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VFW_E_NO_AUDIO_HARDWARE
Meaning
Windows documents VFW_E_NO_AUDIO_HARDWARE as “Cannot play back the audio stream: no audio hardware is available, or the hardware is not responding”. Here, DirectShow cannot render an audio stream because no responsive audio output hardware is available.
Relevant contract
Start with the filter graph, device or persisted configuration that first returned the result.
Conditions that can produce it
- Cause 1: the machine has no enabled playback endpoint.
- Cause 2: the selected device was removed or disabled.
- Cause 3: the audio driver is present but not responding during renderer initialization.
Evidence worth preserving
- Evidence 1: enumerated playback endpoints and default-device state.
- Evidence 2: audio renderer CLSID and underlying device error.
- Evidence 3: device arrival, removal and service events.
Correction strategy
- Action 1: select an available endpoint or allow video-only playback.
- Action 2: rebuild the renderer after a device change.
- Action 3: repair the audio driver or service rather than adding codecs.
Retry and recovery
Retry rule: Retry after endpoint state changes or the renderer is rebuilt against a working device.
How it differs from nearby results
VFW_E_UNSUPPORTED_AUDIO concerns an unhandled audio format, while it concerns the absence or failure of an output device.
Example incident
A kiosk boots before its USB audio interface is ready and graph rendering fails; handling the device-arrival event and rebuilding the audio branch clears it.
Official Microsoft references
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