outdated or nonstandard versions, thus reducing the odds of crashes or other odd behavior from other programs.
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Windows Vista and later Windows systems do not include Windows File Protection, but they include Windows Resource Protection which protects files using registry keys and values and prevent potentially damaging system configuration changes, besides operating system files.
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Note that the non-use of ACLs in Windows File Protection was a design choice : Not only did it allow operation on non-NTFS systems, but it prevented those same " bad " installers from failing completely from a file access error.
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Third-party applications cannot stomp on OS files unless they bundle legitimate Windows updates with their installer, or if they disable the Windows File Protection service during installation, and on Windows Vista or later also take ownership of system files and grant themselves access.
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In addition, the System File Checker utility ( sfc . exe ) was reimplemented as a more robust command-line utility that integrated with WFP . Unlike the Windows 98 SFC utility, the new utility forces a scan of protected system files using Windows File Protection and allows the immediate silent restoration of system files from the " DLLCache " folder or installation media.
