Fix: “The tag present in the reparse point buffer is invalid” on OneDrive

The tag present in the reparse point buffer is invalid’ error is encountered when deleting a file or folder on a Windows computer, particularly files and folders that are synced to OneDrive.

In this article, we will explain what causes this error and provide you with solutions to fix it.

What causes ‘The tag present in the reparse point buffer is invalid’ in Windows?

As mentioned earlier, this error is caused by a problem with files and folders that are synced to OneDrive. The error message ‘The tag present in the reparse point buffer is invalid’ typically occurs when there is an issue with a reparse point, which contains metadata about the file or directory. If this metadata is corrupt or contains invalid data, Windows will display the following error. There are three different errors involved in the pop-up:

• “Location is not available“, “File is not accessible”, and “The tag present in the reparse point buffer is invalid.“

Regardless of the variation of this error, the cause and fixes are almost identical and can be followed if you are facing this issue.

Let’s start resolving this issue!

How to Fix this issue?

We have three solutions for this problem that you can perform and check if these solutions fix the issue you are facing. Each of them is listed below with detailed steps and explanations.

1. Install the latest Windows Update: Many users reported that this issue started occurring after a specific Windows update. In this case, updating Windows to the latest version can fix the issue because Microsoft has released many hotfixes to resolve this issue.
2. Reset the OneDrive cache folder: If your OneDrive’s cache files are corrupted or outdated, they can cause this issue. The OneDrive cache might contain important information about a file or folder located in OneDrive. Clearing the cache will force OneDrive to create a new cache from scratch, potentially fixing the issue.
3. Run CHKDSK Scan: A CHKDSK Scan can scan and repair any file system errors or bad sectors in your drive. As reparse point are a feature of the NTFS file system. Running the CHKDSK scan can potentially fix the issue.

1. Install the latest Windows updates

Before you move on to any of the other fixes below, you should start by installing any pending updates that might still be waiting to get installed.

The reason why is important is that Microsoft has already released dozens of hotfixes aimed at improving the stability of the OneDrive integration on both Windows 10 and Windows 11.

To ensure that you’re taking advantage of every fix released by Microsoft, access the Windows Update component and install every pending update either you’re on Windows 10 or Windows 11.

Follow the instructions below for step by step instructions on how to do this:

1. Open up a Run dialog box by pressing Windows key + R.
2. Type ‘ms-settings:windowsupdate’ inside the text box and press Enter

   

3. When you’re prompted by the User Account Control (UAC), click Yes to grant admin access.
4. Now press the ‘Check for updates’ button.

   

5. Follow the on-screen prompts to install every pending update on your computer.Note: If you have a lot of pending updates waiting to be installed, you might be prompted to restart your PC before you get the chance to install everything – if this happens, restart as instructed and return to this same screen once the next startup is complete.
6. Once every pending update has been installed, return to Onedrive and re-create the scenario that was previously producing the “tag present in the reparse point buffer is invalid” error and see if the problem is now fixed.

If the same OneDrive issue is still ongoing, move down to the next potential fix below.

2. Reset the OneDrive cache folder

Several affected users dealing with the same kind of issue have confirmed that they managed to get the issue resolved by resetting the entire OneDrive cache while being signed in with an administrator account.

Follow the instructions below to reset the entire OneDrive cache using an elevated Command Prompt:

1. Press Windows key + R to open up a Run dialog box.
2. Type ‘cmd’ and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open up a Command Prompt window with admin access.

   

3. When you’re prompted by the User Account Control window, click Yes to grant admin access.
4. Once you’re inside the elevated Command Prompt, type the following command to execute a reset procedure on the OneDrive cache:

   %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset

5. After the operation is complete, go ahead and restart your computer, then repeat the action that was causing the “tag present in the reparse point buffer is invalid” error and see if the problem is now fixed.

In case clearing OneDrive the cache didn’t do anything in your case, move down to the next potential fix below.

3. Run a CHKDSK scan

If none of the issues above have been effective in your case, there’s a high chance you’re dealing with an issue rooted in some kind of system file corruption affecting the junction files that the OneDrive On-Demand feature uses.

In a scenario like this one, the best course of action should be to run a CHKDSK scan from an elevated command prompt in order to replace the corrupted OneDrive junction dependencies with healthy equivalents.

Important: Before getting started with this method, it’s important to understand that running this type of repair will require a system reboot at the end of this procedure. Before moving forward, makes sure you save any document you might be currently working on.

Once you’re ready to deploy a CHKDSK scan, follow the on-screen instructions below to deploy a CHKDSK scan:

1. Press Windows key + R to open up a Run dialog box.
2. Type ‘cmd’, then press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open un an elevated Command Prompt.

   

3. When you’re prompted by the User Account Control window, click Yes to grant administrative privileges.
4. Once you’re inside the elevated command prompt, type the following command and press Enter to initiate a file dependency cleanup using the Check Disk Utility:

   chkdsk c: /f

5. Next, you will be asked to confirm the operation. Do this by typing the letter Y and by pressing Enter.
6. Wait until the operation is complete, then restart your PC and see if the “tag present in the reparse point buffer is invalid” error is now fixed.