What does HRESULT 0xC0262435 (ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON) mean?

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Description:

An attempt was made to power up a lead link display adapter when the chain links were powered down.

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ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_STARTED	ERROR_GRAPHICS_INCONSISTENT_DEVICE_LINK_STATE

ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON

Interpret the result in its owning layer: graphics chainlinks not powered on

The useful interpretation of ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON (0xC0262435) starts at the linked boundary: the lead was powered while one or more chain members remained in a low-power state. In practical terms, inspect linked-adapter power ordering before changing application-wide graphics settings.

ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON: Linked-adapter failures are ordered PnP and power problems. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON, Restarting only the lead member can make the state less consistent and hide the first failing chain device. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON, the built-in one-line message identifies the immediate result; diagnosis also needs the producing API, object ownership and the display generation current at the time.

Capture before recreating objects

Capture item	Why it matters for `ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON`
Object identity	linked-adapter power ordering
Rejected boundary	the lead was powered while one or more chain members remained in a low-power state
Decisive capture	Dx power state per member, resume order, power IRPs and lead operation
Current graph state	lead adapter, chain members and their PnP/power transitions
Supporting trace	device-instance IDs, lead/chain role, PnP problem codes, Dx states and start/power IRP ordering

For ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON, preserve the unsigned HRESULT, symbolic name, first failing API and timestamp in one record. If cleanup later fails too, keep that secondary result separately from ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON.

Reproduce one variable at a time

Freeze the ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON generation. Record Dx power state per member, resume order, power IRPs and lead operation. Before diagnosing ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON, do not resize, hot-plug, recreate or release the object under examination.
Run the narrow ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON comparison. resume the chain members first and repeat the lead power-up. During the ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON comparison, keep every driver, monitor, resource format and unrelated policy unchanged.
Observe the layer after ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON, if the exact check passes, record the next HRESULT or visible outcome. A different downstream result shows that the ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON boundary was crossed.
Repeat ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON through a lifecycle transition. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON, exercise one relevant resize, mode switch, device recreation, hot-plug or session change and confirm that this result does not reuse stale handles.

The comparison with ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_STARTED is especially useful: ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_STARTED concerns PnP start, not device power. For ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON, recording both names prevents a broad “graphics error” label from merging distinct ownership, capability and lifetime problems.

Recovery contract

Coordinate power transitions across the linked set and handle partial-resume rollback. Repair of ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON is complete only when the original call succeeds or returns its documented nonfatal status and the same lifetime test remains correct after a second display transition.

The ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON trace identifies one producing API and one current graphics object, rather than only the final UI symptom.
The passing run changes exactly the condition described for ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON; unrelated adapter, monitor and application state remains unchanged.
For ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON, debug-layer, ETW or driver diagnostics no longer report the rejected linked-adapter power ordering contract during the same scenario.
The application handles recurrence of ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON without an unbounded retry loop, leaked resource, duplicate composition target or stale topology handle.

Implementation notes for `ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON`

For ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON, log device-instance IDs, lead/chain role, PnP problem codes, Dx states and start/power IRP ordering. When the ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON path returns a count, size, status flag or replacement object, retain it even on a nonfatal result because it can direct the next call.

A production fallback for ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON should be explicit: pause rendering, re-enumerate, rebuild one cache entry, recreate a device, or decline a protected path only when this layer calls for that action. Reinstalling every display component, deleting all caches or forcing a resolution change is not an evidence-based fix for ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON.

Technical references

Microsoft: DirectX graphics kernel subsystem — background for the linked-adapter power ordering boundary involved in ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON.
Microsoft: WDDM architecture — background for the linked-adapter power ordering boundary involved in ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON.
Microsoft: Display miniport driver requirements — background for the linked-adapter power ordering boundary involved in ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON.
Microsoft: Graphics error codes — background for the linked-adapter power ordering boundary involved in ERROR_GRAPHICS_CHAINLINKS_NOT_POWERED_ON.

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