Macrium Reflect Updater fails with syntax is incorrect message

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For Macrium Reflect Home v8, when I click on “Check for updates…” within the “Other Tasks” menu, the Macrium Reflect Updater fails with the following message:

Macrium Reflect Updater
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.

Unfortunately, I have absolutely no idea what it is looking at (should I ?).

I tried uninstalling and reinstalling, but that did not fix anything.

I posted my dilemma on the Macrium Forum and was advised to open a problem ticket, which I did.

Macrium Tech Support was responsive and had me retry the uninstall / reinstall which of course fixed nothing. I also ran the installer in Repair mode which did not fix anything either.

The next suggestion was to run the ReflectUpdater directly from File Explorer, but still same result.

The next suggestion was to set up and perform a Clean Boot disabling non-Microsoft items in msconfig and Task Manager Startup. After restart, I also disabled Norton Smart Firewall and Auto-Protect. None of this resolved the error.

I have also undertaken my own investigations. Restored using system image back before 22H2 feature update and before December 2022 updates. Problem existed back then too.

I went into REGEDIT and tried searching the registry for something obvious – but nothing in the registry is obvious.

I concur that there is something unique on my system causing the error. My gut feeling is most likely a registry entry getting picked up that does not conform somehow. (I am pretty sure this is the machine I had installed Macrium Reflect Home V7 Free and then uninstalled that before I installed a licensed V8). The uninstaller for many software products often leave debris behind in the registry.

I have tried pleading that the wording of the error message (Macrium Reflect Updater –
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.) is not worded at all for a customer to be able to diagnose. Rather it seems the wording is targeted more toward a Macrium software developer.

I have asked that a Macrium software person look at the code to determine what ReflectUpdater is looking at (eg registry key?) that triggers the error message.

If anyone knows what

Macrium Reflect Updater
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.

is caused by, please share as I don’t think any customers would know what to do with that.

I am hoping Macrium will come through for me (cuz I got nothing). If I could just get a breadcrumb (eg registry key), I would have something to go on.

My system is Windows 10 Pro 64bit at 22H2 with December updates installed.

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castiel wrote:

Macrium Reflect Updater
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.

It may be due to corrupted Windows folders names..

Check the backup folders names for unrelated chars..

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I only have been creating backups using the Macrium bootable rescue media and backups exist only on an external USB HDD. I do not think the Windows Macrium has any reference to those backups or folders.

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castiel wrote:

backups exist only on an external USB HDD

Check Macrium installed software folder names

If you Google ‘The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.’ you will get ~250,000 references.

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castiel

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Nothing that I can spot.

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The reply from @Alex5723 did give me a thought. I wondered where Macrium Reflect wants to put the update patches.

According to https://forum.macrium.com/PrintTopic29585.aspx , the default download directory for updates is %temp% .

I did an echo %temp% from the command line and it looks just like expected;

C:\Users\<user_name>\AppData\Local\Temp

So, still no answers or clue as to the syntax error message.

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You may be able to identify the culprit by using Microsoft’s Process Monitor utility to log file system activity while the Macrium Reflect Updater is running.  Process Monitor can be downloaded from https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon and it requires Administrator privileges.

As an example, I wrote a small program that attempts to open a file with an invalid file name while Process Monitor was logging its activity.  The relevant details are that 1) the failed attempt returned a system error code whose related text was identical to the Macrium message and 2) the file system path containing the bad name was logged and Process Monitor identified the failure with an INVALID_NAME result.

See images below –

 

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castiel, wavy

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Thanks – it is a start. I played with it – and see Macrium Reflect doing lots of weird stuff (eg PATH NOT FOUND) – don’t know if it means anything though. I think only Macrium Support knows normal versus abnormal. Sample screen shot attached.

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As shown in the Procmon image that I posted the kind of error that you are experiencing would probably have NAME INVALID in Procmon’s result column.

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castiel

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That makes the most sense. I actually did try to filter for NAME INVALID, but wasn’t getting anything that seemed relevant. To be honest, I was actually building my proficiency with Process Monitor filtering and getting better at it, but once I was in the wee hours of the morning, sleep was calling me. I definitely wanted to give it another try, so may come up with something better. (Actually, I was stunned at the sheer volume of things that were not SUCCESS – kind of scary).

