How to fix ERROR_INVALID_SCROLLBAR_RANGE (1448 / 0x5A8) – Scroll bar range cannot be greater than MAXLONG

How to fix ERROR_INVALID_SCROLLBAR_RANGE (1448 / 0x5A8) – Scroll bar range cannot be greater than MAXLONG​

Error code equivalence (same error, different formats)​

What this error really means​

• Minimum
• Maximum
• Position

MINLONG  = -2,147,483,648
MAXLONG  =  2,147,483,647

• SetScrollRange
• SetScrollInfo
• framework wrappers that calculate scroll size

Real-world scenarios where this happens​

1) Huge documents / logs / timelines​

• App displays a very large file (multi-GB log, binary dump, scientific data)
• Uses 1 unit = 1 byte or 1 line
• Total scroll range exceeds 2.1 billion
• Scrollbar setup fails

2) Virtualized UI gone wrong​

• Virtual list or canvas supports “infinite” content
• Scroll range = total items (millions/billions)
• Framework pushes raw count into scrollbar

3) Integer overflow bug​

• Range calculation uses int math
• Negative wrap or huge positive value produced
• Result passed to SetScrollInfo

4) DPI / zoom scaling applied twice​

• Logical units → pixels → scaled again
• Scroll size explodes past limits
• Error appears only at high zoom or DPI

5) Using byte offsets instead of logical positions​

• Media editor or hex viewer
• Scroll position tied to file byte offset
• File > 2GB
• Scrollbar breaks

APIs that commonly trigger this error​

• SetScrollRange
• SetScrollInfo
• SCROLLINFO.nMax
• ListView / TreeView virtual size setters
• RichEdit / Edit control scrolling logic
• Custom owner-drawn scrollbars

What does NOT cause this error​

Real fixes & solutions (ordered, practical, expert-safe)​

Fix 1: Stop mapping raw content size to scrollbar range (most important)​

Scrollbar units = bytes / rows / items

Scrollbar units = logical pages or chunks

• 10 billion rows → 10,000 pages
• Map scrollbar to pages, not rows

Fix 2: Clamp scrollbar ranges explicitly​

const LONG MAX_SCROLL = MAXLONG - 1;

if (maxRange > MAX_SCROLL)
    maxRange = MAX_SCROLL;

SetScrollRange(hWnd, SB_VERT, 0, maxRange, TRUE);

Fix 3: Use SetScrollInfo correctly (common mistake)​

si.nMin = 0;
si.nMax = totalItems;
si.nPage = pageSize;

si.nMin = 0;
si.nMax = min(totalItems, MAXLONG - 1);
si.nPage = min(pageSize, si.nMax);

Fix 4: Implement logical scrolling (professional solution)​

• Use scrollbar to represent relative position
• Convert scrollbar position → content offset

scrollPos 0–10000  →  content offset 0–10,000,000,000

• Code editors
• Image viewers
• DAWs
• Scientific tools

Fix 5: Watch for integer overflow in calculations​

int range = itemCount * itemHeight; // overflow!

long long range64 = (long long)itemCount * itemHeight;
range64 = min(range64, (long long)MAXLONG - 1);

Fix 6: Framework-specific notes​

WinForms​

• ScrollBar.Maximum includes LargeChange
• Setting huge values throws or clamps internally
• Use logical scaling instead of raw item count

WPF​

• ScrollViewer uses doubles internally
• But Win32 interop still hits MAXLONG when hosting native controls

MFC​

• SetScrollSizes() can overflow if document size is enormous
• Use mapping modes or virtualized views

Fix 7: If you’re debugging a third-party app (no source)​

1. Reduce zoom level
2. Reduce dataset size
3. Disable “show all rows” / “infinite history”
4. Split content into segments
5. Update app (many older apps fixed this later)

Practical diagnostic checklist​

• Is the scroll range derived from file size, rows, or pixels?
• Does the error appear only with very large data?
• Does it disappear if you load a smaller file?
• Are you multiplying values without overflow checks?
• Are you double-scaling for DPI or zoom?

Symptoms you’ll often see with 1448​

• Scrollbar disappears
• Scrollbar freezes at top/bottom
• UI refuses to load large content
• Crash/assert during window creation
• Error only on “big” files or datasets

Note​

1. Use logical scrolling
2. Clamp ranges
3. Decouple content size from scrollbar units