Issue with illegal character

Snow · Jul 16, 2016

Hey,

I found this issue when trying to install the Visual Studio Community 2015 edition. The error appeared while installing .NET Framework 4.6.1. I then tried to run sfc /scannow as well as the Dism scan to check health, both throwing the same issue. I have tried running both the VS install as well as the standalone for 4.6.1.

The error message is,
[FONT=&quot]An illegal character was encountered. For a multi-byte character set this includes a lead byte without a succeeding trail byte. For the Unicode character set this includes the characters 0xFFFF and 0xFFFE.

Thanks,
Snow[/FONT]

xilolee · Jul 16, 2016

Hi Snow. :welcome:

Read Windows Update Forum Posting Instructions (click) and provide the necessary informations to the experts.

:wave:

Snow · Jul 16, 2016

Hey xilolee,

Thank you very much for pointing me in the right direction. Much appreciated ^^.

Regards,
Snow

Snow · Jul 16, 2016

Hey,

Here is the info from the SFCFix.txt

SFCFix version 3.0.0.0 by niemiro.
Start time: 2016-07-16 17:16:40.315
Microsoft Windows 10 Build 10240 - amd64
Not using a script file.

AutoAnalysis::
SUMMARY: No corruptions were detected.
AutoAnalysis:: directive completed successfully.

Successfully processed all directives.
SFCFix version 3.0.0.0 by niemiro has completed.
Currently storing 0 datablocks.
Finish time: 2016-07-16 17:42:49.572
----------------------EOF-----------------------

I added the CBS logs via uploading to your site, please shout if I need to upload via zip.
While looking at the SFCFix while it was running I saw some warnings and it gave the same error on the Dism.

Regards,
Snow

Go The Power · Jul 16, 2016

Hello Snow,

I cant seem to locate the attached CBS file, could you please try uploading via the forum software or via Dropbox or One Drive?

Thanks

Snow · Jul 17, 2016

Hey,

Sorry about that, I will upload the file quick.

Here is a Google Drive link for the file.
CBS File

Regards,
Snow

Go The Power · Jul 17, 2016

Hi Snow,

Thanks I got it :)

It looks like there is an issue with the COMPONENTS hive:

Code:

Failed to load component store [HRESULT = 0x80070246 - ERROR_ILLEGAL_CHARACTER]

Can you please go the following location C:\Windows\System32\config and look for the following files:
-COMPONENTS
-Any other files that start with the word COMPONENTS
-Or any files that have a similar name to COMPONENTS (it could be spelt different, have a number, a symbol etc)
If you find any please create a folder on your desktop and copy and paste all these files into this folder.
Next can you please zip this folder -> Please name this zip file to COMPONENTS_{Insert forum username here}_{insert todays Date here}.zip For example "COMPONENTS_Go The Power_1803.Zip"
Once done, upload them for me to analyze. The file may be too big to attach to this post, please use either Dropbox or One Drive.

Right click on the

button
Click on Command prompt (Admin) => Press Yes on the prompt
Inside the Command Prompt windows copy and paste the following command
dir %systemroot%\System32\config >1&&notepad 1
[*]Please post the contents of the notepad file back into this thread

Snow · Jul 17, 2016

Hey,

Ok here is the components file as well as the text.

Using Google drive as I'm having issues using the other two. I hope it is ok?

Here are the files,
COMPONENTS_Snow_1707

This is what the text said,

Volume in drive C has no label.
Volume Serial Number is 26BD-103D

Directory of C:\WINDOWS\System32\config

2016/07/17 08:53 PM <DIR> .
2016/07/17 08:53 PM <DIR> ..
2015/08/08 07:53 AM 28ÿ672 BCD-Template
2016/07/17 08:58 PM 36ÿ962ÿ304 COMPONENTS
2016/07/16 05:08 PM 262ÿ144 DEFAULT
2016/07/16 05:19 PM 5ÿ337ÿ088 DRIVERS
2015/07/10 11:11 AM 164 FP
2015/07/10 01:04 PM <DIR> Journal
2016/07/17 12:47 PM <DIR> RegBack
2015/08/08 07:51 AM 57ÿ344 SAM
2016/07/16 05:08 PM 40ÿ960 SECURITY
2016/07/16 05:08 PM 84ÿ672ÿ512 SOFTWARE
2016/07/16 05:08 PM 16ÿ515ÿ072 SYSTEM
2015/07/10 01:04 PM <DIR> systemprofile
2015/08/07 09:55 PM <DIR> TxR
2015/08/08 07:47 AM 8ÿ192 userdiff
10 File(s) 143ÿ884ÿ452 bytes
6 Dir(s) 229ÿ488ÿ537ÿ600 bytes free

