What does HRESULT 0x00040ECB (DB_S_GOALCHANGED) mean?

DB_S_GOALCHANGED

OLE DB adjusted an unsupported optimization goal

DB_S_GOALCHANGED is HRESULT 265931 (0x00040ECB) from Microsoft OLE DB. AllStat describes DB_S_GOALCHANGED as “Weight is not supported or exceeded the supported limit, and was set to 0 or the supported limit.” The high-order severity bit is clear, so this is a success result, but it carries more information than plain S_OK.

The provider accepted the request but changed a requested weight or goal to zero or to the nearest supported limit.

Where this result is encountered

• DB_S_GOALCHANGED can appear in query optimization properties; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.
• DB_S_GOALCHANGED can appear in index or command cost goals; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.
• DB_S_GOALCHANGED can appear in provider-specific tuning controls with bounded numeric ranges; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.

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

Diagnostic sequence

• For DB_S_GOALCHANGED, capture the raw HRESULT 0x00040ECB 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_GOALCHANGED: interface, method, object instance, provider or filter version, thread or apartment, and operation phase.
• Validate the decisive contract boundary for DB_S_GOALCHANGED: the effective goal is read back and is acceptable for the workload rather than assumed equal to the requested value.
• For DB_S_GOALCHANGED, 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_GOALCHANGED; do not assume that a success severity bit means every optional sub-operation completed.
• For DB_S_GOALCHANGED, 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 DB_S_GOALCHANGED is whether the effective goal is read back and is acceptable for the workload rather than assumed equal to the requested value. For DB_S_GOALCHANGED, the HRESULT alone confirms neither unrelated work nor the quality of optional outputs.

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

Correct handling, retry, and recovery

Read the effective property value and adapt expectations. If the exact goal is required, choose a provider or strategy that supports it instead of repeatedly setting the same value.

Retry DB_S_GOALCHANGED only when the recorded state can change the documented outcome. For DB_S_GOALCHANGED, 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 DB_S_GOALCHANGED, preserve property set and property ID.
• For DB_S_GOALCHANGED, preserve requested and effective numeric values.
• For DB_S_GOALCHANGED, preserve provider-supported range.
• For DB_S_GOALCHANGED, preserve per-property status.
• For DB_S_GOALCHANGED, preserve execution plan or behavior after adjustment.

Also record db_s_goalchanged_operation, db_s_goalchanged_object, db_s_goalchanged_state_before, db_s_goalchanged_state_after, UTC time, process and thread identifiers, and a correlation ID. For DB_S_GOALCHANGED, 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

DB_S_PROPERTIESCHANGED is a general property-adjustment result; DB_S_GOALCHANGED specifically describes a weight or goal clamped to a supported value.

For DB_S_GOALCHANGED, 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

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

A support report for DB_S_GOALCHANGED should include decimal 265931, hexadecimal 0x00040ECB, 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 consumer requests an optimization weight above the provider maximum. The provider clamps it, the application records the effective value, and performance tests use that real setting.

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

References

• Microsoft: OLE DB return codes — official documentation relevant to DB_S_GOALCHANGED.
• Microsoft: OLE DB Driver return codes — official documentation relevant to DB_S_GOALCHANGED.
• Microsoft: OLE DB error records — official documentation relevant to DB_S_GOALCHANGED.

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