I ran into this issue recently where some files and folders were not accessible in File Explorer, command prompt or PowerShell. with the following error:

The tag present in the reparse point buffer is invalid

They were in the OneDrive folder as placeholders for the Files On-demand feature. After some reading, it appears those are junction files/folders, and got put in a bad state perhaps when OneDrive is terminated or crashes.

What fixed the issue was running chkdsk.exe and fixing the errors. The scan/repair may need to happen on the next system startup, so be prepared to restart.

Tags: OneDrive, Windows 10, Windows Server 2019

The app reset feature in Windows 10 is supposed to help when an app isn’t working right. This is somewhat equivalent to an uninstall and reinstall of the app.

In my experience, it can sometimes make problems worse by completely uninstalling the app you’re trying to reset. In the case of this happening to the Microsoft Store app, you might be scratching your head.

Here’s how you reinstall Microsoft Store if it gets uninstalled after resetting it.

Right click on Start and pick “Windows PowerShell (Admin)”

Run this command:

Get-AppxPackage -allusers

Right click the PowerShell title bar, Edit, Find… and search for “WindowsStore”

Copy the InstallLocation value for the app.

At time of writing the version available resulted in the following value.

C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\
Microsoft.WindowsStore_11712.1001.11.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe

Finally, run the following command and the Microsoft Store app should be reinstalled. If you run into an issue with this, try restarting and running the command again. Make sure to plug in the correct InstallLocation value.

Add-AppxPackage -register
"C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\
Microsoft.WindowsStore_11712.1001.11.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\
AppxManifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode

Tags: Windows, Windows 10

Windows 10 account comes with the option of using Microsoft accounts, but one peeve I have with it―through the out of box experience and addition through Settings―is the lack of control of the local user name it generates.

I usually opt to create a local user account under “Other people” first and sign in with the Microsoft account I want to associate.

Another complication comes up if you have your family members’ Microsoft accounts linked under Family. This practically makes the method above impossible. When you try to sign in using a Microsoft account in the local account you created, you’ll be warned that it’s not possible since it’s already associated to another local account.

To work around this, you’ll need to delete the placeholder account created by the Family feature.

Right click on the Start button and click “Command Prompt (Admin)” and typing the following to display the account names on the PC.

>net users

Some will be the placeholders―usually only a few letters of the first name.

Delete it by typing the following, where [usertodelete] is the placeholder username

>net user [usertodelete] /delete

You should now be able to sign in the Microsoft account with the local account you created.

It seems to recognize that it is now an account of a family member and gets listed under “Your family” with the Family features still intact.

Tags: Microsoft account, Windows, Windows 10

And we’re back.

Tags: Operating System, Windows, Windows 10

My WHS box now has the latest and greatest – Windows Home Server 2011!

On WHS v1, I’ve never really had to use Remote Web Access, and didn’t bother to move past the UPnP problems my D-Link DIR-655 router had. Now that the Windows Home Server Team announced the release candidate for Windows Phone 7 Connector app, I just had to try it again.

In the process, I tried using the Dashboard wizard, but still it didn’t work, and I wasn’t surprised to see this.

The fix involves setting up the DIR-655 manually. This guide is based on the hardware version B1 and firmware 2.01NA.

Instead of using Port Forwarding, setup the ports 80, 443, and 4125 under Virtual Server.

After saving settings on the router, go back to the WHS Dashboard and run the router setup wizard again, but this time, select “Skip router setup. I want to setup up my router manually” and click “Set up my router manually.” This will also open a link to a page online, but it won’t be needed. Close it.

The step above forces the Dashboard to update, and you should be able to access your Home Server remotely using the domain name.

Note that the new WP7 Connector requires an add-in to be installed on the Home Server.

Tags: Add-in, D-Link, DIR-655, How To, Microsoft, Networking, Release Candidate, Software, WHS, Windows Home Server, Windows Home Server 2011, Windows Phone 7, WP7