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Get the fix for the error <strong>Rstrui.exe not recognized</strong> on <strong>Windows Vista, </strong><strong>Windows 7, </strong>and<strong> Windows 8</strong>.
<h2>About "<strong>Rstrui.exe not recognized"</strong></h2>
<span style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 1.5">[kbintro]</span>
<h3><span id="Description_and_Symptoms">Description and Symptoms</span></h3>
The error messages, alerts, warnings, and symptoms below are tied to this error.
<h3>Symptom 1: "<strong>Rstrui.exe not recognized</strong>" error screen</h3>
This articles details steps that you can follow to open System Restore if <strong>rstrui.exe command is not recognized.</strong>

The following message is associated with this error:
<pre>rstrui.exe is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.</pre>
rstrui.exe is placed in the <code>System32</code> folder of your Windows system:
<pre>\Windows\System32\rstrui.exe</pre>
<h2>Causes of this Error</h2>
This error has been known to occur as a result of one of the following causes:
<h3>Cause 1: System files are corrupt</h3>
The most common cause of this error is a corrupt or missing rstrui.exe system file.
<h3>Cause 2: File system integrity compromised</h3>
The hard drive's file system may become damaged because of disk write errors, power outages or virus attacks.
<h2>Fixing “<strong>Rstrui.exe not recognized</strong><span id="Fixing_8220Fatal_INT18_Boot_failure8221_on_Windows">” on Windows</span></h2>
[setupcd]
<h3>Fix #1: Boot into Last Known Good Configuration</h3>
In most cases booting into the <strong>Last Known Good Configuration</strong> mode can easily fix the rstrui.exe is not recognized error.

To do so, follow these steps:
<ol>
 	<li>Boot your computer and press the <kbd>F8</kbd> key before the Windows logo appears</li>
 	<li>At <em>Advanced Boot Options</em> menu, select <strong>Last Known Good Configuration</strong></li>
 	<li>Press <kbd>Enter</kbd></li>
 	<li>Once Windows has loaded, open System Restore and try to follow the wizard again</li>
</ol>
[caption id="attachment_1390" align="alignnone" width="1024"]<a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/09/Advanced-Boot-Options.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1390 size-full" src="https://neosmart.net/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/09/Advanced-Boot-Options.jpg" alt="The advanced boot options startup menu." width="1024" height="768" /></a> The advanced boot options startup menu.[/caption]
<h3>Fix #2: Boot into Safe Mode</h3>
If <a href="#Fix_1_Boot_into_Last_Known_Good_Configuration">Fix #1</a> above doesn’t work, you can try to boot into Safe Mode and open rstrui.exe by using the <code>%systemroot%</code> parameter:
<ol>
 	<li>Restart your computer</li>
 	<li>Press the <kbd>F8</kbd> key to open the <strong>Advanced Boot Options</strong> menu</li>
 	<li>Select <strong>Safe mode with a Command Prompt</strong></li>
 	<li>Type:
<pre>%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe</pre>
</li>
 	<li>Press <kbd>Enter</kbd></li>
 	<li>Follow the System Restore wizard steps to complete a restore process</li>
</ol>
[caption id="attachment_1826" align="alignnone" width="980"]<a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2014/03/advanced-boot-options-repair-computer-windows-vista-on-gateway.png"><img class="wp-image-1826 size-full" src="https://neosmart.net/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2014/03/advanced-boot-options-repair-computer-windows-vista-on-gateway.png" alt="Advanced Boot Options in Windows Vista on a Gateway" width="980" height="650" /></a> Advanced Boot Options in Windows Vista on a Gateway[/caption]
<h3>Fix #3: Run a virus scan</h3>
Viruses can either delete the rstrui.exe file or replace it with an incorrect and corrupt file instead. If you already have an antivirus software installed, use it to scan the computer for viruses.

If you don't have an antivirus software or can't boot into Windows to run it, use Easy Recovery Essentials built-in antivirus scanner:

[partial name="partial_easyre_av"]
<h3>Fix #4: Run chkdsk</h3>
If the rstrui.exe command is not recognized because of a system file error, you can use the chkdsk command to check if your hard disk has any errors:
<p class="info">For more information on chkdsk, <a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/chkdsk/">read the chkdsk guide</a>.</p>

<ol>
 	<li>Click <strong>Start</strong> to open Command Prompt</li>
 	<li>Make sure you run Command Prompt as Administrator: right-click on the item and click <strong>Run as administrator</strong><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-2446" src="/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2014/09/windows-7-cmd-run-as-administrator.jpg" alt="Windows 7 - Run Command Prompt as Administrator" width="388" height="95" /></li>
 	<li>When Command Prompt opens, type:
<pre>chkdsk c: /r</pre>
Replace <code>c:</code> with the letter of the drive where Windows is installed</li>
 	<li>Press <kbd>Enter</kbd></li>
</ol>
[caption id="attachment_4650" align="alignnone" width="980"]<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2015/04/chkdsk1.png"><img class="wp-image-4650 size-large" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2015/04/chkdsk1-1024x768.png" alt="chkdsk utility results screen" width="980" height="735" /></a> chkdsk utility results screen[/caption]
<h2>More Information</h2>
<h3>Linked Entries</h3>
<ul>
 	<li><a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/chkdsk/">chkdsk</a></li>
</ul>
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