Fix 0XC0262329: GPU must have at least one video target

Yeah, this error is annoying because it stops your system from booting cleanly or crashes the display driver stack. It's not a hardware failure 99% of the time — it's a detection issue.

The quick fix: Reinstall the display driver

Boot into Safe Mode (hold Shift while clicking Restart, then Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Enable Safe Mode).
Open Device Manager, expand Display adapters, right-click your GPU, select Uninstall device — check the box that says "Delete the driver software for this device."
Reboot normally. Windows will install a generic driver automatically.
If the error disappears, download the latest driver from NVIDIA/AMD/Intel's site directly — don't rely on Windows Update for this.

In 80% of cases that's all you need. The reason it works: Windows sometimes corrupts the display miniport driver state during an update. By removing the driver completely, you force the OS to rebuild the video present network (VidPN) topology from scratch, which re-enumerates all targets.

Why this error happens

The error code 0XC0262329 maps to ERROR_GRAPHICS_ADAPTER_MUST_HAVE_AT_LEAST_ONE_TARGET. What's actually happening here is the Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) can't find any "video present targets" — those are the internal connections between the GPU and a display (monitor, laptop panel, or virtual output). Every GPU needs at least one target to initialize its video path. If the driver loses track of them (corrupt registry, failed monitor detection, driver bug), the call to DxgkDdiStartDevice fails, and you get this error.

Common triggers:

After a Windows feature update (especially 22H2 or 23H2) that changes the display driver stack.
Plugging a monitor into the wrong port while the system is running — some boards are finicky about hotplug order.
Using DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) and then rebooting with no monitor attached — the driver can't find any targets on next boot.

If the quick fix doesn't work: Check the physical connection

This sounds stupid simple, but I've seen this error on a headless server where the GPU didn't have any cable plugged in. The WDDM driver won't initialize if it detects zero active outputs. If you're running a machine without a monitor (like a mining rig or a rendering node), you need a "dummy plug" — a small HDMI/DP dongle that tells the GPU there's a display connected. They're cheap ($5-10) and solve this immediately.

If you have a monitor connected, try a different cable or port. I've had a frayed DisplayPort cable that handshaked but never registered a valid target. The GPU driver saw the cable, but the EDID (monitor identification data) was corrupted, so the target creation failed.

Less common variations

Multiple GPUs, one goes offline

On systems with an iGPU and a discrete GPU (common on laptops and some desktops), Windows might try to initialize the discrete GPU first. If it has no display physically wired to it (e.g., the laptop panel is driven by the iGPU), the discrete GPU will throw this error. Fix: Set the iGPU as the primary display adapter in BIOS. You don't need the dGPU active for video out — it still works for compute.

Virtual machine or remote desktop

If you're running a VM with GPU passthrough (Hyper-V, VMware, KVM), the virtual GPU must have at least one virtual display target. Some hypervisors need you to explicitly enable a "virtual monitor" in the VM settings. Without it, the guest driver panics. For Hyper-V, add a "RemoteFX 3D Video Adapter" or set the VM resolution to non-zero under display settings.

Corrupt registry key

Sometimes the target list in HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers\Configuration gets a stale entry. Delete the entire key (reboot — it'll regenerate). Be careful: this also resets your display arrangement and scaling settings. Only do this if you're comfortable editing the registry.

Prevention

Always use DDU in Safe Mode, then reboot with a monitor connected to the primary GPU.
Don't unplug monitors while the system is actively switching display modes (like during a resolution change).
On headless machines, keep a dummy plug inserted at all times — even if you think you don't need it.
After a major Windows update, check Device Manager for any yellow flags before your next boot cycle. If you see one, roll back the display driver via Device Manager before it corrupts further.

That's it. This error isn't hardware failure — it's a handshake problem between the driver and the display target list. Fix the handshake, and you're back in business.