What does HRESULT 0x887A0023 (DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED) mean?

DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED

Locate the failing graphics boundary: remote client disconnected

Windows reports DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED (0x887A0023) at the dxgi error checkpoint. Here, the remote adapter backing the Direct3D device disappeared because the interactive or network session disconnected. That narrows the first investigation to remote graphics device lifetime instead of the entire GPU stack.

DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED: Do not erase all shader caches or recreate every graphics object before preserving the first failing call. For DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED, Cache, policy, remote-session and device-lifetime failures have different recovery rules. For DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED, 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

For DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED, 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 DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED.

A controlled comparison

1. Freeze the DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED generation. Record session connect/disconnect events, adapter enumeration, factory currency, device-removed reason and remote transport state. Before diagnosing DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED, do not resize, hot-plug, recreate or release the object under examination.
2. Run the narrow DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED comparison. disconnect and reconnect a test remote session while preserving CPU-side application state. During the DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED comparison, keep every driver, monitor, resource format and unrelated policy unchanged.
3. Observe the layer after DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED. For DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED, if the exact check passes, record the next HRESULT or visible outcome. A different downstream result shows that the DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED boundary was crossed.
4. Repeat DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED through a lifecycle transition. For DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED, 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 DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_OUTOFMEMORY is especially useful: DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_OUTOFMEMORY keeps the session context but removes the device because the remote host exhausted memory. For DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED, recording both names prevents a broad “graphics error” label from merging distinct ownership, capability and lifetime problems.

Correction and proof

Release the remote device, wait until IDXGIFactory1::IsCurrent indicates fresh topology, then enumerate and recreate resources. Repair of DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED 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 DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED 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 DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED; unrelated adapter, monitor and application state remains unchanged.
• For DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED, debug-layer, ETW or driver diagnostics no longer report the rejected remote graphics device lifetime contract during the same scenario.
• The application handles recurrence of DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED without an unbounded retry loop, leaked resource, duplicate composition target or stale topology handle.

Implementation notes for DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED

For DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED, log DXGI debug messages, adapter LUID, driver version, device-removal reason where applicable and the exact API parameters. When the DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED 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 DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED 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 DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED.

Technical references

• Microsoft: DXGI error codes — background for the remote graphics device lifetime boundary involved in DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED.
• Microsoft: DXGI overview — background for the remote graphics device lifetime boundary involved in DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED.
• Microsoft: Direct3D 12 shader cache StoreValue — background for the remote graphics device lifetime boundary involved in DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED.
• Microsoft: Handle device-removed scenarios — background for the remote graphics device lifetime boundary involved in DXGI_ERROR_REMOTE_CLIENT_DISCONNECTED.

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