Windows error 57 (ERROR_ADAP_HDW_ERR): meaning and diagnosis

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: A network adapter path reported a hardware-level failure to the networking component.

Could be also:
Constant	Type	OS
EBADSLT	errno	Linux
ENOTCONN	errno	Mac
EBFONT	errno	Solaris
SYSTEM_EXIT_OWNED_MUTEX	BugCheck Code	Windows

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ERROR_TOO_MANY_CMDS	ERROR_BAD_NET_RESP

ERROR_ADAP_HDW_ERR

This code is more specific than an unreachable host and much less specific than an NDIS miniport diagnostic. The redirector stack sits above transport and adapter drivers, so a low-level adapter failure can surface after translation through several layers. The Win32 value does not identify the NIC, queue, PHY, or driver fault by itself.

Treat it as a reason to preserve lower-layer evidence. Check the adapter that actually carried the route, its link transitions, driver reset events, and hardware/NDIS diagnostics during the same time window. A successful DNS lookup or ping on another interface does not disprove a fault on the interface selected for the failing connection.

Useful correlation

Record interface index, route, adapter model, and driver version.
Correlate with link-down, reset, surprise-removal, or hardware error events.
Repeat through another physical interface when possible to separate endpoint behavior from adapter behavior.
Do not rewrite this as ERROR_HOST_UNREACHABLE; the diagnostic layers are different.

Windows network redirector architecture · Windows MUP and UNC prefix resolution

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