By
Delia
/ Last
update
February 18, 2022
Have you ever encountered NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM error while using Windows 10? This error is always accompanied by a blue screen of death, making you unable to use your computer properly even after restarting it over and over again. What is the cause of this and how to solve it?
NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM error occurs for a number of reasons, which usually boil down to:
- Hard drive problems
- File system corruption
- Malware and viruses
For this situation, you can try the following solutions
1. Clean up your computer to free up more storage space
If there is not enough storage space for Windows 10 to boot properly, you will probably encounter NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM error. To check the remaining storage space, open File Explorer, on the left panel, click "This PC" and check how much space you have left on your C drive (local disk).
If you find that you are running out of storage space (the drive's bar will be in red), try deleting some unneeded files. You can also do this by right-clicking on a drive (C: for example), selecting "Properties" and clicking on "Disk Cleanup". It will automatically scan the disk and list the files that can be cleaned.
In "Files to delete", select the files you don't need and click "OK" to start cleaning.
You can also find the apps you no longer need or don't use often in “Settings” > “Apps” and choose to uninstall them.
2. Update the disk driver
If the driver for your hard drive or SSD is outdated or corrupted, it may also cause an NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM error to pop up. This can be fixed by a simple driver update in Device Manager.
Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box, type “devmgmt.msc” in the dialog box, and click “OK” to open Device Manager.
Expand the “Disk drives” section, right-click on your hard drive, and select “Update driver”.
In the next window, select “Search automatically for drivers”. The operating system will find the latest drivers for the drive and install them.
3. Repair system errors with command line
Disk drive errors or NTFS file system corruption can also cause NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM errors, and you can scan for these problems and fix them via the command prompt.
First, type "cmd" in the search bar and click the Run as administrator option.
In the command prompt window, type the command "chkdsk C:/f/r", enter and run. This command will repair hard drive errors and recover files from bad sectors.
The above steps will troubleshoot any hard drive problems, but if the problem persists, it may be because the NTFS file system is corrupted. You can use the built-in System File Checker utility (SFC) to repair it and any other corrupted files.
Open a command prompt as administrator, type "sfc/scannow" and press Enter.
SFC will scan your entire computer to find corrupt system files and repair them.
4. Reset operating system
If nothing has worked so far, it may be time to reset your Windows PC. Doing so will restore Windows to factory defaults, which means it will remove all programs and files (with the option to keep them) and install a fresh copy of Windows 10, thus resolving the NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM BSOD.
However, if your computer can't even get into Safe Mode, then you may need to boot a USB drive or installation disk to manually reinstall Windows 10.