What does HRESULT 0x80040228 (VFW_E_START_TIME_AFTER_END) mean?

 
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VFW_E_WRONG_STATE VFW_E_INVALID_RECT

VFW_E_START_TIME_AFTER_END

Meaning and numerical form

VFW_E_START_TIME_AFTER_END is HRESULT 2147746344 (0x80040228; signed -2147220952). AllStat records its meaning as “The sample start time is after the sample end time”. In practical terms, it is returned when a DirectShow media sample or segment is assigned a start timestamp later than its end timestamp.

The severity bit in 0x80040228 is set, so this result is a failure result rather than a success or informational status. Its facility is 4 (FACILITY_ITF) and its low 16-bit code is 552 (0x0228). Those fields classify the value but do not identify the component instance, call, object or input that produced it.

Where the failure belongs

This result belongs to DirectShow filter-graph processing. DirectShow is a legacy, component-based media pipeline. Graph state, pin transport, negotiated media types, allocators, clocks, samples, renderers and source filters contribute separate contracts to the operation. The decisive condition is this: a DirectShow media sample or segment is assigned a start timestamp later than its end timestamp. Record the first native producer instead of relying only on a framework exception translated several layers later.

Do not infer from this result alone that reinstalling, rebooting or repeating the whole workflow is appropriate. Because it can cross process and language boundaries, its correction depends on the object identity, lifecycle generation, input and state at the first failing call.

Likely causes

  • Possible cause 1 for this HRESULT: timestamp conversion reverses bounds.
  • Possible cause 2 for this HRESULT: overflow or signed-unit conversion corrupts one endpoint.
  • Possible cause 3 for this HRESULT: a trimming operation updates only one side of the sample interval.

Evidence to collect

A useful diagnostic record for this result includes the native API or interface method, component or CLSID, process and thread IDs, architecture, apartment where relevant, operation correlation ID, elapsed time, input identity, and the first state-changing event before failure. When diagnosing it, preserve IErrorInfo, an inner HRESULT, Win32 status, device event or provider message when available.

  • Capture 1 for this HRESULT: raw start and end REFERENCE_TIME values.
  • Capture 2 for this HRESULT: source time base and conversion formula.
  • Capture 3 for this HRESULT: segment start, playback rate and sample flags.

Telemetry for this HRESULT should retain types, lengths, hashes, stable opaque identifiers and lifecycle generations while redacting content and credentials. This makes repeated incidents comparable without exposing media content, file paths, device identifiers or credentials.

Diagnostic sequence

  1. Capture it at the first native return and identify the exact object and method.
  2. Confirm that the observed path matches this condition: a DirectShow media sample or segment is assigned a start timestamp later than its end timestamp.
  3. compare the live state with the method contract before changing configuration.
  4. collect the code-specific evidence listed above and preserve any more specific preceding error.
  5. change one evidence-backed cause at a time, then repeat the smallest operation that can prove the correction.
  6. Add a regression check that distinguishes it from the related outcomes described below.

Correction and retry boundary

  • Corrective action 1 for this HRESULT: validate monotonic sample intervals before delivery.
  • Corrective action 2 for this HRESULT: use checked arithmetic for time-base conversion.
  • Corrective action 3 for this HRESULT: define handling for zero-duration samples separately from reversed ranges.

Retry guidance for this HRESULT. Retry immediately with corrected timestamps if the sample data is otherwise valid. A retry must avoid this hazard: replay obsolete samples, duplicate graph changes or reuse interfaces from an earlier topology generation. It must also preserve the evidence needed to locate the original producer of it.

Practical scenario

A frame-rate conversion rounds the start upward and the end downward until the interval reverses; consistent rounding removes it. The result scenario narrows the result to a reproducible contract boundary and supplies a concrete before-and-after test.

Difference from nearby HRESULTs

VFW_E_SAMPLE_TIME_NOT_SET means no timestamp exists; it means both values exist but form an invalid interval. Keep these outcomes separate in logs, exception mappings, user messages, dashboards and automated retry policy.

Developer and operational guidance

Code handling it should log the failed stage before cleanup, keep ownership and lifecycle transitions explicit, and avoid converting every failure into a generic message. Tests for this HRESULT should cover the primary cause, one adjacent HRESULT and the retry boundary so a future change cannot turn a deterministic contract failure into an uncontrolled loop.

Operational repair for this HRESULT should use supported filter installation, device, graph-building and renderer configuration paths. Avoid unsupported configuration edits or component replacement unless evidence identifies that layer. Retain the original trace and a post-fix trace so the result can be attributed and the change reversed.

Official Microsoft references

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