Are you getting Error Code 0x800F081F on your Windows machine? Don’t worry, just bear with us for a while and you should be able to get rid of this issue. This particular error mostly occurs when you install or enable .Net Framework using an installation wizard, the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool, or Windows PowerShell. You may usually encounter such errors when you first install this feature.
The .NET Framework 3.5 is a Feature on Demand for Windows 10 or Windows Server 2012 R2. As this is a Feature on Demand provided by your machine, when you try to enable it – Windows first tries to contact Windows Update to download the necessary information required for the installation. Depending on the network configuration and how computers are configured to install updates in the environment can affect this process. Hence it is likely to encounter errors when you first install these features.
Why 0x800F081F Error occurs on Windows Server?
Error code 0x800F081F can occur when an alternative installation source is specified and 1 out of 3 conditions mentioned below is true:
- The location that is specified by the path does not contain all the required files to complete the installation of this feature.
- The user who is attempting to the installation of this feature does not have at least READ access permission to the location and to the files.
- The installation files might be incomplete, corrupted, or even invalid based on the version of Windows that you are using.
Steps to Fix the Error Code 0x800F081 problem in Windows Server.
Step 1. To fix the Error Code 0x800F081 problem, first, make sure that the full path of the source is correct (x:\sources\sxs).
Step 2. Check to make sure that you have at least Read access to the location. Try to access the source directly from the affected computer.
Step 3. Try to verify that the installation source contains complete sets of valid files.
Step 4. If you still have the problem, try to use a different installation source.
Resolution of Error Code 0x800F081F In Windows 10.
Just to let you all know that there are few other similar errors on Windows 10 that can be resolved following the steps mentioned below. The error codes are 0x800F0906, 0x800F081F, and 0x800F0907.
Steps to Fix the Error Code 0x800F081 problem in Windows 10.
Step 1. First, download the Windows Media Creation Tool, and then create an ISO image locally. Or you can create an image for the version of Windows which you have installed.
Step 2. Configure the Group Policy by following the steps mentioned below:
- Open the Local Group Policy Editor or Group Policy Management Console. You can search for the term “Edit Group Policy” on Settings or Windows search.
- Once you have opened the editor, from the left side panel first expand Computer Configuration, then Administrative Templates, and then expand System. Please refer to the screenshot listed below.

- After selecting System, from the table on the right-hand side scroll until you find the “Specify settings for optional component installation and component repair Group Policy” setting, and then select Enabled. The screenshot for this step is below

- In case you want to specify an alternative source file. Please enter the source in the Alternate source file path box. And be careful on specifying a fully qualified path of a shared folder that contains the contents of the \sources\sxs folder from the installation media. Example of a shared folder path: \\server_name\share\Win8sxs
Or, you can also specify a WIM file. For you to specify a WIM file as an alternative source file location, add the prefix WIM: to the path, and then add the index of the image that you want to use in the WIM file as a suffix.
Example of a WIM file path: WIM:\\myserver_name\share\install.wim:3, where 3 is the index of the image in which the feature files are found.
- If it is possible then select the Contact Windows Update directly to download repair content instead of using the Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) check box.
- After making the changes, click OK.
- From the command prompt, type gpupdate/force, and then press Enter to apply the policy immediately.
Step 3. If still, the problem persists, then please follow these steps:
- Mount the ISO image that was created in step 1.
- Then point the Alternate source file path to the ISO sources\sxs folder from the ISO.
- Open the command prompt as admin and run the gpupdate/force command.
- Now, Add the .NET Framework feature.
- After performing all the steps, restart your PC and see if the error has been fixed or not.
That’s it. We hope that you were able to fix the .NET Framework 3.5 Error Code 0x800F081F in Windows 10 or Windows server. Please leave us feedback on the comment section below.