What does HRESULT 0x00040EC9 (DB_S_NORESULT) mean?

DB_S_NORESULT

OLE DB has no further result object

DB_S_NORESULT is HRESULT 265929 (0x00040EC9) from Microsoft OLE DB. AllStat describes DB_S_NORESULT as “No more results.” The high-order severity bit is clear, so this is a success result, but it carries more information than plain S_OK.

The result-retrieval call completed and there is no additional result object of the requested kind.

Where this result is encountered

• DB_S_NORESULT can appear in multiple-result commands; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.
• DB_S_NORESULT can appear in batches containing statements that produce no rowset; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.
• DB_S_NORESULT can appear in iteration across rowsets, row counts, and output-only results; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.

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

State boundary that must be proved

The central question for DB_S_NORESULT is whether the caller interprets absence according to the requested result type and does not confuse it with command execution failure. For DB_S_NORESULT, the HRESULT alone confirms neither unrelated work nor the quality of optional outputs.

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

Diagnostic sequence

• For DB_S_NORESULT, capture the raw HRESULT 0x00040EC9 immediately after the returning method and record whether the caller used SUCCEEDED, FAILED, equality testing, or exception translation.
• Identify the exact owner of DB_S_NORESULT: interface, method, object instance, provider or filter version, thread or apartment, and operation phase.
• Validate the decisive contract boundary for DB_S_NORESULT: the caller interprets absence according to the requested result type and does not confuse it with command execution failure.
• For DB_S_NORESULT, 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 DB_S_NORESULT; do not assume that a success severity bit means every optional sub-operation completed.
• For DB_S_NORESULT, reproduce the smallest request with the same object state and then change only the condition identified by the evidence before repeating the operation.

Evidence and telemetry to preserve

• For DB_S_NORESULT, preserve result index.
• For DB_S_NORESULT, preserve requested IID and result flags.
• For DB_S_NORESULT, preserve statement sequence.
• For DB_S_NORESULT, preserve row counts already returned.
• For DB_S_NORESULT, preserve output parameter availability.

Also record db_s_noresult_operation, db_s_noresult_object, db_s_noresult_state_before, db_s_noresult_state_after, UTC time, process and thread identifiers, and a correlation ID. For DB_S_NORESULT, keep secrets out of logs while retaining GUIDs, CLSIDs, media subtypes, property IDs, row identities, and hashes needed to distinguish objects.

Correct handling, retry, and recovery

End or advance result processing as documented. Do not retry the command merely to force a rowset when the statement legitimately produces none.

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

Difference from nearby HRESULT values

DB_S_NONEXTROWSET emphasizes no next rowset; DB_S_NORESULT can indicate no more result for the current retrieval request.

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

Practical validation scenario

A batch performs an update followed by a select. The consumer sees a no-rowset result for the update, advances, and then retrieves the select rowset without treating the first status as failure.

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

Developer and administrator guidance

For DB_S_NORESULT, application telemetry should separate terminal failure, ordinary success, partial completion, continuation, cancellation, and warning-like success. For DB_S_NORESULT, support bundles should contain the smallest reproducible call and the effective configuration seen by the owning component.

A support report for DB_S_NORESULT should include decimal 265929, hexadecimal 0x00040EC9, 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: OLE DB return codes — official documentation relevant to DB_S_NORESULT.
• Microsoft: OLE DB Driver return codes — official documentation relevant to DB_S_NORESULT.
• Microsoft: OLE DB error records — official documentation relevant to DB_S_NORESULT.

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