Fix 0xC0262311 invalid video present target mode

You'll hit 0xC0262311 (ERROR_GRAPHICS_INVALID_VIDEO_PRESENT_TARGET_MODE) most often when you're either hot-plugging an external monitor into a laptop or trying to force a custom resolution that the monitor's EDID doesn't advertise. I've seen this on Windows 10 22H2 and 11 23H2 with both Nvidia and Intel integrated graphics — usually after a driver update that changed how the GPU validates modes, or after a monitor firmware update that messed up its EDID block. The error comes from the DirectX graphics kernel (dxgkrnl.sys) rejecting a mode that doesn't exist in the video present target's reported capabilities.

Why this happens

The video present target is the logical connection between the GPU and a monitor. Each target has a set of supported modes — resolutions, refresh rates, color depths — that it got from the monitor's EDID during the initial handshake. When you (or an app) requests a mode that isn't in that set, the kernel throws this error. Common triggers:

Custom resolutions set via Nvidia Control Panel or CRU (Custom Resolution Utility) that don't match what the panel can actually do.
A cloned display setup where the GPU tries to use a single mode for two monitors with different capabilities.
After a monitor firmware update that changed the EDID but Windows cached the old one.
Third-party screen recording or streaming software (like OBS) trying to switch to a mode that the display doesn't support.

The kernel doesn't validate modes against the physical monitor's actual capabilities — it only checks against the cached EDID. If that EDID is stale or corrupted, you get this error.

The fix: Reset the mode cache

There's only one reliable fix here, and it's not reinstalling drivers (though that's what everyone tries first). The root problem is the stored EDID or mode list in the registry. You need to clear it.

Close any app that might be holding a video mode — games, OBS, Discord with stream preview, anything using hardware acceleration in a browser. Even the Settings app if you were in Display settings.
Open Device Manager (Win+X, then M). Expand Display adapters, right-click your GPU, and select Disable device. Wait 10 seconds. Then right-click again and Enable device. This forces the driver to re-enumerate all connected displays and re-read EDIDs.
If that doesn't fix it, delete the cached mode registry keys. Open Regedit (Win+R, type regedit). Navigate to:
```
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers
```
Look for keys named Configuration and Connectivity. These hold the cached monitor and mode data. Right-click each and delete them. Do not delete anything else — just those two. Then reboot.
After reboot, check your display settings. Windows will re-detect all monitors and re-query their EDIDs. If you had custom resolutions set, you'll need to re-apply them — but only after making sure they're actually valid for your monitor. Use the monitor's OSD to verify its native resolution and max refresh rate.

The reason step 3 works is that Windows stores validated monitor configurations in those registry keys to speed up boot. If the EDID changed (or was corrupted by a driver bug), the cached config becomes stale. Deleting it forces a fresh read from the monitor's firmware, which gives you back the correct mode list.

If it still fails

Two things to check after the registry reset:

EDID corruption. If the monitor itself has a bad EDID, even a fresh read will give you garbage. Use Custom Resolution Utility (CRU) — it's free, no install needed. Run it and click Export to save the current EDID as a .bin file. Open that in a hex editor. A healthy EDID starts with 00 FF FF FF FF FF FF 00. If you see something else, the monitor's firmware is the problem. You'll need to reset the monitor to factory defaults via its OSD, or reflash its firmware if the manufacturer provides it.
Driver-mode mismatch. Some drivers (especially Nvidia's Studio drivers vs Game Ready drivers) change how they validate modes. If the error only appeared after a driver update, roll back to the previous version via Device Manager (right-click GPU → Properties → Driver → Roll Back Driver). That's a band-aid, but it confirms the driver is the trigger.

The one thing you should skip: running SFC or DISM. This error has nothing to do with system file integrity — it's purely a display configuration issue. Those commands will waste your time.