Fixing ERROR_INVALID_TARGET_HANDLE (0x00000072): Troubleshooting I/O Redirection and Handle Errors in Windows

🔸 Introduction

A developer tries to redirect stdout to a file using SetStdHandle, and suddenly the app crashes with ERROR_INVALID_TARGET_HANDLE (0x72). This error occurs when a system call receives a handle that isn’t valid.

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🔸 Technical Breakdown

• Symbolic Constant: ERROR_INVALID_TARGET_HANDLE
• Decimal: 114
• Hexadecimal: 0x00000072
• Meaning:
  The handle specified in a redirection or duplication function (e.g., SetStdHandle, DuplicateHandle) is invalid, NULL, or improperly opened.

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🔸 In-Depth: Why It Happens

🔹 Low-Level Causes:

• Uninitialized handles.
• Passing INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE or a closed handle.
• Using a handle type not suited for SetStdHandle.

🔹 High-Level Causes:

• Incorrectly redirected standard output in service or background process.
• Misuse of CreateFile when opening files for standard handle replacement.

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🔸 Solutions

✅ Ensure Handle Is Valid

Always validate handles returned from system functions:

c

if (hFile == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE) {
    // handle error
}

✅ Use SetStdHandle with Correct Access

c

HANDLE hFile = CreateFileW(L"output.txt", GENERIC_WRITE, 0, NULL, CREATE_ALWAYS, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, NULL);
SetStdHandle(STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE, hFile);

✅ Check Error Codes After Redirection

c

if (!SetStdHandle(STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE, hFile)) {
    DWORD dwErr = GetLastError(); // check for ERROR_INVALID_TARGET_HANDLE
}

✅ Close All Handles Properly

Avoid use-after-close scenarios that can silently fail.

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🔸 References

• SetStdHandle – Microsoft Learn
• Handle Management – Microsoft Docs
• DuplicateHandle – Microsoft Learn

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