What does HRESULT 0xC03A0014 (ERROR_VIRTDISK_PROVIDER_NOT_FOUND) mean?

ERROR_VIRTDISK_PROVIDER_NOT_FOUND

Identify the owner before touching the layout: virtdisk provider not found

ERROR_VIRTDISK_PROVIDER_NOT_FOUND (0xC03A0014) is emitted by the virtdisk path when the Virtual Disk API cannot select a provider that recognizes the requested device type, vendor and image format. The deciding object is Virtual Disk API provider, image format and host-disk state, so the first investigation belongs there rather than in a generic “disk failure” bucket.

The Virtual Disk API chooses a format provider from VIRTUAL_STORAGE_TYPE, opens an image with explicit access rights and can attach it as a disk. Provider selection, backing-chain integrity, host-file attributes, sector geometry and operating-system ownership are independent validation stages.

Minimum diagnostic set

Reproduce without destructive cleanup

1. serialize the failing request and the enumeration from which its identifiers came.
2. Preserve image path, VIRTUAL_STORAGE_TYPE, provider/vendor IDs, VHD/VHDX/VHD Set identifiers, host sector sizes, attach flags, ownership and online/read-only state while every handle is still valid.
3. Repeat the operation using this controlled change: open the same image with an explicit matching VIRTUAL_STORAGE_TYPE and with the original type/vendor tuple.
4. Close and reacquire the relevant objects, then run once more to test lifecycle correctness after this result.

ERROR_VIRTDISK_NOT_VIRTUAL_DISK describes a nearby but different storage condition; this result indicates that the Virtual Disk API cannot select a provider that recognizes the requested device type, vendor and image format.

Mechanism-specific note

Provider selection uses device type, vendor ID and image format. Capture the exact VIRTUAL_STORAGE_TYPE and whether the caller asked Windows to infer it. A filename extension is only a hint; renamed files, unsupported formats and an incorrect vendor tuple can all fail before image metadata is parsed.

Restore the contract

Correct the provider, image format, backing-file chain, host geometry or disk ownership identified by the failing call, then reopen the image to obtain a new handle before retrying. After correcting it, reopen the pack, volume, tier, snapshot or virtual disk so no cached generation participates in the validation run.

• the first retry uses newly enumerated identifiers rather than cached handles.
• The durable metadata or provider state agrees with the success returned after it.
• A second run after close/reopen does not recreate the rejected condition.
• the nearby ERROR_VIRTDISK_NOT_VIRTUAL_DISK path remains separately testable and separately logged.

Technical references

• Microsoft: Virtual Disk API — defines the virtdisk objects used to interpret it.
• Microsoft: OpenVirtualDisk — primary API or object-model reference.
• Microsoft: AttachVirtualDisk — use this source to verify virtdisk state and parameters.
• Microsoft: GetVirtualDiskInformation — documents the supported management path relevant to this HRESULT.