HRESULT 0x00040202 (EVENT_S_NOSUBSCRIBERS): meaning and diagnosis

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EVENT_S_NOSUBSCRIBERS reports that COM+ published the event successfully but no current subscription selected a subscriber to invoke.

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EVENT_S_SOME_SUBSCRIBERS_FAILED	VFW_S_DUPLICATE_NAME

EVENT_S_NOSUBSCRIBERS

COM+ event published with no subscribers

EVENT_S_NOSUBSCRIBERS is HRESULT 262658 (0x00040202) from winerror.h. The documented description is “An event was delivered but there were no subscribers.” The high-order severity bit is clear, so this is a success result, but it carries more information than plain S_OK.

The event publication path succeeded, but no active subscriber was registered to receive the event.

Where the result is encountered

This result can appear in COM+ loosely coupled events; record the producing interface and method.
This result can appear in optional extension points; record the producing interface and method.
It can appear in deployment states where subscriber applications are not installed or enabled; record the producing interface and method.

State to verify

The central question is whether the absence of subscribers is acceptable for this event or is detected as a deployment/configuration problem by the publisher.

Evidence to preserve

Preserve event class and method.
Preserve catalog subscription query.
Preserve expected subscriber count.
Preserve scope, identity, and partition context.
Preserve publication timestamp and correlation ID.

Correct handling, retry, and recovery

Treat the result as informational when subscribers are optional. Raise a configuration alert when the event represents a required workflow, but do not report transport failure.

Diagnostic sequence

Capture the raw HRESULT 0x00040202 immediately after the returning method and record whether the caller used SUCCEEDED, FAILED, equality testing, or exception translation.
Verify the method-specific state: the absence of subscribers is acceptable for this event or is detected as a deployment/configuration problem by the publisher.

Practical validation scenario

A plug-in notification is published on a workstation with no plug-ins installed. The publisher records it at debug level; an enterprise deployment test separately asserts that mandatory audit subscribers are present.

Difference from nearby HRESULT values

EVENT_S_SOME_SUBSCRIBERS_FAILED means subscribers existed and delivery was mixed; it means there was nobody to invoke.

Developer and administrator guidance

References

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