HRESULT 0x4026242F (ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD

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Constant name:

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Description:

Child device presence was not reliably detected.

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ERROR_GRAPHICS_SKIP_ALLOCATION_PREPARATION	ERROR_GRAPHICS_LEADLINK_START_DEFERRED

ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS

Locate the failing graphics boundary: graphics unknown child status

ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS (0x4026242F) belongs to the graphics info layer. It marks the miniport could not provide a reliable connected/disconnected answer for a child output, rather than a generic rendering failure. The object that owns the decision is display-child presence detection.

ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS: Informational graphics results are part of WDDM control flow. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS, They must not automatically be surfaced as a fatal application error or translated into an unrelated Win32 code. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS, 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.

Evidence that makes this result actionable

Capture item	Why it matters for `ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS`
Decisive capture	child UID, hot-plug awareness, ACPI/firmware state, polling result, connector telemetry and last stable status
Current graph state	WDDM kernel/miniport callback and the transient object state carried by that callback
Supporting trace	kernel graphics ETW, callback name, child or allocation identifiers, PnP state and the first returned NTSTATUS/HRESULT
Object identity	display-child presence detection
Rejected boundary	the miniport could not provide a reliable connected/disconnected answer for a child output

For ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS, 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_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS.

A controlled comparison

Freeze the ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS generation. Record child UID, hot-plug awareness, ACPI/firmware state, polling result, connector telemetry and last stable status. Before diagnosing ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS, do not resize, hot-plug, recreate or release the object under examination.
Run the narrow ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS comparison. trigger a controlled hot-plug and compare interrupt-driven detection with a polling fallback. During the ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS comparison, keep every driver, monitor, resource format and unrelated policy unchanged.
Observe the layer after ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS, if the exact check passes, record the next HRESULT or visible outcome. A different downstream result shows that the ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS boundary was crossed.
Repeat ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS through a lifecycle transition. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS, 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_DEPENDABLE_CHILD_STATUS is especially useful: ERROR_GRAPHICS_DEPENDABLE_CHILD_STATUS says the returned presence result may be trusted. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS, recording both names prevents a broad “graphics error” label from merging distinct ownership, capability and lifetime problems.

Correction and proof

Report unknown only while evidence is genuinely indeterminate and schedule appropriate re-enumeration. Repair of ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS 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_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS 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_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS; unrelated adapter, monitor and application state remains unchanged.
For ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS, debug-layer, ETW or driver diagnostics no longer report the rejected display-child presence detection contract during the same scenario.
The application handles recurrence of ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS without an unbounded retry loop, leaked resource, duplicate composition target or stale topology handle.

Implementation notes for `ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS`

For ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS, log kernel graphics ETW, callback name, child or allocation identifiers, PnP state and the first returned NTSTATUS/HRESULT. When the ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS 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_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS 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_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS.

Technical references

Microsoft: Graphics error codes — background for the display-child presence detection boundary involved in ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS.
Microsoft: DirectX graphics kernel subsystem — background for the display-child presence detection boundary involved in ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS.
Microsoft: Introduction to VidPNs — background for the display-child presence detection boundary involved in ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS.
Microsoft: WDDM TDR overview — background for the display-child presence detection boundary involved in ERROR_GRAPHICS_UNKNOWN_CHILD_STATUS.

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