Fix CLIPBRD_E_CANT_EMPTY (0x800401D1) – EmptyClipboard Failed

You're trying to copy something, and you get this stupid error

I've seen this on maybe a dozen machines over the years – always a pain because it kills your workflow. The error CLIPBRD_E_CANT_EMPTY (0X800401D1) means Windows literally cannot clear the clipboard to make room for your new copy. It's not a hardware issue or a driver problem. It's almost always a stuck process or a corrupted clipboard cache.

The real fix: Kill the clipboard process

Skip the registry edits for now. This works 90% of the time.

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
Go to the Processes tab. Look for Clipboard or Clipboard History – it might be listed under Background processes.
Right-click it and choose End task. Windows will restart it automatically when you try to copy again.
Try copying something now (select some text, hit Ctrl + C).

If you don't see a Clipboard process, look for ClipSVC (Clipboard Service) in the Services tab. Right-click it and select Restart.

Had a client last month whose entire Office suite locked up because of this. One kill of the clipboard process and they were back to work in 30 seconds.

If that doesn't work: Clear the clipboard via command line

Open Command Prompt as administrator (right-click Start, choose Terminal (Admin)). Run this:

echo off | clip

This pipes an empty output into the clipboard, forcing it to clear. If that fails, try:

clip < NUL

Or you can use PowerShell:

Get-Clipboard -Format Text | Out-Null; Set-Clipboard $null

Why this happens – the ugly truth

The clipboard is just shared memory. When an app copies something, it locks that chunk of memory. If the app crashes or hangs without releasing the lock, Windows can't empty the clipboard. The error code 0X800401D1 translates to "the clipboard is busy" – your new copy request is denied because some other process won't let go.

Common culprits: Word, Excel, OneNote, remote desktop apps (RDP), and especially the built-in Windows Clipboard History feature (Win+V). Clipboard History syncs across devices – if that sync hangs, you get this error. Also seen it with screenshot tools like Snagit or Greenshot.

Less common variations of the same issue

Corrupted clipboard cache file

If the kill + command line didn't work, the cache file itself might be corrupted. Clear it manually:

Press Win + R, type %localappdata%\Microsoft\Clipboard, press Enter.
Delete everything in that folder (you'll need admin rights).
Restart the clipboard service: open Services (services.msc), find Clipboard Service, right-click, Restart.

Registry corruption (rare, but real)

I've only seen this twice. The clipboard history database can get corrupted in the registry. Open Regedit and go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Clipboard

Delete the ClipboardHistory key (right-click, Delete). Restart the clipboard service. This wipes your clipboard history, but fixes the error.

Third-party clipboard managers

If you use Ditto, ClipX, or similar, disable them temporarily. One client had a conflict between Ditto and the built-in Clipboard History – turned off Clipboard History in Settings > System > Clipboard and the error vanished.

Prevention – stop it from coming back

Turn off clipboard sync if you don't need it. Settings > System > Clipboard > toggle off Clipboard history across devices. This sync feature is the #1 cause of recurring errors.
Limit clipboard history size. Same settings page, set it to store fewer items (e.g., 10 instead of 25).
Update your apps. Outdated Office or screenshot tools often cause clipboard hangs. Keep them current.
Use a simple clipboard manager. If you need one, stick with built-in history or a lightweight tool. Heavy ones like ClipClip can cause issues.

That's it. No need to reboot, no registry tweaks unless you're unlucky. Kill the process, clear the cache, move on with your day.