Home > Windows Application

Windows error 3 (Win 8, 7, XP & Vista)

a nice image
By Genesis and SheilaUpdated on June 4th, 2022

What is 'Windows error 3'?

Windows error 3 is an error caused by your PC not able to load or read a certain file or set inside the settings. It may indicate that the system cannot find the path specified. Users have reported the error in Windows 8, 7, XP and Vista.

The error message may appear as, "Error_ Path_Not_Found" or it may sometimes be displayed with the value 3 in this format: (0x80070003: Error_Path_Not_Found).

How can you fix 'Windows error 3'?

Some of the common fixes include:

  • Running DISM command with sfc/ scannow command
  • Installing Java

Please see our in-depth walk-through solutions below.

1. Run DISM command with sfc /scannow command

Windows error 3 "the system cannot find the path specified" may occur when Windows Services could not run due to a missing supporting file. You may want to run DISM command to download the missing file and SFC command to check for errors, which will also be fixed. Here is an instruction found on YouTube.

Run DISM command with sfc /scannow command
Image Credit: genesismarasigan / ErrorSolutions.tech
  1. Click Windows Start, type in Command prompt.
  2. Right click and run as Admin.
  3. Type in or copy and paste this command sfc /scannow to the Command Prompt.
  4. Wait until the process is complete.
  5. Type in or copy and paste this command DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth to the Command Prompt.
  6. Wait until the process is complete.

2. Install Java

Windows error 3 may also occur when an application requires an installed Java software. Download and install the Java on this link here.