No matter what operating system you are using, be it Windows, Mac, or Linux, you will come across issues that prevent the smooth operation of your operating system. Fortunately, a handful of quality, free applications are available to fix common Windows problems.

In no particular order, here are the 10 best utilities you will ever need to troubleshoot and fix common Windows 7 issues. Many of these tools may help you fix Windows 8 issues as well.

Free Windows 7 repair tools

  1. System File Checker: One of the best and least used features of Windows operating system. This command line tool can fix missing or corrupted system file errors, . We recommend you use this tool before using any other third-party software fox fixing Windows errors. To know how to launch and use this command line utility, read our how to repair Windows 7 system files guide.

  2. Troubleshooters: Both Windows 7 and Windows 8 include over 20 quality troubleshooting tools to automatically troubleshoot and fix common computer problems. You can find the list of the troubleshooters included in your version of Windows by navigating to Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Troubleshooting. You can find more info about these in our troubleshooting Windows 7 using built-in troubleshooters guide.

  3. FixWin: A must have utility. FixWin lets you fix over 50 common Windows Vista and Windows 7 issues. For instance, you can take the help of this utility when the Recycle Bin icon is missing from the desktop, games explorer is not working, explorer.exe won’t start, and Windows Media Player doesn’t show slideshow properly. Fixes are also available to enable Task Manager, Command Prompt, Registry Editor, and other Windows features disabled virus or malware.

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4: Fix WMP: Free standalone utility to re-register Windows Media Player dll and ocx files. These dll and ocx files are crucial for smooth operation of Windows Media Player.

  1. Microsoft Fix It: Hundreds of free Fix It solutions are available to download from Microsoft. Fix It solutions help you automatically diagnose and repair problems. Visit the official Fix It page and search for your issue and then download the Fix It solution.

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  1. Safe Mode Fixer: We all know how useful Windows Safe Mode is. If you can’t boot into Safe Mode or having any other issues with Safe Mode then Safe Mode Fixer is the right utility to fix them.

  2. Fix IE: Having issues with your Internet Explorer browser? No problem. Download and run FixIE utility to quickly fix your IE browser issues. This portable tool re-registers all dll and ocx files, files which are crucial for the proper functioning of Internet Explorer.

  3. Complete Internet Repair: Another must have utility for Windows users. Complete Internet Repair is capable of fixing DNS lookup problem, network connectivity problems, pop-up errors, Windows update, and other networking issues. This utility also helps you reset Internet Protocol, flush DNS resolver cache, renew internet connections, reset Windows Firewall configuration and more.

  4. CD-DVD Icon Repair: Is your CD/DVD drive missing from Windows 7 Explorer? If so, try out this portable tool. The tool can also reset autoplay settings. You can also use this free utility to update your optical drive firmware.

10: Fix MSE: Microsoft Security Essentials is the best free and one of the widely used antivirus software on Windows 7 OS. Fix MSE tries to fix most of Microsoft Security Essentials issues. This tool is a standalone tool and doesn’t require an installation.

You might also be interested in our 10 free tools to repair Windows 10 article.