What tool would you use to check the integrity of all protected system files?

To check the integrity of all protected system files, the appropriate tool to use is the file utility, often abbreviated as SFC. This program is specifically designed to scan and restore corrupted or missing system files in Windows operating systems. When you run this command, it automatically compares system files against a known good copy stored within the system and, if discrepancies are found, it attempts to repair these files.

This is particularly useful for troubleshooting issues related to system stability or performance, as corrupted system files can lead to a variety of problems. By utilizing SFC, users can ensure that their operating system runs smoothly and is protected against file corruption.

Other tools in the list serve different purposes: scandisk is used primarily for checking and repairing filesystem errors on disk drives, defrag is focused on optimizing the performance of hard drives through rearranging fragmented data, and gpresult is a command-line tool used to display Group Policy settings applied to a user or a computer in a Windows environment. Each of these tools plays a specific role but does not function to verify or repair system file integrity directly as SFC does.