What Is This Error, Really?
You're trying to open a file or folder—maybe a game save, a backup, or that project folder from last year—and Windows throws ERROR_REPARSE_TAG_MISMATCH (0X0000112A). I know this error is infuriating because it's cryptic and often shows up out of nowhere. It basically means Windows found a reparse point (a junction, symbolic link, or mount point) but the tag that identifies what kind it is doesn't match what the system expected. This usually happens after a bad copy, a move between drives, or when a disk has some corruption. The good news: you don't need to be a sysadmin to fix it. Let's walk through it step-by-step.
The 30-Second Fix: Check If It's a Broken Junction or Symlink
Before you start any repairs, let's see what's actually wrong. Reparse points are used by Windows for things like directory junctions, symbolic links, or even OneDrive placeholders. If you're seeing this error on a specific file or folder, it's almost certainly a corrupted reparse point.
Open a command prompt as Administrator—right-click Start, select "Command Prompt (Admin)" or "Windows Terminal (Admin)". Then run this command on the file or folder that's causing the error:
fsutil reparsepoint query "C:\path\to\your\file_or_folder"If it returns something like "The file or directory is not a reparse point" or "Error: Access is denied"—but you know it's supposed to be a junction or symlink—then the tag is scrambled. If it returns data but with a mismatched tag, you've confirmed the problem. In either case, the quickest fix is often to just delete the broken reparse point and recreate it. But first, try renaming the folder to something like foldername_old. If the error disappears, you can delete the old one and move on. If renaming fails, move to the next step.
The 5-Minute Moderate Fix: Run CHKDSK and Repair the Reparse Point
Don't skip this because it sounds basic—I've seen CHKDSK fix more reparse tag mismatches than any other tool. The error often stems from a filesystem glitch that a scan can correct. Open Command Prompt as Admin and run:
chkdsk C: /f /rThe /f flag fixes errors on disk, and /r locates bad sectors and recovers readable info. If you're running this on your system drive (C:), it'll ask to schedule the scan at next reboot—type Y and restart. Let CHKDSK run fully; it might take 20-30 minutes depending on drive size. After the reboot, try accessing the problematic file or folder again. If the error is gone, you're done. If not, move to the next fix.
A quick note: if the error is on a different drive (like D: or E:), run chkdsk D: /f /r directly—no reboot needed unless it's the system drive.
The 15+ Minute Advanced Fix: Remove the Corrupted Reparse Point with DISM or Manually
CHKDSK didn't help? Alright, let's go deeper. This error can also be caused by a corrupted reparse point in the Windows system files—especially if it's happening on system folders or files tied to updates. Run DISM to check system health:
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealthThis scans the Windows image and replaces corrupted files from a trusted source. It takes 15-30 minutes. After it finishes, run sfc /scannow to catch any leftover issues. Reboot and test again.
If the error persists on a specific non-system file, you can delete the reparse point manually using fsutil. Be careful—backup anything important first. Run:
fsutil reparsepoint delete "C:\path\to\offending\file_or_folder"If fsutil refuses (common with corrupted tags), use the rmdir command for directories (even if it looks like a file, try it):
rmdir "C:\path\to\offending\folder"That removes the junction or symlink without touching the actual target. If the target data is still safe, you can recreate the link with mklink /J "newlink" "targetpath". For files, use del with force flags—but that deletes the file permanently, so only do that if you don't need it.
One more scenario: if this error shows up on a OneDrive or cloud-synced folder, the reparse tag gets mangled when the sync state changes unexpectedly. In that case, unlink and relink OneDrive (or your cloud service) from Settings. This usually clears the bad tags. I've seen this happen with Dropbox's placeholder files too—same fix.
When to Give Up and Reformat
If you've tried all three and the error still haunts you, the drive itself might have deeper issues. Check the event log for disk errors (Event Viewer > Windows Logs > System, filter by source "Disk"). If you see warnings about bad blocks or timeouts, back up your data and replace the drive. I know that's not what you want to hear, but sometimes hardware failure hides behind software errors. You've done the hard part—now you know when to fold.
Good luck. This error is a pain, but you've got more than enough to squash it now.