What does HRESULT 0x87C5100C (UTC_E_INVALID_CUSTOM_FILTER) mean?

UTC_E_INVALID_CUSTOM_FILTER

Separate cause from final symptom: ToggleTraceWithCustomFilterAction filter

UTC_E_INVALID_CUSTOM_FILTER has the unsigned value 0x87C5100C. In UTC it comes from scenario filter parser and evaluator, where ToggleTraceWithCustomFilterAction filter owns the decision. The first diagnostic step is to separate configuration, policy and runtime state for this HRESULT. The immediate contract failed because the custom filter attached to a trace-toggle action failed validation before it could control providers, so diagnosis should remain at that boundary until a controlled comparison crosses it for this HRESULT.

UTC filters are typed programs, not plain text searches for this HRESULT. Parsing, command validation, name lookup, signature binding and evaluation are distinct phases for this HRESULT. Capturing the normalized expression and inferred operand types is essential for a useful diagnosis for this HRESULT. Record the configuration package or scenario generation together with the Windows build; otherwise a repaired file can be tested against a stale in-memory graph and appear to fail for the same reason for this HRESULT.

High-value observations

The AllStat message names the immediate condition as “ToggleTraceWithCustomFilterAction contains an invalid custom filter” for this HRESULT. In practice, the useful extension is to ask whether the request was rejected before any side effect, after partial setup, or during cleanup for this HRESULT. Verify the existence and ownership of the expected output—session, directory, process, result object or emitted event—rather than assuming the message describes the final system state for this HRESULT.

A focused experiment

1. Associate this result with one request, one scenario version and one service process ID for this HRESULT.
2. Save complete filter expression, declared variables, function names, types, schema version and profile ID and the first lower-level HRESULT if one exists for this HRESULT.
3. Change no policy, provider set or destination except for this test: start the same trace without the custom filter, then add clauses one at a time for this HRESULT.
4. Compare the produced artifacts and operational events, not only the top-level return Value.

The most informative neighbor is UTC_E_INVALID_FILTER. The distinction is concrete: UTC_E_INVALID_FILTER refers to a scenario filter that can never be satisfied for this HRESULT. Keeping both symbolic names in logs prevents a broad “DiagTrack error” bucket from hiding whether the failure occurred during parsing, authorization, resource acquisition, execution or teardown for this HRESULT.

Typed-filter note

Save the filter after variable substitution and type inference, not only the authoring XML for this HRESULT. With this result, a visually plausible expression can still fail because the runtime command table, scope or operand types differ from the authoring tool for this HRESULT. Test with one synthetic event whose fields and types are known exactly for this HRESULT.

Recovery criteria

Correct the filter grammar and types instead of changing ETW providers or buffer counts for this HRESULT. Apply that change only to the owning boundary for this HRESULT. A successful repair must make the controlled case cross this boundary while retaining the intended policy, trace providers, destination and security context for this HRESULT.

Deleting the working directory, killing all ETW sessions or retrying in a tight loop can suppress this result temporarily while leaving the underlying lifecycle defect intact for this HRESULT.

• the same request now produces its documented success or nonfatal status without a second hidden retry
• the operational log shows one coherent request lifetime and no orphaned action, timer, process or trace session
• teardown followed by a second run does not reuse stale state or recreate ToggleTraceWithCustomFilterAction filter
• the nearby condition remains distinguishable: UTC_E_INVALID_FILTER refers to a scenario filter that can never be satisfied

Technical references

• Microsoft Open Specifications: Windows error-code registry — reference for scenario filter parser and evaluator while interpreting this result.
• Microsoft: Universal Telemetry Client configuration diagnosis — reference for scenario filter parser and evaluator while interpreting it.
• Microsoft: Windows Event Log query schema
• Microsoft: Querying Windows Event Log

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