How to Fix File System Error -2147219196

The error message ‘File System Error -2147219196’ occurs when opening a picture, accessing a file or when moving a folder in Windows 10. This behaviour particularly started happening after the update 1803. Users installing new Windows or already existing users; both faced the error messages.

This error was noticed by the Microsoft development team and a subsequent update was released to address the issue. If the latest update doesn’t help, there isn’t much choice except fixing the opening of photos manually or checking your disk for corruptions. If these don’t work, you need to install a fresh of copy on your computer.

What causes the File System Error -2147219196?

This error message occurs due to many different reasons. Some of them are:

• Your disk is corrupt or has bad sectors. These sectors might damage the Windows file system and cause you this error message.
• Some Windows components are broken and either need repair (via update) or a refreshed Windows.
• File system encryptions are also the culprit of this error message. Encryption complicates the file system and if something doesn’t match, the computer has strict instructions to deny access.

Before starting with the solutions, make sure that you are logged in as an administrator and have all the privileges.

Solution 1: Updating Windows

Before we scan your drive for potential errors, it is best that you check for any updates available on your device. Like mentioned before, Microsoft officially acknowledged the error message and even released an update for the operating system to fix it.

1. Press Windows + S, type “update” in the dialogue box and open the Settings app.
2. Now press the button Check for Updates and let Windows check. If there are indeed updates available, download and install the updates.

3. Restart your computer and check if the error message is solved.

Solution 2: Checking your disk for errors

This error message primarily refers that there some discrepancy in your file system and windows is unable to access it. A file system is a type of directory, a road-map for the operating system to navigate somewhere. If there are errors induced in it, you should scan it using the check disk utility present in Windows.

1. Press Windows + R, type “command prompt” in the dialogue box, right-click on the application and select “Run as administrator”.
2. Once in elevated command prompt, execute the following command:

chkdsk /r /f

3. If you are prompted to check after a restart, press ‘y’ and restart your computer. Upon the restart, chkdsk will already be scheduled by the operating system a scan will be done. Be patient and let the process.
4. After the utility has scanned and removed bad sectors from normal access, try accessing the file and see if the error persists.

You can also run the system file checker (SFC) to check for any corruptions in the system files. Open the command prompt as we did earlier and enter the command “sfc /scannow” in window and press Enter. All your system files will be checked and if any discrepancies are found, they will be fixed immediately.

Solution 3: Disabling File System Encryption

File system encryptions enable users to encrypt their drives to safeguard them from being accessed from another PC. This is the standard practice in many organizations for safeguarding their data. However, in some cases, it was noticed that the file encryption system caused issues for the user in accessing and popped the error message.

We will show you how to disable the default file encryption system in Windows. If you are using third-party software for encryption, make sure that you disable it manually.

1. Press Windows + R, type “control” in the dialogue box and press Enter to open the Control Panel. Once in the control panel, navigate to Security.
2. Now select the option BitLocker Drive Encryption from the list of options.

3. From this window, make sure that all your drives are not encrypted. In the case below, all drives are not encrypted. If any of them are, you can easily turn off encryption by selecting Turn off BitLocker.

4. Restart your computer after making the changes and check if the error is solved.

Solution 4: Fixing the Photos Application

If you are experiencing this error message while accessing Photos, you are not alone. Recently there have been major reports of the Photo application not working properly. Whenever a picture is launched to be opened in Photos, it instead shows the file system error.

To fix this issue, we have written a completely different guide to help you better. Check out our article File System Error -2147219196 When Opening Windows Photo App. Make sure that you follow all the instructions listed.

Note: If all the solutions listed above don’t work, you can try to install a fresh version of Windows in your computer. Make sure that you backup your data beforehand.

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