What does HRESULT 0x0026234B (ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY) mean?

 
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ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_PREFERRED_MODE ERROR_GRAPHICS_NO_MORE_ELEMENTS_IN_DATASET

ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY

Graphics dataset contains no elements

ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY is HRESULT 2499403 (0x0026234B) from winerror.h. AllStat describes it as “Specified data set (e.g; mode set, frequency range set, descriptor set, topology, etc.) is empty.” 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.

The application should branch on ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY before a generic success path consumes the details.

Where the status is encountered

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

Evidence and telemetry

  • Preserve dataset type and owner for ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY.
  • Preserve adapter and VidPN generation for ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY.
  • Preserve element count for ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY.
  • Preserve device arrival or removal events for ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY.
  • Preserve repopulation result for ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY.

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

What must be true before accepting it

Verify that the empty set is valid for the queried phase or triggers a controlled reconstruction rather than unchecked enumeration. The ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY boundary determines whether the caller continues, waits, falls back, or ends the operation.

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

Correct handling and recovery

Stop enumeration, identify why the set is empty, and repopulate or select another topology only when the driver contract expects elements.

A new attempt following ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY should be triggered by a meaningful transition, not merely by elapsed time.

Diagnostic sequence

  • Capture raw 0x0026234B and ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY 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_DATASET_IS_EMPTY, including component version, process, thread, and correlation ID.
  • Prove the decisive condition for ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY: the empty set is valid for the queried phase or triggers a controlled reconstruction rather than unchecked enumeration.
  • For ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY, 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_DATASET_IS_EMPTY and verify that ownership, lifetime, persistence, and user-visible effects match the status.
  • Reproduce ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY with the smallest input, then change only the suspected cause and confirm that the return value or postcondition changes as predicted.

Difference from nearby results

NO_MORE_ELEMENTS follows consumption of a nonempty set; DATASET_IS_EMPTY says it began with none.

The distinction around ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY should be visible in control flow, telemetry classification, and user messaging.

Developer and administrator guidance

Dashboards should classify ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY by its actual state—pending, partial, terminal, idempotent, redirected, degraded, or policy-controlled—rather than grouping it with ordinary success.

A broad system reset after ERROR_GRAPHICS_DATASET_IS_EMPTY 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_DATASET_IS_EMPTY.

Practical scenario

A target mode set is empty after a monitor disconnect. The service rebuilds topology instead of treating an iterator failure as corruption.

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

References

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