What does HRESULT 0x8022000B (WCM_E_INVALIDPATH) mean?

WCM_E_INVALIDPATH

The Windows SDK describes the condition as “Name or path of a state node is in invalid format.”

What the HRESULT establishes

The settings path has invalid syntax. The operation reached parsing a path supplied to GetSettingByPath, CreateSettingByPath, RemoveSettingByPath, or related navigation. The first branch to test is whether separators or keyed-list syntax were constructed manually; keep that separate from the possibility that an absolute path is passed where a path relative to the current item is required.

Processing stage

At this boundary, capture the exact UTF-16 path before any logging escaping, then correlate it with current item path and the API’s relative/absolute expectation. Assign ownership only after checking whether the path originated from ISettingsItem::GetPath.

Failure patterns to separate

• separators or keyed-list syntax were constructed manually
• an absolute path is passed where a path relative to the current item is required
• a path returned by SMI was decoded, normalized, or concatenated as ordinary filesystem text
• empty segments, malformed keys, or unsupported attribute notation are present

Capture these facts first

• the exact UTF-16 path before any logging escaping
• current item path and the API’s relative/absolute expectation
• whether the path originated from ISettingsItem::GetPath
• XML escaping and unescaping performed by intermediate layers
• the parent/list schema used to interpret keyed segments

A safe investigation order

• Preserve paths returned by GetPath as opaque values
• build relative operations from resolved ISettingsItem objects where possible
• Validate list keys with schema-aware APIs instead of string formatting
• remove filesystem canonicalization from SMI paths
• Test the final path against a known-good target namespace

Recovery conditions

Fix the path representation before retrying. A new engine or elevated token cannot make malformed path grammar valid.

Do not confuse it with adjacent codes

WCM_E_WRONGESCAPESTRING isolates an invalid XML escape; WCM_E_INVALIDKEY isolates a key/schema mismatch. INVALIDPATH is the broader path-grammar failure.

Deployment example

A tool joins an SMI parent path using a backslash routine intended for files. The resulting text looks plausible in logs but violates SMI path syntax.

Official Microsoft references.

• Microsoft: SMI error and success constants.
• Microsoft: Settings Management Infrastructure API.
• Microsoft: SMI interfaces.
• Microsoft: ISettingsItem::GetPath.
• Microsoft: ISettingsItem::RemoveSettingByPath.