What does HRESULT 0xC0262355 (ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT) mean?

ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT

Interpret the result in its owning layer: graphics incompatible private format

ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT, value 0xC0262355, is produced by vidpn when the candidate primary surface private attributes differ from the active primary surface contract. The investigation should stay attached to primary-surface private format compatibility and to the exact generation in which it was obtained.

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

Capture before recreating objects

For ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT, 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_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT.

Reproduce one variable at a time

1. Freeze the ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT generation. Record public format, driver private-format bytes, allocation origin, current primary and mode transition. Before diagnosing ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT, do not resize, hot-plug, recreate or release the object under examination.
2. Run the narrow ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT comparison. recreate the surface through the current device/driver path and compare. During the ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT comparison, keep every driver, monitor, resource format and unrelated policy unchanged.
3. Observe the layer after ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT, if the exact check passes, record the next HRESULT or visible outcome. A different downstream result shows that the ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT boundary was crossed.
4. Repeat ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT through a lifecycle transition. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT, 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_WRONG_ALLOCATION_DEVICE is especially useful: ERROR_GRAPHICS_WRONG_ALLOCATION_DEVICE concerns allocation ownership by a different device. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT, recording both names prevents a broad “graphics error” label from merging distinct ownership, capability and lifetime problems.

Recovery contract

Do not reuse opaque private-format metadata across devices, resets or mode generations. Repair of ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT 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_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT 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_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT; unrelated adapter, monitor and application state remains unchanged.
• For ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT, debug-layer, ETW or driver diagnostics no longer report the rejected primary-surface private format compatibility contract during the same scenario.
• The application handles recurrence of ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT without an unbounded retry loop, leaked resource, duplicate composition target or stale topology handle.

Implementation notes for ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT

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

Technical references

• Microsoft: Introduction to Video Present Networks — background for the primary-surface private format compatibility boundary involved in ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT.
• Microsoft: VidPN objects and interfaces — background for the primary-surface private format compatibility boundary involved in ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT.
• Microsoft: Enumerating cofunctional VidPN modes — background for the primary-surface private format compatibility boundary involved in ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT.
• Microsoft: Determining VidPN support — background for the primary-surface private format compatibility boundary involved in ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCOMPATIBLE_PRIVATE_FORMAT.

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