What does HRESULT 0xC03A0008 (ERROR_VHD_SPARSE_HEADER_CORRUPT) mean?

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ERROR_VHD_SPARSE_HEADER_CORRUPT: the virtual hard disk is corrupted. The sparse header in the virtual hard disk is corrupt.

Could be also:
Constant	Type	OS
STATUS_VHD_SPARSE_HEADER_CORRUPT	NTSTATUS	Windows

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ERROR_VHD_SPARSE_HEADER_UNSUPPORTED_VERSION	ERROR_VHD_BLOCK_ALLOCATION_FAILURE

ERROR_VHD_SPARSE_HEADER_CORRUPT

ERROR_VHD_SPARSE_HEADER_CORRUPT indicates invalid sparse-header data in a dynamic or differencing legacy VHD. Windows cannot rely on the block layout described by that header.

Recovery priorities for ERROR_VHD_SPARSE_HEADER_CORRUPT

Make a sector-preserving copy if the storage device is unstable.
Keep parent and child files together and record their original paths and timestamps.
Use validation tooling on copies only; a successful file attach is not proof that all guest data is consistent.

Microsoft: Test-VHD

Microsoft: Merge-VHD

Microsoft: Manage virtual hard disks

Diagnostic discriminator: Validate the sparse/dynamic virtual-disk header before inspecting differencing-chain policy. This status points to corrupt sparse-header metadata in the disk image itself.

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