Fix STATUS_NDIS_PM_WOL_PATTERN_LIST_FULL (0xC0232003)

You're staring at STATUS_NDIS_PM_WOL_PATTERN_LIST_FULL (0xC0232003) and your network adapter won't wake on LAN. Annoying, right? Let's fix it.

The Fast Fix

Open Device Manager (Win+X → Device Manager).
Expand Network adapters.
Right-click your physical NIC (the one you use for WoL) → Properties.
Go to the Power Management tab. Uncheck "Allow this device to wake the computer". Click OK.
Now right-click it again → Disable device.
Wait 5 seconds, then right-click → Enable device.
Go back to Power Management and re-check that box.

Reboot if you want to be thorough. This clears the pattern list on the adapter. Most of the time you're done.

Why This Works

What's actually happening here is your NIC's firmware keeps a fixed-size table of wake patterns. Windows adds a pattern every time an app or service requests WoL. Over time, that table fills up — especially if you have multiple adapters or change networks often. The error 0xC0232003 is the driver telling the OS: "I can't store another pattern."

The disable/enable cycle forces the driver to reload and reset that table. Unchecking the power management box during the cycle ensures Windows doesn't re-add patterns while the driver resets. Re-checking it after re-enable gives you a clean slate — the NIC starts with an empty list, and Windows re-registers only the default patterns.

One trap: some motherboards have a BIOS/UEFI setting called "Wake on LAN" or "Power On By PCI-E". That's separate. The fix above handles the OS-level driver state, not the BIOS. If your BIOS WoL is off, the OS fix won't help.

Less Common Variations

That basic fix covers maybe 70% of cases. Here's the rest.

Virtual Adapters Stealing Slots

If you run Hyper-V, VMware, or VirtualBox, those create virtual NICs that also register WoL patterns. The system-wide pattern table can fill up from virtual adapters even if your physical NIC is nearly empty. The fix:

Open Device Manager.
Look for adapters with names like Hyper-V Virtual Ethernet Adapter, VMware Virtual Adapter, or VirtualBox Host-Only Network.
Right-click each → Properties → Power Management.
Uncheck "Allow this device to wake the computer" for every virtual adapter.

That frees up slots without disabling the virtual network entirely. The reason this matters: Windows doesn't differentiate between physical and virtual when filling the pattern list. It just fills.

Old Registry Entries

Sometimes the pattern list persists in the registry even after a driver update. This shows up when the error appears right after installing a new driver or waking from hibernate. The fix is to delete the stale entries:

reg delete "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e972-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}" /f /v *PMCapability

Wait — that's wrong. Don't run that. That key doesn't exist in that form. Let me give you the real one. The actual path varies by adapter GUID, so it's easier to do this through PowerShell:

Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object {$_.Status -eq 'Up'} | ForEach-Object {
    $regPath = "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e972-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}"
    Get-ChildItem $regPath | ForEach-Object {
        if ((Get-ItemProperty $_.PSPath -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).DriverDesc -eq $_.Name) {
            # This is a placeholder - don't run this.
        }
    }
}

Honestly, that PowerShell is overkill and error-prone. The simpler route: uninstall the network adapter driver from Device Manager (right-click → Uninstall device, check "Delete the driver software for this device"), then reboot. Windows reinstalls the driver fresh, and the registry pattern list is rebuilt. This is the nuclear option but it works when nothing else does.

Intel and Realtek Specifics

Intel adapters (I219, I211, etc.) have a separate setting in the Intel PROSet driver called "Wake on Magic Packet". If you've enabled that, it uses one pattern slot. Realtek's driver has a similar option under "Advanced" tab. Check those advanced properties:

Realtek: Advanced tab → "Wake on Magic Packet" → set to "Enabled" but also set "Wake on pattern match" to "Disabled" if you don't need it.
Intel: Advanced tab → "Wake on Magic Packet" → "Enabled" — and make sure "Wake on Link Settings" is off.

Some users report that having both "Magic Packet" and "Pattern Match" enabled doubles the pattern usage. Disabling one frees slots.

Prevention

Now that you've fixed it, here's how to avoid this recurring. The root cause is usually too many patterns fighting for limited space. That comes from two things: too many apps requesting WoL and too many adapters.

Use only one physical adapter for WoL. If you have both Ethernet and Wi-Fi, and you only wake via Ethernet, disable WoL on the Wi-Fi adapter entirely. Go to its Power Management tab and uncheck all wake options.
Disable WoL for virtual adapters permanently. Those slots are wasted.
Avoid Windows Fast Startup. Fast Startup can re-add patterns on shutdown in a way that doesn't clear properly. Turn it off: Control Panel → Power Options → Choose what the power buttons do → uncheck "Turn on fast startup".
Update your NIC driver from the manufacturer's site, not Windows Update. Realtek and Intel both fix pattern management bugs in newer drivers. Windows Update often lags.

The table fills because of accumulation. Keep the slot count low and you won't see 0xC0232003 again.