Regards,
Snow

Go The Power · Jul 18, 2016

Hello again Snow,

I have a had a look at the COMPONENTS hive and have identified one bitflip so far:

Code:

Key:   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\COMPONENTS\DerivedData\Components\amd64_microsoft-windows-d..mnotificationbroker_31bf3856ad364e35_10.0.10240.16384_none_cfb509ca815ee82f
Value: identity
Data:  Microsoft-Windows-DeviceManagement-DmNotificationBroker, Culture=neutral, Version=10.0.10240.16384, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35, ProcessorArchit[B][Color=#FF0000]*�*[/Color][/B]cture=amd64, versionScope=NonSxS

SFCFix script

Warning: this fix is specific to the user in this thread. No one else should follow these instructions as it may cause more harm than good. If you are after assistance, please start a thread of your own.

Download SFCFix.exe (by niemiro) and save this to your Desktop.
Go to your desktop and right click on the background -> Select New -> Text Document -> Name this file SFCFixScript.txt.

Open up SFCFixScript.txt and copy all of the following text inside the code box below and paste it into SFCFixScript.txt.

Code:

::
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\COMPONENTS\DerivedData\Components\amd64_microsoft-windowsd..mnotificationbroker_31bf3856ad364e35_10.0.10240.16384_none_cfb509ca815ee82f]
"identity"=hex:4d,69,63,72,6f,73,6f,66,74,2d,57,69,6e,64,6f,77,73,2d,44,65,76,\
  69,63,65,4d,61,6e,61,67,65,6d,65,6e,74,2d,44,6d,4e,6f,74,69,66,69,63,61,74,\
  69,6f,6e,42,72,6f,6b,65,72,2c,20,43,75,6c,74,75,72,65,3d,6e,65,75,74,72,61,\
  6c,2c,20,56,65,72,73,69,6f,6e,3d,31,30,2e,30,2e,31,30,32,34,30,2e,31,36,33,\
  38,34,2c,20,50,75,62,6c,69,63,4b,65,79,54,6f,6b,65,6e,3d,33,31,62,66,33,38,\
  35,36,61,64,33,36,34,65,33,35,2c,20,50,72,6f,63,65,73,73,6f,72,41,72,63,68,\
  69,74,65,63,74,75,72,65,3d,61,6d,64,36,34,2c,20,76,65,72,73,69,6f,6e,53,63,\
  6f,70,65,3d,4e,6f,6e,53,78,53


BitShift::

Click on File -> Save. Close out of SFCFixScript.txt.
Save any open documents and close all open windows.
On your Desktop, you should see two files: SFCFix.exe and SFCFixScript.txt.
Drag the file SFCFixScript.txt onto the file SFCFix.exe and release it.
SFCFix will now process the script.
Upon completion, a file should be created on your Desktop: SFCFix.txt.
Copy (Ctrl+C) and Paste (Ctrl+V) the contents of this file into your next post for me to analyse please - put [CODE][/CODE] tags around the log to break up the text.

Go The Power · Jul 18, 2016

Sorry forgot to answer your question:

Using Google drive as I'm having issues using the other two. I hope it is ok?

Google drive is perfectly fine, what ever works best for you I am happy with. I use "canned replies" when I reply to forum posts, just so I don't have to always write out the same thing over and over again. If you see any more references to Dropbox or Onedrive, you can ignore that part and use Google Drive :)

Snow · Jul 18, 2016

Hey Go The Power,

Here is the result,

Code:

SFCFix version 3.0.0.0 by niemiro.Start time: 2016-07-18 11:42:10.854
Microsoft Windows 10 Build 10240 - amd64
Using .txt script file at C:\Users\Jenny\Desktop\SFCFixScript.txt [0]








RegistryScript::
Successfully took ownership and permissions for registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\COMPONENTS\DerivedData\Components.


