What does HRESULT 0x80040233 (VFW_E_TIME_ALREADY_PASSED) mean?

VFW_E_TIME_ALREADY_PASSED

Meaning

Windows documents VFW_E_TIME_ALREADY_PASSED as “An attempt was made to queue a command for a time in the past”. In practical terms, it is returned when a DirectShow advise or queued command is scheduled for a reference-clock time that has already passed.

Likely causes

• Possible cause 1: the caller mixes stream time and absolute reference-clock time.
• Possible cause 2: long preparation delay consumes the scheduling margin.
• Possible cause 3: clock reset or rate change makes a cached target stale.

Evidence to collect

• Capture 1: current clock time, requested target and tolerance.
• Capture 2: time format and conversion path.
• Capture 3: graph rate, segment start and scheduling latency.

Correct handling and retry

• Corrective action 1: compute targets immediately before scheduling.
• Corrective action 2: use the documented clock domain consistently.
• Corrective action 3: execute late commands immediately only when application semantics allow.

Retry guidance. Retry with a new future target; resubmitting the same past timestamp cannot succeed.

Difference from nearby HRESULTs

VFW_E_NO_CLOCK means there is no clock; it means a clock exists but the requested deadline is already behind it.

Practical scenario

A controller calculates an advise time before a slow seek and queues it afterward; recalculating from the active clock prevents it.

Official Microsoft references

• Microsoft: DirectShow error and success codes
• Microsoft: DirectShow reference clocks
• Microsoft: IOverlay::Advise