What does HRESULT 0x0026231E (ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE) mean?

 
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ERROR_GRAPHICS_MODE_NOT_PINNED ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY

ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE

VidPN mode set has no preferred mode

ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE is HRESULT 2499358 (0x0026231E) from winerror.h. AllStat describes it as “Specified mode set does not specify preference for one of its modes.” In the Windows display topology or Desktop Window Manager operation, the value reports a nonfailure state that must not be collapsed into plain S_OK.

Accepting ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE requires proving the documented state rather than checking only SUCCEEDED(hr).

Diagnostic sequence

  • Capture raw 0x0026231E and ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE before exceptions, signed formatting, or a generic success wrapper removes the symbolic value.
  • Identify the interface, method, callback, service, driver, or broker that returned ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE, including component version, process, thread, and correlation ID.
  • Prove the decisive condition for ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE: the absence of preference is allowed and another deterministic selection rule is available.
  • For ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE, inspect every output, count, object handle, callback, queue entry, media item, report, transaction, topology element, or signaling response the call produced.
  • Compare state immediately before and after ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE and verify that ownership, lifetime, persistence, and user-visible effects match the status.
  • Reproduce ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE with the smallest input, then change only the suspected cause and confirm that the return value or postcondition changes as predicted.

Where the status is encountered

  • ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE can appear during VidPN mode-set, topology, and path negotiation; capture the exact API, object, and phase because the same numeric success severity does not define the state by itself.
  • ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE can appear during display miniport and graphics-kernel dataset enumeration; capture the exact API, object, and phase because the same numeric success severity does not define the state by itself.
  • ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE can appear during DWM composition and GDI redirection-surface handling; capture the exact API, object, and phase because the same numeric success severity does not define the state by itself.

Keep ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE attached to the operation that returned it. Interpreting ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE outside that API contract can turn a normal continuation or partial result into an incorrect retry or false completion.

What must be true before accepting it

Verify that the absence of preference is allowed and another deterministic selection rule is available. Validation of ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE keeps a success-severity result from becoming a broader promise than the API made.

For ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE, also confirm that returned outputs belong to the current operation generation and were not inherited from an earlier attempt.

Evidence and telemetry

  • Preserve adapter and target IDs for ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE.
  • Preserve mode list and flags for ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE.
  • Preserve EDID or descriptor data for ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE.
  • Preserve selection policy for ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE.
  • Preserve chosen mode for ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE.

For ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE, also record UTC time, process and thread IDs, component version, operation generation, and a correlation ID. Keep sensitive ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE content out of logs; use lengths, hashes, GUIDs, and policy-safe metadata where possible.

Difference from nearby results

MODE_NOT_PINNED concerns the active pin; NO_PREFERRED_MODE concerns preference metadata within a mode set.

Using one generic success branch for ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE and its neighbor can lose output, repeat work, or misreport completion.

Correct handling and recovery

Enumerate all valid modes and choose using policy, current mode, or user selection. Do not assume the first enumerated mode is stable across drivers.

Retry after ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE only when a recorded input, capability, resource, policy, or state has changed.

Practical scenario

A monitor descriptor exposes several valid modes but no preferred flag. The display service chooses the current native-sized mode by policy.

A regression test should reproduce ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE, assert all relevant outputs and state, then change only the decisive condition and verify ordinary completion or the expected neighboring result.

Developer and administrator guidance

A support bundle for ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE should include first-failure evidence and effective configuration while replacing credentials, license material, private media, and user data with ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE-scoped hashes or stable identifiers.

A broad system reset after ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE is not justified unless the code-specific evidence identifies a system-wide cause. Document who owns continuation, cancellation, cleanup, fallback, and user messaging for ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE.

References

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