ERROR_INVALID_PARAMETER 0x80070057

What it means

Error 87 / 0x80070057 "The parameter is incorrect" appears when Windows or an app passes a value that the receiving component cannot accept. Users most often meet it during Windows Update, Windows Backup, formatting or copying to a drive, or when opening a corrupted file. The message is generic: the real problem is usually bad data on the target drive or an unexpected setting.

Applies to: Windows 10, Windows 11

How to fix ERROR_INVALID_PARAMETER

1. Restart the computer and retry the operation once, since a temporarily locked or half-mounted drive can return this error
2. If the error appears when opening a drive or copying files, run chkdsk X: /f from Terminal (Admin), replacing X with the drive letter, to repair file system errors
3. Check the decimal symbol: Control Panel > Clock and Region > Region > Additional settings, and make sure Decimal symbol is a period (.) if backup or update tools fail with 0x80070057
4. For Windows Update failures, run the Windows Update troubleshooter and then reset the update cache by renaming C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution after stopping wuauserv and bits
5. Repair system files from an elevated Command Prompt or Terminal (Admin): run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth first, then sfc /scannow, and restart when both finish
6. If a USB drive or SD card is affected and holds no important data, reformat it in File Explorer (right-click > Format) using NTFS or exFAT
7. For a command or script, recheck the syntax and argument values; a wrong switch or path format produces the same code

Why it happens

0x80070057 is the HRESULT form of Win32 error 87. It surfaces when a request contains a value outside what the API expects, which in practice usually stems from file system corruption on the target volume, an unusual regional format setting that confuses some backup and update components, or damaged update files.

FAQ

Related errors