What does Windows error code 15148 (ERROR_PRI_MERGE_VERSION_MISMATCH) mean?

ERROR_PRI_MERGE_VERSION_MISMATCH

The PRI files to be merged have incompatible versions.

ERROR_PRI_MERGE_VERSION_MISMATCH is Windows status 15148 (0x00003B2C) associated with merging PRI files produced with incompatible format or schema versions.

Likely impact: Forcing the merge could produce an index unreadable by the target runtime.

Typical causes

• inputs were built by incompatible SDKs.
• an old PRI is mixed with a new schema.
• tooling was upgraded for only part of the pipeline.
• cached build artifacts survived an SDK change.

Troubleshooting steps

1. Verify that every input PRI uses a version combination supported by the same merge tool and target runtime.
2. Collect MakePri version and PRI format and schema versions.
3. Correlate input file hashes and build origins with MakePri command line, input PRI inventory, package identities, schemas, file hashes, output path, tool version, and the first detailed merge diagnostic.

Useful evidence

• Collect target Windows SDK.
• Collect clean-build result.

Recovery and retry

Rebuild all input PRI files with a compatible SDK and schema, then merge from a clean inventory.

Related errors

ERROR_PRI_MERGE_MISSING_SCHEMA concerns absent schema; this code finds schemas or formats that cannot coexist by version

Example

A resource package built by an older SDK is merged with a newly generated main PRI. Rebuilding both with one SDK resolves the version mismatch.

References

• Microsoft: exact Win32 system error range
• Microsoft: MakePri.exe command options
• Microsoft: Package Resource Index files