Successfully imported registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\COMPONENTS\DerivedData\Components\amd64_microsoft-windowsd..mnotificationbroker_31bf3856ad364e35_10.0.10240.16384_none_cfb509ca815ee82f.


Successfully restored ownership and permissions for registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\COMPONENTS\DerivedData\Components\amd64_microsoft-windowsd..mnotificationbroker_31bf3856ad364e35_10.0.10240.16384_none_cfb509ca815ee82f.
Successfully restored ownership and permissions for registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\COMPONENTS\DerivedData\Components.
RegistryScript:: directive completed successfully.








BitShift::
Corrupt Registry Data Detected: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-Spelling-Dictionaries-en-gb-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.10240.16384:InstallLocation:\\?\C:\WINDOWS\CbsTemp\30462356_53892342\?2B81BEC9-3396-44D4-A81F-74F11A23F25E?\
BitShift:: directive completed successfully.








Successfully processed all directives.
SFCFix version 3.0.0.0 by niemiro has completed.
Currently storing 2 datablocks.
Finish time: 2016-07-18 11:42:16.886
Script hash: /BeBWVyfUwuEeSqnSsBSUV91ppNcDkDWxFiyQFfuYXw=

----------------------EOF-----------------------

Regards,
Snow

Go The Power · Jul 18, 2016

Hello again Snow,

The issue in the COMPONENTS hive should be good now. But one of the commands I put into your SFCScript.txt was called to check if any other Bitflips have been Identified, there was one other issue but this issue was found in the SOFTWARE hive. Lets get this one fixed now:

SFCFix script

Warning: this fix is specific to the user in this thread. No one else should follow these instructions as it may cause more harm than good. If you are after assistance, please start a thread of your own.

Download SFCFix.exe (by niemiro) and save this to your Desktop.
Go to your desktop and right click on the background -> Select New -> Text Document -> Name this file SFCFixScript.txt.

Open up SFCFixScript.txt and copy all of the following text inside the code box below and paste it into SFCFixScript.txt.

Code:

::
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-Spelling-Dictionaries-en-gb-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.10240.16384]
"InstallLocation"="\\?\C:\WINDOWS\CbsTemp\"

BitShift::

Click on File -> Save. Close out of SFCFixScript.txt.
Save any open documents and close all open windows.
On your Desktop, you should see two files: SFCFix.exe and SFCFixScript.txt.
Drag the file SFCFixScript.txt onto the file SFCFix.exe and release it.
SFCFix will now process the script.
Upon completion, a file should be created on your Desktop: SFCFix.txt.
Copy (Ctrl+C) and Paste (Ctrl+V) the contents of this file into your next post for me to analyse please - put [CODE][/CODE] tags around the log to break up the text.

Snow · Jul 18, 2016

Hey Go The Power,

Here is the result,

Code:

SFCFix version 3.0.0.0 by niemiro.Start time: 2016-07-18 12:37:51.571
Microsoft Windows 10 Build 10240 - amd64
Using .txt script file at C:\Users\Jenny\Desktop\SFCFixScript.txt [0]








RegistryScript::
Successfully took ownership and permissions for registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-Spelling-Dictionaries-en-gb-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.10240.16384.


WARNING: Failed to create backup for registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-Spelling-Dictionaries-en-gb-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.10240.16384.


Successfully imported registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-Spelling-Dictionaries-en-gb-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.10240.16384.


Successfully restored ownership and permissions for registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-Spelling-Dictionaries-en-gb-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.10240.16384.
RegistryScript:: directive completed successfully.








BitShift::
Corrupt Registry Data Detected: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-Spelling-Dictionaries-en-gb-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.10240.16384:InstallLocation:\\?\C:\WINDOWS\CbsTemp\30462356_53892342\?2B81BEC9-3396-44D4-A81F-74F11A23F25E?\
BitShift:: directive completed successfully.








Successfully processed all directives.
SFCFix version 3.0.0.0 by niemiro has completed.
Currently storing 3 datablocks.
Finish time: 2016-07-18 12:37:56.100
Script hash: 1JiRADBG4yrXhcggEjQTAowA2WXs5jZ9Y8KgqZpKUDM=

----------------------EOF-----------------------

Thanks,
Snow

Go The Power · Jul 18, 2016

Hi Snow,

The fix didn't go through as I wanted, I will need to manually take a look at this section of the hive:

Type into the search box(next to the start menu) Regedit
When you see regedit in the list, right-click on it and select Run as administrator
When regedit opens, using the left pane, navigate to the following registry key and select it by clicking on it once.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing
Once selected, click File > Export....
Change the Save as type: to Registry Hive Files (*.*)
Name this file CBS (with no file extension) and save it to your Desktop.

