If a corrupt software causes problems on your Windows computer, it can be challenging to fix. For instance, if an app you installed has caused your operating system or a device driver to fail, restoring your computer to its previous state might be impossible. In this case, performing a System Restore is the only solution to revert your Windows installation to the restore point you created earlier.
Restore points are snapshots of your entire Windows computer, including system files, specific program files, registry settings, and even hardware drivers. You can set restore points at any time manually or you can configure Windows to automatically create a restore point every week. This is helpful for when there is a major system event, such as installing a new device driver, app, or downloading Windows update. It makes it easier for users to troubleshoot when errors are encountered.
But there are times when even System Restore also experiences an error. One of the common issues you might encounter is the The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect (0x8007007B) – System Restore error. As the error name suggests, this occurs whenever the user is trying to perform a System Restore using a restore point.
What Is The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect (0x8007007B) Error on Windows 10/11?
The error notification The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect that comes with error code 0x8007007B is a System Restore error commonly encountered when users attempt to perform a System Restore operation on a Windows 10/11 device. This error pops up on the screen when closing the System Restore applet after manually creating a restore point.
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The complete error message reads:
There was an unexpected error:
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
(0x8007007B)
Please close System Restore and try again.
Users who encounter this error are usually confused because the error message doesn’t say much about what actually happened. Double checking the filename and directory name does not help either. Although the error message says to close the applet and try again, the same error just keeps on coming back when using System Restore, resulting in more frustration for the affected users.
What Causes The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect (0x8007007B) – System Restore Error?
This error happens because the Windows system is configured to save the restore point to an invalid path or location. It’s either the path is incorrect or is missing.
To avoid running into this error, a valid disk for creating a restore point should meet the following requirements:
- The drive selected should have a 1GB capacity or greater.
- If the drive has System Protection enabled, it should have at least 300MB of free storage space.
- A restore point can take up as much as 15% of the total free space available on the disk, but old restore points might be deleted to make room for the new restore point.
The best way to resolve this error caused by an invalid path is to set the Restore Point to a valid path.
But there are times when this same error message appears when trying to run the Windows CompletePC Backup feature. This issue seems to be the result of some OEM systems having a damaged image.
This type of error occurs because of faulty imaging of the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), resulting in the presence of a damaged volume. To verify if this is the case, launch the Control Panel and open System Protection. You will see two volumes appear, one of which is selected and named Missing. Deselecting Missing and choosing usually solves the problem.
What to Do About The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect (0x8007007B)?
If you’re not sure what steps you can take when you get this error when creating your system restore point, then the solution below should help a lot. But before you proceed, make sure you have enough storage space on that drive just to tick off your list of possible culprits. Run Outbyte PC Repair to delete junk files and claim back precious storage space on your hard drive. It would also help to delete corrupted files using the SFC checker.
Once you’ve done the basic steps, the next step is to try to deal with this error. Here’s how to go about this.
Set the Restore Point to a Valid Path.
If the path is invalid, then use a valid. It’s that simple. But how do you do this? Check out the instructions below:
- Press the Windows key + R to launch the Run dialog.
- In the Run dialog, type in sysdm.cpl.
- Hit Enter to open the System Properties window. Alternatively, you can access this window by going to Control Panel > System and Maintenance > System.
- In the System Properties window, click on the System Protection tab.
- Under Protection settings, uncheck all invalid or duplicate locations. To spot invalid locations, look for entries that are identical to other entries, except that they have no Windows logo.
- Tick off the C: drive with the Windows logo.
- Click Apply > OK.
- Click Create to check the System Restore application and find out if the error still persists.
If the problem has been resolved, other Available Drives can be selected as long as they are valid (with an icon). If you want to protect all Available Drives, it is advised that you add only one disk at a time, then test System Restore until you find out which of the listed Available Drives is not valid.
Summary
System Restore is a handy Windows utility for troubleshooting errors that are quite difficult to resolve. If you encounter the The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect (0x8007007B) – System Restore Error when creating restore points, the above solution should give you a clear direction to take.