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WCM_E_INVALIDPROCESSORFORMAT
The Windows SDK describes the condition as “The processor architecture attribute has an invalid value”
Interpretation without overreach
The processor architecture attribute is malformed. The operation reached manifest or target metadata parsing before architecture-specific settings can be selected. The first branch to test is whether the field uses a marketing CPU name instead of the schema token; keep that separate from the possibility that case, delimiter, or whitespace was altered by a template.
SMI object or metadata state
At this boundary, capture raw processorArchitecture value and XML location, then correlate it with target architecture returned by ITargetInfo. Assign ownership only after checking authoring variable before and after substitution.
Common origins
- the field uses a marketing CPU name instead of the schema token
- case, delimiter, or whitespace was altered by a template
- an empty or unresolved build variable is emitted
- a custom architecture alias is not recognized by the target SMI version
Useful artifacts
- raw processorArchitecture value and XML location
- target architecture returned by ITargetInfo
- authoring variable before and after substitution
- known-good architecture values from target component manifests
- all architecture branches included in the package
How to isolate the defect
- emit the exact schema-supported token
- fail the build when the architecture variable is empty or unknown
- Do not infer architecture from file paths or process bitness alone
- Validate each package architecture independently
- recompile against the intended target image
When another attempt is justified
Retry after correcting the attribute. Moving the same malformed manifest to a matching CPU does not make its syntax valid.
Related result codes
WCM_E_INVALIDDATATYPE concerns a setting’s value type. INVALIDPROCESSORFORMAT concerns the metadata selector used for target architecture.
Example from an offline image
A package generator writes “Intel 64-bit” into processorArchitecture. The human-readable label cannot be parsed as the SMI architecture token.
Official Microsoft references.
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