In the meantime, Macrium Support got back to me requesting that I create a couple dumps. PROCDUMP will be another learning experience for me.

I really liked your Process Monitor suggestion as it seems it should be able to isolate what I need. Haven’t given up on that.

 

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I would uninstall and install to a new location not in program files.  Choose custom and install to c:\Program\Macrium or c:\Macrium

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castiel

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That’s an interesting out of the box approach. Macrium has requested I use PROCDUMP to produce a couple dumps for them. And I do want to take another try at Process Monitor.

Occasionally,  I wonder if the syntax error message could be bogus and really some other condition was encountered. It just doesn’t seem possible (but I know not to think that). This system with the message is my most pristine – others work just fine.

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castiel wrote:

If anyone knows what Macrium Reflect Updater The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect. is caused by, please share as I don’t think any customers would know what to do with that. I am hoping Macrium will come through for me (cuz I got nothing). If I could just get a breadcrumb (eg registry key), I would have something to go on. My system is Windows 10 Pro 64bit at 22H2 with December updates installed.

I am running the same version of Windows and just checked the Macrium updater, which showed I was missing several Reflect 8 Home updates since September, so I updated to the latest v8.0.7175.

I do not get that error when checking for further updates. Sorry, but that’s not likely much help! What security software and firewall are you running? I am running the stock Microsoft Defender AV and Windows Firewall.

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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As per @EricB (above), I managed to get Process Monitor to capture the NAME INVALID (see attached screen grab).

Unfortunately, unlike the example EricB kindly provided, no file name shows up in the Path. Or maybe that is the problem – filename is null, blank, or other (???).

The space between Program and Files caused me to think, but other CREATE FILEs show as SUCCESS (plus I think lots of installs are to Program Files).

Any sharp-eyed folks out there seeing anything I am not?

I do have a second system also Windows 10 Pro 64bit, same Windows maint level, same anti-virus, etc where no Macrium syntax error occurs. What is different between the two is one is BIOS/MBR (gets syntax error) and the other is UEFI/GPT (works fine). But BIOS/MBR shouldn’t make a difference, should it ???

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Reflect.exe is attempting to create ReflectBin.exe, but as it was already created you may be seeing a name conflict – I can’t see all the permissions requested to confirm. This may be a red herring.

cheers, Paul

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If the CreateFile Windows API function was attempting to create the file the disposition would be other than Open.  An attempt to create an existing file would not be reported as NAME INVALID by Procmon.

Whether or not this is a red herring is best determined by Macrium support.

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The final Macrium update for Macrium 8 is 8.0.7175. If you have this update, concentrate your efforts on Macrium software working correctly and effectively to make image backups.

If Macrium software is not backing up your system, it would be wise to investigate this problem and in the interim, use another backup program.

On permanent hiatus {with backup and coffee}
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castiel

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When you state 8.0.7175 is the final build for Macrium Reflect Home V8, do you really mean “final” or “most recent”? Is there a place to look for that kind of information? I found the build history but no indication 8.0.7175 would be the last.

Agree that the most critical functions are ability to backup (image) and restore. Then again, Check for updates seems like such basic functionality that I am incredulous that I ran across the problem. Personally for me, things like “light theme” vs “dark theme” are not at all what draws me to a backup/imaging product.

It seems by far that Macrium Reflect is the going away favorite of members on AskWoody, so have been trying to attain the same comfort level.

Right now, Macrium Support has the dumps they requested, so hoping they can find what is going down the wrong path on this one system. It is good to actually work with Macrium Support as I think that also is important to know when things go bad, support is there.

But yes, the #1 priority is flawless creation of backups/images and flawless restores.

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geekdom

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castiel wrote:

When you state 8.0.7175 is the final build for Macrium Reflect Home V8, do you really mean “final” or “most recent”? Is there a place to look for that kind of information? I found the build history but no indication 8.0.7175 would be the last.

Apologies. I have collapsed Macrium Free with Macrium Home. No final builds have been mentioned. 8.0.7175 is the most recent build.

