What does HRESULT 0x8004291B (VDS_E_INVALID_PATH) mean?

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The provider returned a LUN path with a path type that is invalid for the VDS path structure.

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VDS_E_VDISK_INVALID_OP_STATE	VDS_E_INVALID_ISCSI_PATH

VDS_E_INVALID_PATH

This HRESULT is about the type discriminator of a LUN path. VDS_PATH_INFO contains a VDS_HWPROVIDER_TYPE value that determines which endpoint identifiers and union members describe the path. Microsoft explicitly says the hybrid provider type is not valid in this structure even if the provider itself is hybrid.

Why this state matters

That makes the error structural rather than a path health status such as offline or failed. VDS_PATH_STATUS is a separate field. When VDS rejects the path type, it cannot safely interpret controller/target and HBA/initiator endpoint data to build a coherent path object.

Diagnostic focus

Capture the provider type and the VDS_PATH_INFO.type value before any refresh discards the malformed result.
Compare all paths returned for the LUN; one invalid discriminator can reveal a provider-specific serialization problem.
Do not change MPIO load-balance policy as a first response because VDS has not accepted the path structure itself.
Reenumerate and refresh the hardware provider, then collect vendor-provider diagnostics if the invalid type is reproduced.

Technical references

VDS_PATH_INFO · IVdsLunMpio · VDS interfaces and structures · MS-VDS error codes · VDS common return codes

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