| Previous | Next |
| STG_E_TERMINATED | STG_E_FIRMWARE_IMAGE_INVALID |
STG_E_FIRMWARE_SLOT_INVALID
Storage firmware slot identifier is invalid
STG_E_FIRMWARE_SLOT_INVALID is HRESULT 2147680776 (0x80030208) from winerror.h. The documented description is “The specified firmware slot is invalid.” The result belongs to IOCTL_STORAGE_FIRMWARE_DOWNLOAD or activation using device-reported firmware slots. This HRESULT is most useful when tied to the method and lifecycle phase where the requested firmware slot is outside the device list or is not valid for the intended operation.
This result means that the requested firmware slot is outside the device list or is not valid for the intended operation.
Where the result appears
- This result can surface in a storage firmware query, staged download, activation, device reset, or post-activation verification.
- Map the failure to one concrete operation among IOCTL_STORAGE_FIRMWARE_GET_INFO, IOCTL_STORAGE_FIRMWARE_DOWNLOAD, activation state, slot flags, alignment, and maximum transfer size.
- Preserve device instance ID, model, serial or anonymized asset ID, controller path, firmware revision, slot table, image hash, offset, and transfer size before releasing or replacing the object that returned this result.
An incident record must distinguish caller, runtime, provider, and backing resource while testing whether the requested firmware slot is outside the device list or is not valid for the intended operation.
Typical causes and interpretation
The immediate contract boundary is specific: the requested firmware slot is outside the device list or is not valid for the intended operation. Common cause branches include the following:
- The caller cached slot information across a device reset.
- The chosen slot is read-only or absent.
- Controller and device slot namespaces were confused.
Confirm the cause branch that explains why the requested firmware slot is outside the device list or is not valid for the intended operation by using call arguments, object state, metadata, device information, or provider traces.
Correct handling and recovery
The primary recovery is to query current firmware information, select an eligible slot, and preserve controller-versus-device targeting flags. The failure report should capture the relevant state during IOCTL_STORAGE_FIRMWARE_DOWNLOAD or activation using device-reported firmware slots so it is clear why the requested firmware slot is outside the device list or is not valid for the intended operation.
The owner of it must define idempotency, cancellation, attempt limits, and reconciliation for the failed IOCTL_STORAGE_FIRMWARE_DOWNLOAD or activation using device-reported firmware slots.
Practical scenario
An updater assumes slot 1 is writable on every model; querying STORAGE_HW_FIRMWARE_INFO reveals that this device exposes only slot 0 as active and no writable alternate.
Difference from related HRESULTs
STG_E_FIRMWARE_IMAGE_INVALID rejects image content; it rejects the destination slot selection.
Developer and administrator guidance
Use vendor-approved test hardware and cover wrong slot, wrong model, interrupted transfer, reset, re-enumeration, and rollback guidance.
Broad permission or compatibility changes are inappropriate unless evidence for the requested firmware slot is outside the device list or is not valid for the intended operation points to that layer.
References
Looking for a different code? Search another status or error code.