HRESULT 0x800F0000 (SPAPI_E_EXPECTED_SECTION

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Description:

SetupAPI found a non-empty INF line before any section header. Restore a valid section layout and validate the INF file.

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NS_I_CATATONIC_AUTO_UNFAIL	SPAPI_E_BAD_SECTION_NAME_LINE

SPAPI_E_EXPECTED_SECTION_NAME

SPAPI_E_EXPECTED_SECTION_NAME means that SetupAPI encountered text in an INF file before a valid section header had started the section-based grammar. A driver INF is not a free-form configuration file: lines must belong to a named section or to the allowed preamble structure.

What to check

Open the INF around the reported line and look for stray text, a damaged header, or a merge-conflict marker before the first section.
Confirm that every section header uses the expected bracketed form and that no generated preamble was inserted ahead of it.
Run INFVerif against the package before staging or signing it.

Microsoft: general INF syntax rules

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