What does HRESULT 0xC026233B (ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE) mean?

 
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ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_PRIMARYSURFACE_SIZE ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_STRIDE

ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE

Why this is not a generic GPU failure: graphics invalid visibleregion size

Windows reports ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE (0xC026233B) at the vidpn checkpoint. Here, the visible rectangle is inconsistent with the primary surface or selected mode. That narrows the first investigation to source-mode visible region instead of the entire GPU stack.

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

Capture itemWhy it matters for ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE
Decisive capturesurface dimensions, visible-region dimensions, offsets, scaling and rotation
Current graph stateVidPN, topology, source and target mode sets, and the present path connecting them
Supporting tracesource and target IDs, topology generation, path descriptors, pinned modes, mode-set handles and monitor timing data
Object identitysource-mode visible region
Rejected boundarythe visible rectangle is inconsistent with the primary surface or selected mode

For ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE, 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 ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE.

A/B test for the exact condition

  1. Freeze the ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE generation. Record surface dimensions, visible-region dimensions, offsets, scaling and rotation. Before diagnosing ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE, do not resize, hot-plug, recreate or release the object under examination.
  2. Run the narrow ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE comparison. use a visible region fully contained in the primary surface and compare with the rejected region. During the ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE comparison, keep every driver, monitor, resource format and unrelated policy unchanged.
  3. Observe the layer after ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE, if the exact check passes, record the next HRESULT or visible outcome. A different downstream result shows that the ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE boundary was crossed.
  4. Repeat ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE through a lifecycle transition. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE, 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 ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_PRIMARYSURFACE_SIZE is especially useful: ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_PRIMARYSURFACE_SIZE rejects the containing surface dimensions. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE, recording both names prevents a broad “graphics error” label from merging distinct ownership, capability and lifetime problems.

Safe remediation

Validate containment and transformation-adjusted dimensions before assigning the mode. Repair of ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE 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 ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE 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 ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE; unrelated adapter, monitor and application state remains unchanged.
  • For ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE, debug-layer, ETW or driver diagnostics no longer report the rejected source-mode visible region contract during the same scenario.
  • The application handles recurrence of ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE without an unbounded retry loop, leaked resource, duplicate composition target or stale topology handle.

Implementation notes for ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VISIBLEREGION_SIZE

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

Technical references

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