What does HRESULT 0xC0262337 (ERROR_GRAPHICS_STALE_VIDPN_TOPOLOGY) mean?

ERROR_GRAPHICS_STALE_VIDPN_TOPOLOGY

Why this is not a generic GPU failure: graphics stale vidpn topology

Windows reports ERROR_GRAPHICS_STALE_VIDPN_TOPOLOGY (0xC0262337) at the vidpn checkpoint. Here, the topology handle predates a display configuration change and is no longer current. That narrows the first investigation to VidPN topology generation instead of the entire GPU stack.

This result: VidPN handles and subobjects are generation-bound. A monitor hot-plug, docking action, session switch or mode commit can invalidate an otherwise well-formed cached object. 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.

The smallest evidence set

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 this result.

A/B test for the exact condition

1. Freeze the result generation. Record topology acquisition timestamp, generation-changing event, source/target inventory and failing interface call. Before diagnosing this result, do not resize, hot-plug, recreate or release the object under examination.
2. Run the narrow this result comparison. retain a topology across a hot-plug, then reacquire it and repeat the operation. During the result comparison, keep every driver, monitor, resource format and unrelated policy unchanged.
3. Observe the layer after it. for it, if the exact check passes, record the next HRESULT or visible outcome. A different downstream result shows that the boundary was crossed.
4. Repeat it through a lifecycle transition. for it, exercise one relevant resize, mode switch, device recreation, hot-plug or session change and confirm that it does not reuse stale handles.

The comparison with ERROR_GRAPHICS_STALE_MODESET is especially useful: ERROR_GRAPHICS_STALE_MODESET is limited to a mode-set object rather than the topology. Recording both names prevents a broad “graphics error” label from merging distinct ownership, capability and lifetime problems.

Safe remediation

Release stale interfaces and reacquire topology plus dependent mode sets atomically. Repair of it 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 result 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 it; unrelated adapter, monitor and application state remains unchanged.
• debug-layer, ETW or driver diagnostics no longer report the rejected VidPN topology generation contract during the same scenario.
• The application handles recurrence of it without an unbounded retry loop, leaked resource, duplicate composition target or stale topology handle.

Implementation notes

Log source and target IDs, topology generation, path descriptors, pinned modes, mode-set handles and monitor timing data. When the 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 it 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 it.

Technical references

• Microsoft: Introduction to Video Present Networks — background for the VidPN topology generation boundary involved in it.
• Microsoft: VidPN objects and interfaces
• Microsoft: Enumerating cofunctional VidPN modes
• Microsoft: Determining VidPN support

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