STATUS_INVALID_PARAMETER_10 (0xC00000F8) – Tenth Argument Fix

When You'll See This Error

You'll run into STATUS_INVALID_PARAMETER_10 (0xC00000F8) in a few specific places. Most commonly it shows up as a bugcheck (blue screen) on Windows Server 2019 or 2022 during heavy disk I/O — think a database server writing transaction logs or a file server handling multiple large file copies. The stop code in the dump will say SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION or KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED with 0xC00000F8 as the parameter. Alternatively, you might see this logged in Event Viewer under System, source NTFS or volmgr, with the error code as the status.

What's Actually Happening Here

The error code breaks down like this: STATUS_INVALID_PARAMETER (0xC000000D) plus 10 appended means the tenth argument to a kernel-mode function was garbage. The kernel or a driver called some internal routine — often IoCallDriver, ZwCreateFile, or a storage class driver function — and passed the tenth parameter as a null pointer, an invalid handle, or a corrupted structure.

In practice, the tenth argument is almost always something in the storage stack. The most common culprit is a file system filter driver (like antivirus, backup, or encryption filters) that intercepts I/O requests and either modifies the parameter incorrectly or leaks one. Second most common: a storage miniport driver that's outdated or has a bug in its HwStorBuildIo routine, which receives multiple parameters and can botch the tenth one.

The Fix

Before you start, grab a kernel memory dump from the crash. Use WinDbg to run !analyze -v — look for IMAGE_NAME and MODULE_NAME. That tells you which driver to blame. If you can't do that, follow the steps in order.

1. Update your storage driver. Go to the server vendor's support site (Dell, HPE, Lenovo, Supermicro) and get the latest storage controller driver for your OS. Don't use the generic Microsoft one from Windows Update — those are often behind. Reboot after updating.
2. Check filter drivers. Run fltmc instances from an elevated command prompt. You'll see a list of loaded minifilter drivers. Look for anything from antivirus (McAfee, Symantec, Trend Micro), backup software (Veeam, CommVault), or encryption (BitLocker, McAfee Drive Encryption). Disable them one at a time by unloading the filter (use fltmc unload <name>). After each unload, reproduce the load that caused the crash. When the error stops, you found the culprit. Update or remove that software.
3. Disable third-party filter drivers via registry. If you can't unload a filter because it's tied to a service, set its start type to 4 (disabled) in HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\<driver_name>, then reboot. Filter drivers that load early (like FileInfo, storflt) are not the problem — focus on unknown name ones.
4. If the error happens on boot (before you can log in), boot into Safe Mode. Safe Mode loads minimal drivers. If the error stops, it's definitely a third-party driver. Use Driver Verifier with standard settings on the suspect driver to narrow it down. Run verifier /standard /driver <driver.sys> and reboot. If the crash changes to a different code, you've confirmed the driver.
5. Regenerate the storage stack. Remove the storage controller device from Device Manager (including deletion of driver software), then scan for hardware changes. This forces Windows to re-read the driver and rebuild its parameter list.

If It Still Fails

If you completed all steps and the error persists, upload a kernel dump to a file sharing service and open a case with Microsoft Support — this is a genuine driver bug you can't work around. Before you do that, check for these edge cases:

• Third-party storage management tools (like Intel RST, AMD RAIDXpert) that install their own storage drivers. Uninstall them and use the built-in Microsoft storahci driver instead.
• Volume shadow copy — if the error happens during backup, try disabling VSS writers for that volume.
• Check your RAM — a bad memory module can corrupt the tenth parameter before it's passed. Run mdsched.exe overnight. Memory errors will give random parameter numbers, not always the tenth.

The tenth argument error is specific enough that it's almost never hardware — it points to a software bug in the storage or filter driver stack. Stick to updating those first.