What does HRESULT 0x80040311 (VFW_E_CODECAPI_ENUMERATED) mean?

 
Previous Next
VFW_E_CODECAPI_LINEAR_RANGE VFW_E_CODECAPI_NO_DEFAULT

VFW_E_CODECAPI_ENUMERATED

Exact result and bit fields

VFW_E_CODECAPI_ENUMERATED has the unsigned HRESULT value 2147746577 (0x80040311) and the signed 32-bit representation -2147220719. AllStat describes it as “Parameter is enumerated. It has no range”. In the operation that produces this result, ICodecAPI reports that a property is defined by an enumerated set of discrete values and therefore has no linear range.

The high bit is set, so this value is a failure HRESULT. Its facility field is 4 (FACILITY_ITF) and its low code is 785 (0x0311). These fields classify this result, but they do not identify which filter, thread, device, file or graph generation returned it.

Evidence worth preserving

Log the interface and method, filter CLSID and friendly name, process and thread, graph state, connected pin names, media-type summary, renderer or device identity where relevant, and the first preceding HRESULT. Record lengths and hashes instead of raw content when the incident includes media paths, codec configuration, property values and stream metadata.

  • Evidence 1 for this HRESULT: property GUID and enumerated values.
  • Evidence 2 for this HRESULT: codec CLSID and property-support flags.
  • Evidence 3 for this HRESULT: active encoding profile that influences available choices.

Contract boundary

This result describes a capability or format boundary in a component graph. Container recognition, elementary-stream parsing, decoder selection, property metadata and renderer acceptance are different stages and need separate evidence.

The practical owner to locate for this HRESULT is the source filter, decoder or codec property provider and downstream connection. When handling this result, capture the native result before a wrapper replaces it with a generic exception, and keep the graph generation or object identity with the record.

Conditions that can produce it

  • Cause 1 for this HRESULT: the caller requests min/max data for a mode selector.
  • Cause 2 for this HRESULT: generic configuration code treats enum properties as numbers.
  • Cause 3 for this HRESULT: the codec exposes vendor-specific discrete modes.

Step-by-step diagnosis

  1. Capture it at the first native return, not only at the top-level playback failure.
  2. identify the exact graph stage described here: ICodecAPI reports that a property is defined by an enumerated set of discrete values and therefore has no linear range.
  3. compare the live object state, topology and input with the documented interface preconditions.
  4. Before changing filters, drivers, registry data or media for this HRESULT, collect the code-specific evidence below.
  5. Test one evidence-backed the correction on the smallest reproducible graph.
  6. Verify that the corrected run no longer returns it and does not merely replace it with a nearby HRESULT.

Correction strategy

  • Action 1 for this HRESULT: query and display the discrete value set.
  • Action 2 for this HRESULT: validate submitted values by membership rather than numeric bounds.
  • Action 3 for this HRESULT: refresh choices after profile or media-type changes.

Example incident

A quality-mode property offers Automatic, Quality and Speed identifiers; interpreting it correctly prevents an invalid slider UI. This example keeps the diagnosis at the specific the boundary instead of treating every DirectShow failure as a codec reinstall problem.

Implementation notes

Code that handles it should preserve the original HRESULT, the failed stage and an opaque correlation identifier. After it, do not infer success from partial graph construction, and do not continue using interfaces retained from a graph or device generation that has already changed.

Operational remediation for this HRESULT should favor supported component installation, device configuration and documented DirectShow calls. Manual registry or driver changes are appropriate only when the collected evidence for this HRESULT points to that layer and a rollback is available.

Retry and recovery

Retry rule for this HRESULT: Do not repeat a range query; use enumerated-value handling and retry only after codec configuration changes. A safe it retry must use a changed capability, state, object generation or input. While recovering from it, preserve cancellation and avoid replaying side effects when the original operation may have partially completed.

How it differs from nearby results

VFW_E_CODECAPI_LINEAR_RANGE describes continuous or stepped numeric metadata; it describes discrete choices with no range. Keep those cases separate in telemetry, UI messages and retry policy because their next actions are different.

Official Microsoft references

Looking for a different code? Search another status or error code.