Once done please upload this file via GoogleDrive :)

Snow · Jul 19, 2016

Hey Go The Power,

Thanks for all the help, it's really appreciated. :)

Here's the registry file,
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxbBfv4yq1miVDVkWkd0aHBJZlU/view?usp=sharing

Regards,
Snow

Go The Power · Jul 19, 2016

Hi Snow,

Your welcome for the help :)

Lets see if this fix sticks:

SFCFix script

Warning: this fix is specific to the user in this thread. No one else should follow these instructions as it may cause more harm than good. If you are after assistance, please start a thread of your own.

Download SFCFix.exe (by niemiro) and save this to your Desktop.
Go to your desktop and right click on the background -> Select New -> Text Document -> Name this file SFCFixScript.txt.

Open up SFCFixScript.txt and copy all of the following text inside the code box below and paste it into SFCFixScript.txt.

Code:

::
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-Spelling-Dictionaries-en-gb-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.10240.16384]
"InstallLocation"="\\\\?\\C:\\WINDOWS\\CbsTemp"

BitShift::

Click on File -> Save. Close out of SFCFixScript.txt.
Save any open documents and close all open windows.
On your Desktop, you should see two files: SFCFix.exe and SFCFixScript.txt.
Drag the file SFCFixScript.txt onto the file SFCFix.exe and release it.
SFCFix will now process the script.
Upon completion, a file should be created on your Desktop: SFCFix.txt.
Copy (Ctrl+C) and Paste (Ctrl+V) the contents of this file into your next post for me to analyse please - put [CODE][/CODE] tags around the log to break up the text.

Please also run SFC /SCANNOW again and upload a new log.

Snow · Jul 19, 2016

Hey Go The Power,

Here is latest script log,

Code:

SFCFix version 3.0.0.0 by niemiro.Start time: 2016-07-19 14:04:16.757
Microsoft Windows 10 Build 10240 - amd64
Using .txt script file at C:\Users\Jenny\Desktop\SFCFixScript.txt [0]








RegistryScript::
Successfully took ownership and permissions for registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-Spelling-Dictionaries-en-gb-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.10240.16384.


WARNING: Failed to create backup for registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-Spelling-Dictionaries-en-gb-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.10240.16384.


Successfully imported registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-Spelling-Dictionaries-en-gb-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.10240.16384.


Successfully restored ownership and permissions for registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\Packages\Microsoft-Windows-Spelling-Dictionaries-en-gb-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.10240.16384.
RegistryScript:: directive completed successfully.








BitShift::
No corruptions detected.
BitShift:: directive completed successfully.








Successfully processed all directives.
SFCFix version 3.0.0.0 by niemiro has completed.
Currently storing 3 datablocks.
Finish time: 2016-07-19 14:04:22.258
Script hash: rxEbLvvmt1tEvk3hb9y2o0sws4xnWDB+yRxs2sahcTY=

----------------------EOF-----------------------

Ok so after the script I ran SFC /SCANNOW.

It gives this error just after trying to start the scan,

Windows Resource Protection Could not preform the requested operation.

Thanks,
Snow

Go The Power · Jul 19, 2016

Hi snow,

Please restart your computer and try SFC again. Please upload the CBS log once done, upload the CBS log even if SFC fails.

Getting late where I am, I will look at your CBS log after work tomorrow.

Snow · Jul 19, 2016

Hey Go The Power,

Here is the latest log files.

CBS Logs latest.zip - Google Drive

Thanks again,
Snow

Go The Power · Jul 20, 2016

Hi Snow,

There is still a bitflip hiding that the tools are not picking up, lets see if DISM will find it:

DISM Scan

Right click on the

button
Click on Command prompt (Admin) => Press Yes on the prompt
Inside the Command Prompt windows copy and paste the following command DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Please wait for this to Finish before continuing with rest of the steps.

Once completed, please upload the CBS log.

Issue with illegal character

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