What does HRESULT 0x000401E7 (MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED) mean?

 
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MK_S_US EVENT_S_SOME_SUBSCRIBERS_FAILED

MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED

Moniker is already in the Running Object Table

MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED is HRESULT 262631 (0x000401E7) from winerror.h. AllStat describes MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED as “Moniker is already registered in running object table.” The high-order severity bit is clear, so this is a success result, but it carries more information than plain S_OK.

Registration completed with information that the moniker was already registered in the Running Object Table.

Where this result is encountered

  • MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED can appear in IRunningObjectTable::Register; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.
  • MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED can appear in OLE servers exposing running documents; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.
  • MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED can appear in containers refreshing active-object registration; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.

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

Diagnostic sequence

  • For MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED, capture the raw HRESULT 0x000401E7 immediately after the returning method and record whether the caller used SUCCEEDED, FAILED, equality testing, or exception translation.
  • Identify the exact owner of MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED: interface, method, object instance, provider or filter version, thread or apartment, and operation phase.
  • Validate the decisive contract boundary for MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED: the existing ROT entry belongs to the intended object instance and registration flags rather than a stale or competing server.
  • For MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED, 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 MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED; do not assume that a success severity bit means every optional sub-operation completed.
  • For MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED, reproduce the smallest request with the same object state and then change only the condition identified by the evidence before repeating the operation.

State boundary that must be proved

The central question for MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED is whether the existing ROT entry belongs to the intended object instance and registration flags rather than a stale or competing server. For MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED, the HRESULT alone confirms neither unrelated work nor the quality of optional outputs.

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

Correct handling, retry, and recovery

Reuse or deliberately replace the existing registration according to ownership. Do not leave duplicate logical registrations or revoke a cookie owned by another instance.

Retry MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED only when the recorded state can change the documented outcome. For MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED, 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.

Evidence and telemetry to preserve

  • For MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED, preserve moniker display name.
  • For MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED, preserve existing and requested registration cookie.
  • For MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED, preserve server process and object identity.
  • For MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED, preserve ROT flags.
  • For MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED, preserve last-change time and revocation history.

Also record mk_s_monikeralreadyregistered_operation, mk_s_monikeralreadyregistered_object, mk_s_monikeralreadyregistered_state_before, mk_s_monikeralreadyregistered_state_after, UTC time, process and thread identifiers, and a correlation ID. For MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED, keep secrets out of logs while retaining GUIDs, CLSIDs, media subtypes, property IDs, row identities, and hashes needed to distinguish objects.

Difference from nearby HRESULT values

MK_E_UNAVAILABLE indicates no running object can be obtained; MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED indicates an entry already exists.

For MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED, 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

Code handling MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED should test the exact documented value before a generic SUCCEEDED(hr) branch when outputs or control flow differ. Operational remediation for MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED should target the owning COM, media, Tablet PC, or OLE DB component instead of resetting unrelated services.

A support report for MK_S_MONIKERALREADYREGISTERED should include decimal 262631, hexadecimal 0x000401E7, the AllStat meaning, the owning API, and the first detailed status or output that explains why the method did not return ordinary S_OK.

Practical validation scenario

A document server recovers after a UI restart and tries to register the same document moniker. It verifies the ROT entry points to itself, retains the correct cookie, and avoids publishing a second instance.

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

References

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