STATUS_GRAPHICS_INVALID_MONITOR_FREQUENCYRANGE_CONST

What's Actually Happening Here

Error 0xC01E0358 tells you Windows tried to apply a monitor frequency range constraint — basically a refresh rate or resolution — that the display firmware rejected. The monitor's EDID (Extended Display Identification Data) says "I can do 144 Hz at 2560x1440," but something on your system is trying to push 165 Hz or a non-native resolution. The display driver catches it, throws this error, and often leaves you with a black screen or a stuck resolution.

This error shows up most often after you install a new GPU driver, plug in a second monitor, or a game changes your display mode and the change doesn't revert cleanly. It's not hardware failure — it's a configuration mismatch.

1. Roll Back or Change the Refresh Rate via Safe Mode

This is the fix that works 80% of the time. You can't see your display normally because the bad setting is applied at boot. Safe Mode loads a basic display driver that ignores your custom refresh rate.

1. Boot into Safe Mode with Networking: hold Shift while clicking Restart in the login screen, then go to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings > Restart. Press 5 or F5 for Safe Mode with Networking.
2. Once in Safe Mode, right-click the desktop and open Display Settings.
3. Scroll down to Advanced Display Settings -> Display adapter properties for Display 1.
4. Go to the Monitor tab. Under Screen refresh rate, pick a standard value: 60 Hz is safe for almost any monitor. 75 Hz if you know your monitor supports it.
5. Hit Apply and then OK.
6. Restart normally.

Why this works: Safe Mode bypasses your GPU driver's custom mode list. It forces Windows to use the generic VGA driver, which caps everything to safe defaults. Once you drop the refresh rate back to 60 Hz, the monitor accepts it, and you can walk it back up to your monitor's native rate in small steps.

If you can't get into Safe Mode because the black screen happens before you can hold Shift, interrupt the boot cycle three times (force shut down during Windows logo) to trigger automatic repair.

2. Reset the Display Driver with Win+Ctrl+Shift+B

This is a quick first-aid trick. It doesn't change any settings, but it forces the GPU to reload its driver stack. Sometimes the error is transient — the driver gets confused after waking from sleep or switching inputs.

Press Win + Ctrl + Shift + B simultaneously. You'll hear a beep and the screen may flicker. If you see your desktop reappear, immediately go into Display Settings and set your refresh rate to 60 Hz, then reboot.

This won't fix a persistent misconfiguration, but it's worth trying before you reboot into Safe Mode. I've seen it work on an LG 27GP850 that threw this error after a driver crash.

3. Remove Faulty Custom Resolutions with CRU (Custom Resolution Utility)

If you've been using CRU or the NVIDIA/AMD control panel to add custom resolutions, a bad entry can cause this error every boot. The error code specifically mentions "frequency range constraint" — that's the EDID's timings. CRU lets you bypass the EDID, but if you push a timing the monitor truly can't handle, you get this error.

1. Download CRU from ToastyX (the original site is down, but the GitHub mirror is safe).
2. Run CRU.exe as administrator.
3. In the top dropdown, select your monitor (not "Generic PnP Monitor").
4. Look under Detailed resolutions and Standard resolutions. Delete any entries that aren't your monitor's native resolution. If you see 1920x1080 @ 75 Hz on a monitor that only supports 60 Hz, delete that line.
5. Click OK, then run restart64.exe (in the same folder) to restart the graphics driver without rebooting your whole PC.

Why this matters: The EDID is a block of data that tells Windows what resolutions and timings the monitor supports. CRU writes directly to the registry to override it. A bad override means the driver tries to validate a timing against the monitor's hardware — and fails. Removing the bad entries reverts you to the EDID defaults.

If you never used CRU, skip this step. It's almost never the cause for non-enthusiast users.

4. Reinstall or Roll Back the Display Driver

If the error persists after resetting the refresh rate, the driver itself may have a corrupted mode list. NVIDIA and AMD drivers cache monitor settings in the registry. A bad update can write garbage.

1. Download DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) and the latest driver for your GPU.
2. Boot into Safe Mode (same method as fix 1).
3. Run DDU, select your GPU vendor (NVIDIA/AMD/Intel), and click Clean and Restart.
4. Windows will boot into a low-resolution state. Install the fresh driver.
5. Restart and set your refresh rate from 60 Hz upward in Display Settings.

DDU wipes not just the driver files but the registry keys that store your monitor's custom mode list. That's the part the error is complaining about. A clean install rebuilds those keys from the monitor's EDID.

Don't bother with the "Roll Back Driver" button in Device Manager — it often fails because Windows keeps old driver files in a cache that still has the bad data. DDU is the nuclear option, and it works.

5. Check the Monitor's On-Screen Display (OSD)

Some monitors have a setting called "Response Time Overdrive" or "FreeSync Range" that interacts with the driver's frequency negotiation. If your monitor supports FreeSync but the range is misconfigured in the OSD, the driver rejects it.

Press the physical button on your monitor to open the OSD. Look for:

• Overdrive set to "Off" or "Normal" (not "Extreme")
• FreeSync or G-Sync set to "On" or "Off" — toggle it if you're stuck
• Input signal set to the correct HDMI/DP version (e.g., HDMI 2.0 for 144 Hz at 1440p)

I've seen a Dell S2721DGF throw this error because FreeSync Pro was enabled but the driver's frequency range didn't match the monitor's internal range. Disabling FreeSync in the OSD fixed it instantly.

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