How To Fix “Exception on Invalid File” error in Windows 11

You grabbed the opportunity to upgrade to Windows 11 from Windows 10. But this opportunity brought in disguise the dreaded BSOD in the form of an “Exception on Invalid File” error. Needn’t lose hope. Here we’ll first try and understand, why many users are facing this issue and what can be done to put an end to it. 

Why Is The “Exception on Invalid File” BSOD Taking Place?

Some of the common reasons as noted by both users and experts are as mentioned below – 

• Bad sectors on the drive- Bad sectors may result in a drive failure. If the damage is well within your control, elevated command prompts like CHKDSK and SFC /scannow in advanced options can help in resolving the issue. 

Also Read: How To Use A Hard Disk Bad Sector Repair Tool To Fix Bad Sectors On Hard Drive

• Corrupted System Files- This is one of the most common reasons why a user might have encountered the  “Exception on Invalid File” error in Windows 11. The best possible fix is to run the SFC /scannow in the advanced options.
  
• Boot Configuration Data Is Corrupted: If this is the case and if the damage hasn’t extended way too far, you can resolve it by performing the System File Checker command

How To Resolve “Exception on Invalid File” error in Windows 11

1. Restart Your Laptop or Desktop

Being a new user, if you have come across the “EXCEPTION_ON_INVALID_FILE” error, needn’t panic! And before, you even try some advanced measures, you should simply restart your computer. This should help you resolve the issue. Restarting the computer helps with clearing the memory and stopping any tasks that might be affecting your RAM. 

2. Run A CHKDSK In Advanced Options

If restarting your computer doesn’t help fix the “EXCEPTION_ON_INVALID_FILE” error, you can run the CHKDSK command in recovery mode. CHKDSK is a handy Windows utility that can help fix various file system issues. These file system issues could be one of the reasons why you have encountered the aforementioned error. 

We urge you to run the CHKDSK command from advanced recovery options by performing the steps mentioned below.

1. In the Windows search bar, type recovery options 

2. Click on Open from the right-hand side of the screen

3. Under Recovery Options, click on the Restart now button next to Advanced Startup 

4. Select Troubleshoot when asked to Choose an option

5. Next, click on Advanced Options 

6. Click on Command Prompt

7. When the administrator Command Prompt opens, copy-paste the following command – 

chkdsk c: /f /r /x

8. Press Enter

9. Now, close the Command Prompt window and return to the original screen, and further, continue with normal booting.  

3. Uninstall Updates

Some users have reportedly been able to solve the issue by uninstalling any recently installed feature or quality updates. More specifically, they uninstalled the latest quality update. Try this step in case nothing else seems to work. To do that – 

1. Repeat all the steps mentioned above till you reach Advanced options 

2. Click on Uninstall Updates

3. Next, Uninstall latest quality update

4. Click on Windows 

5. Click on Uninstall latest quality update

4. Run SFC

Let’s consider another case. Your system files are corrupted and you can’t boot into your computer. What you are running into is the “Exception On Invalid File” error. Here are the steps to run system files while at the Windows setup screen – 

1. Execute the Windows bootable drive. We have covered a separate post where we have talked in detail about how you can create a bootable Windows 11 USB drive. So, in case you are new to this, please refer to the post

2. Once you have booted into the Windows bootable drive, click on Next from the bottom-right corner of the screen

3. On the next screen, click on Repair your computer from the bottom left-hand side 

4. Select Troubleshoot when asked to Choose an option

5. Next, click on Advanced Options 

6. Click on Command Prompt

7. When the administrator Command Prompt opens copy-paste the following command –

sfc /scannow

Now, chances are you will be able to fix the issue. However, many users have further reported bumping into Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation. For this, you can reboot your PC in safe mode and run the sfc /scannow command, or you may have to go back to square one and perform the reinstallation of Windows 11 again. 

Wrapping Up

Do let us know if you have been successful in fixing the “Exception On Invalid File” error. We’d also like to know which of the above methods have worked out for you. For more such content, keep reading WeTheGeek.