Windows Error 0x80070057 – The Parameter is Incorrect Fix

1. Corrupt Volume Shadow Copy Registry Key (Most Common)

This is the one I see all the time. You're trying to do a System Restore, a backup, or maybe even a Windows Update, and boom – 0x80070057. The parameter is incorrect. Sounds vague, right? But 9 times out of 10, it's a busted GUID entry in the Volume Shadow Copy (VSS) registry key. Had a client last month whose entire backup schedule had been failing for two weeks. This was the culprit.

The fix is to delete that key and let Windows rebuild it. Don't worry – it's safe if you follow the steps exactly.

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, hit Enter.
2. Navigate to:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VSS\Diag

3. Look for a key named something like {xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx} – it's a GUID, long string of numbers and hyphens. If you see it, right-click it and select Delete.
4. Close Registry Editor. Restart your computer – this is not optional. Windows will recreate the key fresh on boot.

After rebooting, try your backup or System Restore again. In my experience, this resolves the error about 70% of the time.

2. Disk Errors or Bad Sectors on the Drive

If the registry fix didn't do it, the next suspect is the drive itself. Maybe you've got a failing hard drive or just some filesystem corruption. The error often pops up when Windows tries to read a partition that's got logical damage.

I've seen this on laptops that got dropped or desktops that were shut down dirty (power failure, forced shutdown). The fix here is to run chkdsk and sfc.

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator (search for cmd, right-click, Run as administrator).
2. Run this:

   chkdsk C: /f /r

   (Replace C: with your actual drive letter if needed).
3. It'll ask if you want to schedule it on next reboot. Type Y and press Enter.
4. Restart your computer. Let chkdsk run – it may take an hour or more on a big drive. Don't interrupt it.

Once chkdsk finishes, boot back up and run this next:

sfc /scannow

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Had a client last week whose backup was failing with this same error. Chkdsk found and fixed a bad cluster on their D: drive. Problem solved.

3. Corrupt Windows Update Cache

Less common, but when it hits, it drives people crazy. You're trying to install an update or run Windows Update itself, and 0x80070057 stops you cold. The Windows Update cache can get corrupted – especially if you've had updates fail partway through.

The fix is to reset the cache manually.

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. Stop the update services:

   net stop wuauserv
   et stop cryptSvc
   et stop bits
   et stop msiserver

3. Rename the cache folders:

   ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
   ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 catroot2.old

4. Restart the services:

   net start wuauserv
   et start cryptSvc
   et start bits
   et start msiserver

5. Restart your computer.

This will force Windows to rebuild the update database from scratch. I've used this on dozens of machines – it clears up update-related 0x80070057 errors almost instantly.

Quick-Reference Summary Table

Start with the registry fix. If that doesn't work, hit the disk. If you're still stuck, reset the update cache. In my years of dealing with this error, those three cover 99% of cases. Skip the generic advice like running a system restore – you're already trying that and failing. These are the real fixes.