Fix PLA_S_PROPERTY_IGNORED (0X00300100) in 3 Steps

What This Error Means (and Why It Shows Up)

You're seeing PLA_S_PROPERTY_IGNORED (0X00300100) in Event Viewer or when setting up Performance Logging Alerts (PLA). It's a warning, not a crash — PLA accepted your request but ignored one of the property values you passed. Maybe it's a path that doesn't exist, a permission problem, or a registry setting that's gone sideways.

Had a client last month whose entire scheduled data collector set kept logging this error. Turned out a registry key under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Perflib had a trailing space. Took forever to find. Start with the quick stuff first — you might get lucky.

This error pops up in Windows 10 and 11, and on Server 2016/2019/2022. It's not a disaster, but it'll mess up your performance monitoring if you ignore it.

Step 1: The 30-Second Fix — Check Your Path

Most of the time, this error is you passing a folder or file path that PLA can't find. PLA expects absolute paths (like C:\PerfLogs\MyDataSet), not relative ones or paths with typos.

Open Performance Monitor (perfmon.msc).
Go to Data Collector Sets > User Defined.
Right-click your data collector set and pick Properties.
Look at the Directory or Path fields. Make sure they point to a real folder. Create the folder if it doesn't exist.
Check for extra spaces at the end of the path. I've seen a space after \\Server\Share\ cause this.

If that's it, you're done. Run the collector again. No error? Great.

Step 2: The 5-Minute Fix — Permissions and Registry

Still seeing the error? Time to check permissions and the registry. PLA runs as LOCAL SERVICE or NETWORK SERVICE, and if those accounts can't write to the target folder or read the registry, PLA shrugs and ignores your property.

Fix Folder Permissions

Right-click the folder you set in step 1. Pick Properties > Security.
Click Edit. Add LOCAL SERVICE and NETWORK SERVICE.
Give them Modify or Full Control.
Apply and OK.

Fix the Registry Key

Open Registry Editor (regedit). Navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Perflib

Check the Last Counter and Last Help values. They should be numbers (like 16800). If they're blank, missing, or have non-numeric data, that's your problem. Had a client whose Last Counter was set to 0 — PLA couldn't map performance counters and ignored the property.

If those values look fine, expand the Perflib key and look for subkeys with invalid names (e.g., a GUID with a stray character). Delete anything that doesn't belong. Back up first—always.

Step 3: The 15+ Minute Fix — Rebuild Performance Counters

If steps 1 and 2 didn't cut it, the performance counter database is corrupted. This happens after a Windows update or when you uninstall software that installs its own counters (like SQL Server or Exchange). Here's the nuclear option.

Rebuild Counters from an Elevated Command Prompt

Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
Run these commands in order:

cd C:\Windows\System32
lodctr /R
cd C:\Windows\SysWOW64
lodctr /R

The /R switch rebuilds the counter values from backup. You'll need a reboot after this.

If that fails with an error, you need to manually restore the ini files:

lodctr /E:PerfProc
lodctr /E:PerfDisk
lodctr /E:PerfNet
lodctr /E:PerfOS

This re-enables the core performance counter DLLs. Reboot again.

Still busted? Download and run the Performance Counter Manager tool from the Microsoft Download Center (or pull the old exctrlst.exe from a Windows 8.1 machine — it still works on Windows 11). Use it to disable and re-enable individual counters.

Test Your Fix

Open Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc). Look under Windows Logs > Application. Filter by source PLA. If you see the error again, you missed something. If it's gone, you're golden.

Run your data collector set manually. If it completes without warnings, the error is fixed.

Final Word

This error is a symptom, not the root cause. Ninety percent of the time it's a bad path or a missing folder. Another five percent is messed-up registry values. The last five percent is a corrupted counter database. Start at step 1, work your way down. Save yourself the headache I had chasing phantom registry issues — check the obvious stuff first.