File restore after Complete PC Restore - 0x80070057 error

This post is about:
Restore did not finish sucessfully. Error code:
The parameter is incorrect. (0x80070057)

It all started when a visitor (honest!) whom I let use my PC said "oh there
was a message about data consistency on screen so a pressed Yes and now the
PC won't start".

Tried the VIA RAID utility - all checked out fine - two drives marked "Boot"
as normal.
Tried WD Lifeguard Diagnostics - both disks check out fine
Ran DiskPart - disk showed fine but no volumes shown
Tried running Bootrec and it saw nothing
Searched the net... (and Microsoft support) - nothing helpful
Assumed everything is toast (still not sure how...)

I have been doing Vista Backups with occasional full image and more frequent
file backups.
I have a my OS and apps on a RAID 1 (2x 36GB Raptor).
Another single 350GB drive holds a little data.
Backups live on a seperate physical intenal drive (also 350GB)
Restored via Complete PC Restore - it took all night but worked fine (I am
using it now). But this was dated March 2008.

Now I want to restore my files and use Advanced Restore | Files made on a
different computer.
Select device OK, see list of 4 backups OK.
Select the latest backup (luckily the day before my machine was hosed) and
Next
Check "Restore everything..." and Next
Check "in the original location" and Start Restore
See "preparing..." and then:

Restore did not finish sucessfully. Error code:
The parameter is incorrect. (0x80070057)

I have searched on this error code to no avail (other than generic errors
about it)

Any ideas?

On reading this newsgroups, it appears the closest anyone has got to a
restore (but then i guess the fortunate ones wouldn't need to post would
they?)

Given the lack of backup of .exe and the like, I for one will be changing to
a proper backup program from now on. I will even pay for it.

Acronis True Image, worth every penny

Just wanted to let you know that NTI is giving away their 'Shadow' program for a limited time. I've had much success with it on an XP machine, but I've never personally used it on my Vista box, yet.

Hit on microsoft.com using "0x80070057 backup":
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc233630.aspx

Read the info near the bottom:
1. If the backup location does not exist, the server MUST return the HRESULT
derived from the Win32 error code E_INVALIDARG.

2. If the dwMDVersion parameter is greater than MD_BACKUP_MAX_VERSION (9999)
and not equal to MD_BACKUP_HIGHEST_VERSION, the server MUST return HRESULT
derived from the Win32 error code E_INVALIDARG.

I would bet #1. The command generated cannot find the path desired to the
backup. (e.g. Doesn't exist, name corrupt, etc.)

I will try Acronis.

Wrote the following last night but not posted. Posted now as it ended
sucessfully with a fully working machine.

Thought for a moment that I had found the answer - start with the oldest
backup and restore them all, one at a time in sequence. But no, it only
worked for that one backup. Each and every other backup gives the same
error. All I can do is look for and restore each folder as high up the tree
as I can. For instance, selecting the top level "backup" folder gives the
same error message, as does the "local drive C:\" below it but I can restore
a sub-folder up as far as Users. It has sucessfully found and restored all
my recent pictures and things like PST files (plus all the other files with
odd extensions in the same folder), so all is well (unless I get errors
trying to use it, in which case a seperate post is called for).

Oh yes, and each time I want to select a folder to restore, I need to go
back to the Advanced Restore dialogue and then have to accept the UAC
prompt, choose the backup drive, select a backup point, etc etc. What a
pain. It would be great to finish at a dialogue which gave the option to go
back to select more folders from the already-selected backup, or quit out.
(This is user feedback, Microsoft)

Sorry Microsoft - your backup app it actually worse than the [Veritas] one
you had in XP. It lulls the user into a false sense of security that all is
taken care of, which it isn't. Then it makes it a non-trivial job to get the
back, and you still have to re-install all the apps you installed since then
and then waste more time and broadband traffic re-applying all the patches
and updates since you last did a Complete PC Backup (recomended to be done
once every six months if memory serves correctly).

[NotaNerd]

Had a similar problem restoring a backup on my Vista machine - wrong parameters and error code 0x80070057. An error or number of errors in the backup disk stopped file restore executing and I was left with old data (back in 2009). Followed other commentators tips (thanks everyone!) and used the advanced restore function in Backup and Restore, clicked 'Files from a backup made on another computer' (why, M-soft, why?), located the external backup, clicked through to the select files and folders window and selected 'search' on the right hand side. This then gave me a search box which at first had me flummoxed - can I remember what all of my files were called? The solution came from a little lateral thinking from a friend who suggested I use all of the obvious file extensions. I started to do that, but even this approach didn't restore everything - in fact, 50Gb of files and folders were still missing. Having got hold of a much longer list of software file extensions (Wiki), I realised that they can be grouped alphabetically and there are file extensions beginning with each letter of the alphabet (and also some numbers - do [dot] [number] on those too). So I entered [dot] [letter]; e.g.: ".a", ".b", ".c", and slowly went through the whole alphabet and this has very nearly restored everything. It also turned up some bad files, probably the ones that prevented the backup from executing properly. Windows popped up to ask if I wanted to skip the bad files and skip all similar instances and a window also asked if I wanted to copy and replace files and folders and do this for all conflicts, which both helped to speed up the whole process. A lot of patience and many hours later and the backup is now complete.
I hope this helps others to break the riddle with a puzzle that is Microsoft's badly communicated and explained operating system.