What does Windows error code 355 (ERROR_DEVICE_HINT_NAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL) mean?

ERROR_DEVICE_HINT_NAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL

The device hint name buffer is too small to receive the remaining name.

ERROR_DEVICE_HINT_NAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL is Windows system result 355 (0x00000163). Microsoft defines it as “The device hint name buffer is too small to receive the remaining name.”

How to classify the result

This result represents a buffer-sizing continuation condition during device hint enumeration. The correct interpretation depends on the device-discovery API that owns the hint-name buffer, including its character-count units and continuation semantics.

Where it can appear

• This result can appear in device enumeration that returns human-readable or firmware-provided hint names.
• This result can appear in a driver or management service that copies a variable-length device label.
• It can appear in a compatibility layer translating a native buffer-length status to Win32.

Typical causes

• the caller supplied a fixed buffer smaller than the remaining name.
• the required size was interpreted as bytes instead of characters.
• the name changed between the sizing and retrieval calls.
• the caller failed to preserve the enumeration cursor after resizing.
• a terminator or structure header was not included in the allocation calculation.

Useful evidence

• Record device instance or enumeration identity.
• Record input buffer length and returned required length.
• Record encoding and element width.
• Record enumeration index or resume token.
• Record whether the device list changed between calls.

Recovery and retry

Resize the caller-owned buffer according to the producing API, preserve the enumeration position, and retrieve the same remaining name again.

A resize-and-retry loop is appropriate when it is bounded and the required length progresses. Stop on repeated growth, overflow, or an unchanged impossible requirement.

Difference from related results

ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_BUFFER is a broad sizing result. It specifically identifies the remaining device hint name and may be part of an enumeration protocol.

Example

A diagnostic tool requests a device hint into 128 WCHARs and receives a requirement of 214. It allocates 215 WCHARs only after confirming whether the returned count includes the terminator, retries the same item, and logs both lengths.

Developer and administrator guidance

Driver-facing code should use size_t-safe calculations and retain the first status. Administrators should update the responsible device stack only after proving the result is not simply a caller buffer defect.

References

• Microsoft: System Error Codes 0–499
• Microsoft: Device identification strings
• Microsoft: FormatMessage