What is Win32 Error 0x00000072 (ERROR_INVALID_TARGET_HANDLE) and How Can I Fix It?

  • Symbolic Constant: ERROR_INVALID_TARGET_HANDLE
  • Decimal Value: 114
  • Hexadecimal Value: 0x00000072
  • Explanation:
    This error means the specified target handle is not valid. It typically occurs during redirection or duplication of I/O handles, such as using SetStdHandle or DuplicateHandle.

🔸 Root Causes

  • Invalid or uninitialized handle passed to an API.
  • Attempting to redirect standard input/output/error to an invalid handle.
  • Trying to duplicate a handle that is closed or not inheritable.
  • Using SetStdHandle with a handle that is not opened for the appropriate access.

🔸 Step-by-step Fixes

✅ 1. Verify Handle Validity

Ensure the handle is not INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE or NULL.

✅ 2. Open Handles with Correct Access Rights

When using CreateFile, ensure appropriate flags for read/write are passed for redirection:

c

HANDLE hFile = CreateFileW(L"log.txt", GENERIC_WRITE, FILE_SHARE_WRITE, NULL, CREATE_ALWAYS, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, NULL);

✅ 3. Avoid Using Closed or Freed Handles

Ensure the handle is not closed before being reused in SetStdHandle or DuplicateHandle.

✅ 4. Use Error Checking

Always validate the return value from API calls that return handles before passing them to other APIs.

🔸 Authoritative References

🔸 Technical Metadata

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