What does HRESULT 0x00040171 (CACHE_S_SAMECACHE) mean?

CACHE_S_SAMECACHE

Requested OLE cache entry already exists

CACHE_S_SAMECACHE is HRESULT 262513 (0x00040171) from winerror.h. AllStat describes CACHE_S_SAMECACHE as “Same cache.” The high-order severity bit is clear, so this is a success result, but it carries more information than plain S_OK.

The cache request succeeded by identifying an existing cache entry equivalent to the requested presentation.

State boundary that must be proved

The central question for CACHE_S_SAMECACHE is whether the existing cache entry has the aspect, index, medium, and update policy the caller needs. For CACHE_S_SAMECACHE, the HRESULT alone confirms neither unrelated work nor the quality of optional outputs.

A reliable interpretation of CACHE_S_SAMECACHE names the exact method contract, the object generation, and the outputs that remain valid. For CACHE_S_SAMECACHE, this prevents a success-with-information result from being promoted to full success or demoted to a generic error.

Where this result is encountered

• CACHE_S_SAMECACHE can appear in repeated IOleCache::Cache calls; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.
• CACHE_S_SAMECACHE can appear in containers rebuilding presentation bookkeeping after load; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.
• CACHE_S_SAMECACHE can appear in objects that deduplicate equivalent cache formats; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.

For CACHE_S_SAMECACHE, the same numeric success value can be mishandled when a wrapper exposes only a Boolean. For CACHE_S_SAMECACHE, keep the original HRESULT until the code-specific outputs and state transition have been evaluated.

Evidence and telemetry to preserve

• For CACHE_S_SAMECACHE, preserve requested FORMATETC.
• For CACHE_S_SAMECACHE, preserve existing cache connection identifier.
• For CACHE_S_SAMECACHE, preserve ADVF flags.
• For CACHE_S_SAMECACHE, preserve last cache update time.
• For CACHE_S_SAMECACHE, preserve offline rendering result after the server is stopped.

Also record cache_s_samecache_operation, cache_s_samecache_object, cache_s_samecache_state_before, cache_s_samecache_state_after, UTC time, process and thread identifiers, and a correlation ID. For CACHE_S_SAMECACHE, keep secrets out of logs while retaining GUIDs, CLSIDs, media subtypes, property IDs, row identities, and hashes needed to distinguish objects.

Diagnostic sequence

• For CACHE_S_SAMECACHE, capture the raw HRESULT 0x00040171 immediately after the returning method and record whether the caller used SUCCEEDED, FAILED, equality testing, or exception translation.
• Identify the exact owner of CACHE_S_SAMECACHE: interface, method, object instance, provider or filter version, thread or apartment, and operation phase.
• Validate the decisive contract boundary for CACHE_S_SAMECACHE: the existing cache entry has the aspect, index, medium, and update policy the caller needs.
• For CACHE_S_SAMECACHE, inspect every output parameter, count, status array, returned interface, or side effect that the method documentation associates with this success-with-information result.
• Compare the observed state before and after CACHE_S_SAMECACHE; do not assume that a success severity bit means every optional sub-operation completed.
• For CACHE_S_SAMECACHE, reproduce the smallest request with the same object state and then change only the condition identified by the evidence before repeating the operation.

Correct handling, retry, and recovery

Reuse the existing cache entry and avoid duplicate update subscriptions. If policy differs, use the documented cache-management operations rather than assuming a new entry was created.

Retry CACHE_S_SAMECACHE only when the recorded state can change the documented outcome. For CACHE_S_SAMECACHE, repeating the same call is inappropriate for a stable end marker, cancellation, unsupported format, adjusted property, or partial result whose completed side effects have not been reconciled.

Practical validation scenario

A document reloads an embedded object and repeats cache setup. CACHE_S_SAMECACHE tells it to retain the existing connection instead of adding a second identical presentation and doubling update traffic.

The negative test should preserve the condition that produces CACHE_S_SAMECACHE; the recovery test should alter only that condition and verify the final state as well as the HRESULT.

Difference from nearby HRESULT values

CACHE_S_SOMECACHES_NOTUPDATED concerns refresh results; CACHE_S_SAMECACHE concerns cache-entry identity at registration time.

For CACHE_S_SAMECACHE, this distinction determines whether the caller should consume partial outputs, stop iteration, wait, reconfigure, notify the user, or perform no error recovery at all.

Developer and administrator guidance

Developers should represent CACHE_S_SAMECACHE as a distinct typed outcome, because collapsing it into generic success loses the condition encoded by 0x00040171. For CACHE_S_SAMECACHE, administrators and support engineers should retain the first component-specific evidence before wrappers replace it with a broad message.

A support report for CACHE_S_SAMECACHE should include decimal 262513, hexadecimal 0x00040171, the AllStat meaning, the owning API, and the first detailed status or output that explains why the method did not return ordinary S_OK.

References

• Microsoft: COM cache status codes — official documentation relevant to CACHE_S_SAMECACHE.
• Microsoft: IOleCache::Cache — official documentation relevant to CACHE_S_SAMECACHE.
• Microsoft: IOleCache — official documentation relevant to CACHE_S_SAMECACHE.

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