System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception: The operatio

Question

I am getting this exception sometimes while running my Windows Forms app for a long time:

System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception: The operation completed successfully
   at System.Drawing.BufferedGraphicsContext.CreateCompatibleDIB(IntPtr hdc, IntPtr hpal, Int32 ulWidth, Int32 ulHeight, IntPtr& ppvBits)
   at System.Drawing.BufferedGraphicsContext.CreateBuffer(IntPtr src, Int32 offsetX, Int32 offsetY, Int32 width, Int32 height)
   at System.Drawing.BufferedGraphicsContext.AllocBuffer(Graphics targetGraphics, IntPtr targetDC, Rectangle targetRectangle)
   at System.Drawing.BufferedGraphicsContext.AllocBufferInTempManager(Graphics targetGraphics, IntPtr targetDC, Rectangle targetRectangle)
   at System.Drawing.BufferedGraphicsContext.Allocate(IntPtr targetDC, Rectangle targetRectangle)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmPaint(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.DataGridView.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)

What could be the cause for this?

Answer 1

Might also have something to do with memory fragmentation. We use an unmanaged component in out app as well, and there may be issues with not being able to allocate a large enough buffer for the double-buffered graphics, when the unmanaged component has eaten all the large contiguous blocks.

Answer 2

I once had a similar exception, when creating a huge PictureBox. It seems that I could not allocate a Graphics big enough. Actually, what I was doing was drawing some sort of map for a simple game, and I had a zoom in functionality, that basically created a bigger buffer and then I redrawed all the graphics in a bigger scale. Playing with this zoom in function for a long time or to a deep enough level caused this exception. Perhaps you are creating lots of Graphics and not dispossing them, or just a Graphic big enough to not be allocatable.