# System file

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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/System_file.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_file
> Source revision: 1346975723
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Type of computer file}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2025}}
A '''system file''' in computers is a critical [computer file](/source/computer_file) without which a computer system may not operate correctly.<ref>{{Cite web |title=System Files |url=https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.2.0?topic=reference-system-files |access-date=2025-10-30 |website=www.ibm.com |language=en-us |quote=[...] system files. These files are created and maintained by the operating system and are necessary for the system to perform its many functions. System files are used by many commands and subroutines to perform operations. These files can only be changed by a user with root authority. [...]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Use the System File Checker tool to repair missing or corrupted system files - Microsoft Support |url=https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/topic/use-the-system-file-checker-tool-to-repair-missing-or-corrupted-system-files-79aa86cb-ca52-166a-92a3-966e85d4094e |access-date=2025-10-30 |website=support.microsoft.com |quote=When critical Windows system files are missing or corrupted, some Windows features may stop working correctly or Windows may stop responding altogether.}}</ref> These files may come as part of the [operating system](/source/operating_system), a third-party [device driver](/source/device_driver) or other sources. [Microsoft Windows](/source/Microsoft_Windows) and [MS-DOS](/source/MS-DOS) mark their more valuable system files with a "system" [attribute](/source/file_attribute) to protect them against accidental deletion. (The system attribute can be manually put on any arbitrary file, but setting the system attribute n a file does not cause the file to become a system files)

Specific example of system files include the files with <code>[.sys](/source/.sys)</code> [filename extension](/source/filename_extension) in MS-DOS and Windows. In [Windows NT](/source/Windows_NT) family, the system files are mainly under the [folder](/source/folder_(computing)) <code>C:\Windows\System32</code>. In the [classic Mac OS](/source/classic_Mac_OS) they are in the ''[System suitcase](/source/System_suitcase)''. In [Unix-like](/source/Unix-like) systems the system files are located in the folder <code>/</code> or under folders such as <code>/boot</code> ([Linux](/source/Linux)), <code>/System/Library</code> ([macOS](/source/macOS)), <code>/sbin</code> and <code>/usr/sbin</code> ([system utilities](/source/System_software)) and <code>/usr/lib/modules</code> (Linux [loadable kernel module](/source/loadable_kernel_module)s).

== References ==
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{{Computer files}}

Category:Computer files

{{Computing-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [System file](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_file) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_file?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.