What does HRESULT 0x00040103 (VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS) mean?

 
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DRAGDROP_S_USEDEFAULTCURSORS DATA_S_SAMEFORMATETC

VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS

DirectShow enumeration reached the end

VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS is HRESULT 262403 (0x00040103) from Video for Windows. AllStat describes VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS as “The end of the list has been reached.” The high-order severity bit is clear, so this is a success result, but it carries more information than plain S_OK.

A Video for Windows or DirectShow list operation completed and has no additional item to return.

Evidence and telemetry to preserve

  • For VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS, preserve enumerator type and owner.
  • For VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS, preserve requested and returned item counts.
  • For VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS, preserve enumeration position.
  • For VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS, preserve filter graph generation or device-change timestamp.
  • For VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS, preserve released interface references.

Also record vfw_s_no_more_items_operation, vfw_s_no_more_items_object, vfw_s_no_more_items_state_before, vfw_s_no_more_items_state_after, UTC time, process and thread identifiers, and a correlation ID. For VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS, keep secrets out of logs while retaining GUIDs, CLSIDs, media subtypes, property IDs, row identities, and hashes needed to distinguish objects.

Where this result is encountered

  • VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS can appear in filter, media-type, or device enumeration in legacy media code; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.
  • VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS can appear in iteration over component-owned collections; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.
  • VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS can appear in compatibility layers that use VFW-specific success values; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.

For VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS, the same numeric success value can be mishandled when a wrapper exposes only a Boolean. For VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS, keep the original HRESULT until the code-specific outputs and state transition have been evaluated.

State boundary that must be proved

The central question for VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS is whether all items already returned were consumed and the end position belongs to the same enumeration snapshot. For VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS, the HRESULT alone confirms neither unrelated work nor the quality of optional outputs.

A reliable interpretation of VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS names the exact method contract, the object generation, and the outputs that remain valid. For VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS, this prevents a success-with-information result from being promoted to full success or demoted to a generic error.

Diagnostic sequence

  • For VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS, capture the raw HRESULT 0x00040103 immediately after the returning method and record whether the caller used SUCCEEDED, FAILED, equality testing, or exception translation.
  • Identify the exact owner of VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS: interface, method, object instance, provider or filter version, thread or apartment, and operation phase.
  • Validate the decisive contract boundary for VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS: all items already returned were consumed and the end position belongs to the same enumeration snapshot.
  • For VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS, inspect every output parameter, count, status array, returned interface, or side effect that the method documentation associates with this success-with-information result.
  • Compare the observed state before and after VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS; do not assume that a success severity bit means every optional sub-operation completed.
  • For VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS, reproduce the smallest request with the same object state and then change only the condition identified by the evidence before repeating the operation.

Difference from nearby HRESULT values

S_FALSE is a generic COM end or false result; VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS is the media-component-specific end marker.

For VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS, this distinction determines whether the caller should consume partial outputs, stop iteration, wait, reconfigure, notify the user, or perform no error recovery at all.

Correct handling, retry, and recovery

Stop the enumeration normally and keep previously returned items. Do not retry from the beginning unless the underlying collection changed or the caller intentionally requests a new snapshot.

Retry VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS only when the recorded state can change the documented outcome. For VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS, repeating the same call is inappropriate for a stable end marker, cancellation, unsupported format, adjusted property, or partial result whose completed side effects have not been reconciled.

Practical validation scenario

A diagnostic tool enumerates registered media components, consumes every returned entry, and receives VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS. It closes the enumerator and reports the completed count rather than an error.

The negative test should preserve the condition that produces VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS; the recovery test should alter only that condition and verify the final state as well as the HRESULT.

Developer and administrator guidance

When VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS crosses process, RPC, scripting, or managed-code boundaries, preserve the unsigned 32-bit value and symbolic name. For VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS, a signed decimal rendering can obscure that the severity bit indicates success and can lead to incorrect exception or retry behavior.

A support report for VFW_S_NO_MORE_ITEMS should include decimal 262403, hexadecimal 0x00040103, the AllStat meaning, the owning API, and the first detailed status or output that explains why the method did not return ordinary S_OK.

References

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