Fix STATUS_GRAPHICS_CANNOTCOLORCONVERT (0xC01E0008)

Quick answer: Disable HDR in Windows Display Settings, then switch your monitor's input color format to RGB (not YCbCr) via the monitor's OSD or GPU driver panel.

Why you're seeing this error

The error 0xC01E0008 means Windows or your GPU driver tried to convert a color format (say, from RGB to YCbCr) and the display pipeline couldn't do it. This happens most often when:

• HDR is enabled on a monitor that doesn't fully support the required color space conversions.
• Your monitor is set to a limited color range (16–235) while the GPU expects full RGB (0–255).
• You're using an HDMI or DisplayPort cable that doesn't meet the bandwidth requirement for the color depth and refresh rate you're pushing.

I've seen this on Windows 10 and 11 systems with both NVIDIA and AMD GPUs, especially with 4K monitors at 60Hz or higher. The real trigger is often a game or video app that tries to switch color modes dynamically.

Step-by-step fix

1. Disable HDR. Open Windows Settings > System > Display. Under Windows HD Color, turn off Play HDR games and apps. Restart the app that gave the error.
2. Set the output color format to RGB. Open your GPU control panel (NVIDIA Control Panel > Display > Change resolution, or AMD Radeon Settings > Display). Under Output color format, choose RGB instead of YCbCr422 or YCbCr444. Apply.
3. Check the monitor's OSD. Go into your monitor's on-screen menu. Look for a color or input setting — set it to Full Range or RGB. Many monitors default to Limited RGB which causes this mismatch.
4. Update your GPU driver. Use DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) in Safe Mode to completely remove the current driver, then install the latest driver from NVIDIA or AMD. Don't skip the DDU step — a clean install matters here because leftover color profile settings from old drivers can linger.
5. Lower the refresh rate or color depth. In GPU control panel, reduce your monitor's refresh rate by one step (e.g., 60Hz to 50Hz) or drop color depth from 10-bit to 8-bit. This reduces bandwidth pressure and gives the color converter room to work.

Alternative fixes if the main ones don't work

Swap the cable

Use a certified high-speed HDMI 2.1 cable or DisplayPort 1.4 cable. I've fixed this error twice by switching from an old HDMI 1.4 cable to a newer one — the old cable couldn't carry the 10-bit color at 4K 60Hz without corruption.

Disable GPU scaling

In NVIDIA Control Panel, go to Display > Adjust desktop size and position, set scaling to No scaling and Perform scaling on: Display. For AMD, same idea under Radeon Settings. GPU scaling can trigger color conversion attempts that fail.

Reset color management

Open Windows Color Management (search for it in Start). Go to Advanced tab, click Reset all settings to system defaults. This clears out any corrupted ICC profiles that might be forcing weird conversions.

Use DirectX 11 instead of 12

If the error happens in a specific game, force it to run in DirectX 11 mode. Games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Forza Horizon 5 sometimes hit this with DX12 and HDR enabled. Add -dx11 to the game's launch options in Steam or the executable's target.

Prevention

Once fixed, prevent the error from coming back by doing this:

• Keep HDR off unless you're actually viewing HDR content. Leave it on auto-switch if your monitor supports it.
• Set your GPU output to 8-bit color depth in the control panel. You don't need 10-bit for most non-HDR work, and 8-bit avoids conversion issues entirely.
• Use RGB output format always. YCbCr is only useful for some video scenarios, and Windows handles it poorly.
• After a driver update, always check that the color settings didn't revert. They often do.

The reason disabling HDR works is that HDR requires the GPU to communicate with the monitor using a specific color space (BT.2020) and transfer function (ST.2084). If the monitor reports it can handle it but actually can't, the conversion fails with this error. By forcing RGB SDR, you bypass that negotiation entirely.