HRESULT 0xC03A0008 (ERROR_VHD_SPARSE_HEADER

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Constant name:

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Description:

ERROR_VHD_SPARSE_HEADER_CORRUPT: the virtual hard disk is corrupted. The sparse header in the virtual hard disk is corrupt.

Could be also:
Constant	Type	OS
STATUS_VHD_SPARSE_HEADER_CORRUPT	NTSTATUS	Windows

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ERROR_VHD_SPARSE_HEADER_UNSUPPORTED_VERSION	ERROR_VHD_BLOCK_ALLOCATION_FAILURE

ERROR_VHD_SPARSE_HEADER_CORRUPT

ERROR_VHD_SPARSE_HEADER_CORRUPT indicates invalid sparse-header data in a dynamic or differencing legacy VHD. Windows cannot rely on the block layout described by that header.

Recovery priorities for ERROR_VHD_SPARSE_HEADER_CORRUPT

Make a sector-preserving copy if the storage device is unstable.
Keep parent and child files together and record their original paths and timestamps.
Use validation tooling on copies only; a successful file attach is not proof that all guest data is consistent.

Microsoft: Test-VHD

Microsoft: Merge-VHD

Microsoft: Manage virtual hard disks

Diagnostic interpretation

This result has the HRESULT value 0xC03A0008. AllStat records the condition as “The virtual hard disk is corrupted. The sparse header in the virtual hard disk is corrupt.”.

Evidence to capture

Capture any IErrorInfo text, activity identifier, event-log entry, and subsystem trace that mentions this result or the vhd / sparse / header / corrupt operation.
check the documented return contract of the specific API because the same HRESULT can require different recovery in different interfaces.

Retry and recovery

Retry this result only when the owning API documents a transient state or after the condition described as “The virtual hard disk is corrupted. ” has changed.

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