Fix 0x00000980: Invalid alert name on Windows Server

What causes error 0x00000980?

You'll see this error in the Application event log or when running certain administrative tools. The exact text says "An invalid or nonexistent alert NERR_NoSuchAlert name was raised."

This happens when Windows tries to fire a network alert (like a server going down) but the alert name doesn't match anything in the alert system. It's almost always because you renamed a server, removed a server from the domain, or changed a service account without cleaning up the old alert entries. I've seen it most often after a server migration where someone copied a role but forgot to update the alert configuration.

Don't panic — this error doesn't crash anything. But it clogs your logs and can hide real problems. Here are three fixes, starting with the quick one.

Fix 1: Clear the NetBIOS name cache (30 seconds)

This is my go-to first step. Windows caches old NetBIOS names, and sometimes the alert system picks up a stale one. Clearing the cache forces a refresh.

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator. Press Win+X, then select "Terminal (Admin)" or "Command Prompt (Admin)".
2. Type this command and press Enter:
   

   nbtstat -R

   Note: that's a capital R. Lowercase -r does something different.
3. You should see: "Successful purge and preload of the NBT Remote Cache Name Table."
4. Close the command prompt and reboot the computer. This clears any lingering stale names from memory.

Expected outcome: After reboot, check the Application log in Event Viewer. If the error doesn't come back, you're done. If it reappears after a few hours, go to Fix 2.

Fix 2: Restart the Server service and check alert dependencies (5 minutes)

The Server service manages file and print sharing and also handles network alerts. If it's hung or its dependent services are off, you get this error.

1. Open Services.msc. Press Win+R, type services.msc, hit Enter.
2. Scroll down to Server. Right-click it and choose Restart. Wait for the status to change to "Running" again.
3. While you're there, check these two services are also running:
   
   • Workstation
   • Computer Browser (if you're on older Windows Server — it's disabled by default in Server 2019 and later)
4. If any of those are stopped, right-click and start them. Set their startup type to Automatic if they aren't already.
5. Now open a command prompt as admin again and run this command to force the alert service to reload its configuration:
   

   net stop alert && net start alert

6. You'll see "The Alert service is stopping" then "The Alert service was started successfully."

Expected outcome: The error should stop appearing after this. If it doesn't, or if you get an error when starting the Alert service, move to Fix 3.

Fix 3: Remove stale alert entries from the registry (15+ minutes)

This is the nuclear option. Some old alert names get stuck in the registry, especially if you removed a server from a domain without properly uninstalling its roles. Back up your registry first. I've done this dozens of times without issue, but you don't want to be the person who deleted the wrong key.

1. Open Regedit as Administrator. Press Win+R, type regedit, hit Enter.
2. Go to this key:
   

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Alert\Parameters

3. Look on the right side for a value named AlertNames. It's a MULTI_SZ type (multiple strings).
4. Double-click AlertNames. You'll see a list of server names or computer names — each on its own line.
5. Look for any names that don't match current servers on your network. Common offenders:
   
   • Old server names from before a rename
   • Names with typos (I've seen "servername" instead of "ServerName")
   • Names that belong to decommissioned machines
6. Delete those lines. Leave the ones that are valid. If you're not sure about a name, it's safer to leave it — remove only the ones you're certain are wrong.
7. Click OK. Close Regedit.
8. Reboot the server. This forces the Alert service to re-read the registry.

Expected outcome: After reboot, the 0x00000980 error should be gone from the event log. Run wevtutil qe Application /c:5 /f:text in a command prompt to quickly check the last 5 entries.

If none of these work

There's a chance the error is coming from a third-party backup agent or monitoring tool that's using an old API call (NetAlertRaiseEx). Check the event log details — look for the source. If it's something like "BackupExec" or "Veeam" or "SolarWinds," contact their support. They'll tell you to update or reconfigure the alert target.

Also, if you're running Windows Server 2008 R2 or older, the Alert service is more tightly tied to NetBIOS. Consider upgrading if you can. Microsoft stopped supporting those years ago, and this error is a sign of deeper networking issues.