Here is a Macrium Reflect timeline showing version end; no end has as yet been mentioned for Version 8.
https://www.macrium.com/product-support-policy

There’s also this information on Macrium Free which is being retired as of January 1, 2024.
https://www.ghacks.net/2022/11/27/backup-software-macrium-reflect-free-is-being-retired/

On permanent hiatus {with backup and coffee}
offline▸ Win10Pro 2004.19041.572 x64 i3-3220 RAM8GB HDD Firefox83.0b3 WindowsDefender
offline▸ Acer TravelMate P215-52 RAM8GB Win11Pro 22H2.22621.1265 x64 i5-10210U SSD Firefox106.0 MicrosoftDefender
online▸ Win11Pro 22H2.22621.1992 x64 i5-9400 RAM16GB HDD Firefox116.0b3 MicrosoftDefender

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castiel wrote:

“most recent”

That’s the answer…

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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Solved !!! I was looking within Windows Device Manager, expanded Network Adapters, and that cascaded out to display a great many entries for an old NordVPN installation..It didn’t look healthy to me, so I uninstalled the old NordVPN software which also cleaned out the associated entries in Network Adapters. Then when I tried Macrium Reflect Check for updates, it worked !!! I attached a screen shot below showing it working successfully.

Not sure if the sheer number of old NordVPN entries in Network Adapters confused ReflectUpdater or possibly created an overflow somewhere.

But Macrium Reflect Updater is working successfully. I am considering this problem resolved.

4 users thanked author for this post.

Sueska, windbg, geekdom, Alex5723

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castiel wrote:

Solved !!! I was looking within Windows Device Manager, expanded Network Adapters, and that cascaded out to display a great many entries for an old NordVPN installation.

Since Macrium Reflect personnel are working on your behalf to solve this problem, please notify them of your findings and solution.

On permanent hiatus {with backup and coffee}
offline▸ Win10Pro 2004.19041.572 x64 i3-3220 RAM8GB HDD Firefox83.0b3 WindowsDefender
offline▸ Acer TravelMate P215-52 RAM8GB Win11Pro 22H2.22621.1265 x64 i5-10210U SSD Firefox106.0 MicrosoftDefender
online▸ Win11Pro 22H2.22621.1992 x64 i5-9400 RAM16GB HDD Firefox116.0b3 MicrosoftDefender

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castiel

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That was the first thing I did! My post above to AskWoody is pretty much a copy/paste of what I posted to the Macrium support ticket. Also, my initial contact with Macrium had been in the Macrium Forum which also got a copy/paste of the resolution.

Also, as a clarification, I had NOT been attempting to run the ReflectUpdater over a VPN connect at any point along the way. My connection was a simple Ethernet wired internet connection. The old and no longer used VPN software had simply just been present as I had never (until now) uninstalled it.

I will say the NordVPN uninstaller did a really good job of cleaning up. I had expected I might need to go into Device Manager and manually delete the Network Adapter entries one by one, but the uninstaller did those deletes on its own. I did run the uninstall using Revo Uninstaller, but Revo only found a couple minor tidbits that had been left behind.

Not sure why the ReflectUpdater got entangled with the old unused (and not active) VPN software installed but apparently somehow it was sensitive to its presence.

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I would certainly be interested in any response from Macrium about the unexpected interplay between the updater (including the mysterious error message) and network adapters.

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castiel wrote:

Not sure why the ReflectUpdater got entangled with the old unused (and not active) VPN software installed but apparently somehow it was sensitive to its presence.

Those old unused adapters should not have been an issue, but as a rule I always delete unused network adapters from my Windows setup.

Good detective work!

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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Alex5723 wrote:

If you Google ‘The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.’ you will get ~250,000 references.

Actually, @Alex5723 helped get me to the eventual solution. Not sure if good detective work or I got lucky. When I sifted through all those Google results, I found some for the netsh command. So I went to Device Manager and expanded Network Adapters. There were probably a couple dozen entries for VPN. So I uninstalled the VPN software which removed the VPN network adapter entries. I didn’t really expect it to help with my Macrium problem. I was so surprised when that did the trick.

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Alex5723

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