What does HRESULT 0x8004006C (DV_E_DVTARGETDEVICE_SIZE) mean?

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Description:

DVTARGETDEVICE::tdSize does not describe a valid complete target-device buffer.

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DV_E_DVASPECT	DV_E_NOIVIEWOBJECT

DV_E_DVTARGETDEVICE_SIZE

tdSize parameter of the DVTARGETDEVICE structure is invalid

DV_E_DVTARGETDEVICE_SIZE is the failure HRESULT 2147745900 (0x8004006C, signed -2147221396) from winerror.h. AllStat defines it as “tdSize parameter of the DVTARGETDEVICE structure is invalid”. In practical terms, DVTARGETDEVICE::tdSize does not describe a valid complete target-device buffer. Interpret it in the context of validating FORMATETC::ptd before device-specific data rendering or transfer.

The high bit in 0x8004006C is set, so this is a failure rather than a success or informational result. Its facility field is 4 (FACILITY_ITF) and its low 16-bit code is 108 (0x006C). Those bit fields classify the value, but they do not identify the failing object by themselves; the native method, object identity, and first producer of this result remain essential.

Contract boundary

Understanding this result requires this subsystem context: COM data-transfer structures are compound contracts: a field can be numerically well formed yet invalid for the provider, object generation, requested aspect, or ownership rules. Diagnosis therefore has to preserve the complete descriptor and the exact method that consumed it.

Associate this result with one exact operation in IDataObject, FORMATETC/STGMEDIUM negotiation, data advisory enumeration, or OLE rendering.
Confirm that this result came from validating FORMATETC::ptd before device-specific data rendering or transfer, rather than from cleanup or a wrapper that ran afterward.
Preserve any IErrorInfo, underlying Win32 result, provider message, or callback failure that preceded it; the HRESULT alone should not erase a more specific cause.

Likely cause branches

It can result when tdSize is smaller than the fixed header.
It can result when tdSize exceeds the allocated buffer or wraps during arithmetic.
It can result when driver, device, port, or DEVMODE offsets point outside tdSize even though the total size appears plausible.

Evidence to preserve

A useful incident records the IDataObject identity, method, clipboard format, aspect, lindex, tymed mask, target-device size, advisory cookie, and ownership of every returned interface or medium. Also retain the application and component build, architecture, process and thread IDs, COM apartment, operation correlation ID, elapsed time, and the first state-changing event before the failure. When logging it, redact content and credentials while preserving types, lengths, hashes, opaque identities, and lifecycle generations needed to reproduce its contract.

capture tdSize, allocation length, and all four offsets.
validate every offset and terminating string inside the same buffer.
check 32/64-bit marshalling and packed-structure assumptions at process boundaries.

Diagnostic sequence

Capture it at the first native return before a wrapper maps it to a generic exception.
Identify the exact object, method, and lifecycle phase involved in validating FORMATETC::ptd before device-specific data rendering or transfer.
Reproduce it with one controlled input or state change, and verify that the correction changes the decisive evidence rather than merely hiding the result.

Recovery and retry

Correction. for it, rebuild the variable-length DVTARGETDEVICE buffer from validated strings and DEVMODE data, then set tdSize to the exact byte count. Retry boundary. Retry only with a newly constructed buffer; changing tdSize alone can expose out-of-bounds fields. Before repeating the operation, release every returned STGMEDIUM according to pUnkForRelease, retain advisory cookies only after successful DAdvise, and discard enumerated formats after the data object is replaced.

Practical scenario

A print-oriented data object receives a structure copied with sizeof(DVTARGETDEVICE), omitting the appended device strings; allocating the complete variable-length record resolves the failure. This isolates it within COM data transfer and advisory connections and provides a regression test for the stated correction.

Difference from related HRESULTs

DV_E_DVTARGETDEVICE can cover broader descriptor defects; it specifically points to tdSize and the extent it claims. Keep those outcomes separate in exception mappings, telemetry dimensions, user messages, and automated retry policy.

Developer and administrator guidance

Copy complete FORMATETC and DVTARGETDEVICE structures, preserve signed lindex values, intersect tymed masks before requesting data, and encode STGMEDIUM ownership explicitly. Regression coverage for it should include provider-advertised versus caller-invented formats, supported and unsupported DVASPECT/tymed combinations, sentinel lindex values, malformed target-device sizes, and replacement during advisory callbacks.

Operational repair for it must target the evidence-backed owner: compare the data provider, consumer, and registered handler versions; repair a handler only when traces identify that provider as missing or incompatible. Retain before-and-after traces for it so the change can be attributed and reversed.

References

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