What does HRESULT 0x4026200A (ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED) mean?

ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED

Why this is not a generic GPU failure: graphics partial data populated

ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED, value 0x4026200A, is produced by graphics info when the API filled only the portion that fit and returned the size needed for the complete dataset. The investigation should stay attached to variable-length graphics query buffer and to the exact generation in which it was obtained.

ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED: Informational graphics results are part of WDDM control flow. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED, They must not automatically be surfaced as a fatal application error or translated into an unrelated Win32 code. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED, the built-in one-line message identifies the immediate result; diagnosis also needs the producing API, object ownership and the display generation current at the time.

The smallest evidence set

For ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED, preserve the unsigned HRESULT, symbolic name, first failing API and timestamp in one record. If cleanup later fails too, keep that secondary result separately from ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED.

A/B test for the exact condition

1. Freeze the ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED generation. Record input capacity, returned required count or byte size, structure version and whether topology changed between calls. Before diagnosing ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED, do not resize, hot-plug, recreate or release the object under examination.
2. Run the narrow ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED comparison. perform the sizing call, allocate the reported capacity and repeat while holding the same query context. During the ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED comparison, keep every driver, monitor, resource format and unrelated policy unchanged.
3. Observe the layer after ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED, if the exact check passes, record the next HRESULT or visible outcome. A different downstream result shows that the ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED boundary was crossed.
4. Repeat ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED through a lifecycle transition. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED, exercise one relevant resize, mode switch, device recreation, hot-plug or session change and confirm that this result does not reuse stale handles.

The comparison with ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARAMETER_ARRAY_TOO_SMALL is especially useful: ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARAMETER_ARRAY_TOO_SMALL is a hard failure for a fixed caller array. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED, recording both names prevents a broad “graphics error” label from merging distinct ownership, capability and lifetime problems.

Safe remediation

Treat partial output as incomplete and retry with the reported size, allowing for one bounded topology-change retry. Repair of ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED is complete only when the original call succeeds or returns its documented nonfatal status and the same lifetime test remains correct after a second display transition.

• The ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED trace identifies one producing API and one current graphics object, rather than only the final UI symptom.
• The passing run changes exactly the condition described for ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED; unrelated adapter, monitor and application state remains unchanged.
• For ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED, debug-layer, ETW or driver diagnostics no longer report the rejected variable-length graphics query buffer contract during the same scenario.
• The application handles recurrence of ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED without an unbounded retry loop, leaked resource, duplicate composition target or stale topology handle.

Implementation notes for ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED

For ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED, log kernel graphics ETW, callback name, child or allocation identifiers, PnP state and the first returned NTSTATUS/HRESULT. When the ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED path returns a count, size, status flag or replacement object, retain it even on a nonfatal result because it can direct the next call.

A production fallback for ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED should be explicit: pause rendering, re-enumerate, rebuild one cache entry, recreate a device, or decline a protected path only when this layer calls for that action. Reinstalling every display component, deleting all caches or forcing a resolution change is not an evidence-based fix for ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED.

Technical references

• Microsoft: Graphics error codes — background for the variable-length graphics query buffer boundary involved in ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED.
• Microsoft: DirectX graphics kernel subsystem — background for the variable-length graphics query buffer boundary involved in ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED.
• Microsoft: Introduction to VidPNs — background for the variable-length graphics query buffer boundary involved in ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED.
• Microsoft: WDDM TDR overview — background for the variable-length graphics query buffer boundary involved in ERROR_GRAPHICS_PARTIAL_DATA_POPULATED.

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