What does HRESULT 0x00040ED6 (DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED) mean?

DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED

OLE DB stopped at a resource limit with partial results

DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED is HRESULT 265942 (0x00040ED6) from Microsoft OLE DB. AllStat describes DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED as “Execution stopped because a resource limit was reached; Results obtained so far were returned, but execution cannot resume.” The high-order severity bit is clear, so this is a success result, but it carries more information than plain S_OK.

Execution returned results obtained so far but stopped at a provider resource limit and cannot resume from the same operation.

Where this result is encountered

• DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED can appear in row fetching under provider quotas; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.
• DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED can appear in search or query operations with stop limits; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.
• DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED can appear in large result sets constrained by memory or execution policy; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.

For DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED, the same numeric success value can be mishandled when a wrapper exposes only a Boolean. For DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED, 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_STOPLIMITREACHED is whether the partial result count is explicit and the caller does not assume continuation is available. For DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED, the HRESULT alone confirms neither unrelated work nor the quality of optional outputs.

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

Evidence and telemetry to preserve

• For DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED, preserve provider limit type.
• For DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED, preserve rows or results returned.
• For DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED, preserve query and parameters.
• For DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED, preserve elapsed time and memory use.
• For DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED, preserve whether a new command can continue from a stable key.

Also record db_s_stoplimitreached_operation, db_s_stoplimitreached_object, db_s_stoplimitreached_state_before, db_s_stoplimitreached_state_after, UTC time, process and thread identifiers, and a correlation ID. For DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED, 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

Use the partial results only if allowed, then redesign paging or reduce scope. A new execution may be required; do not call the same rowset expecting it to resume.

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

Diagnostic sequence

• For DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED, capture the raw HRESULT 0x00040ED6 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_STOPLIMITREACHED: interface, method, object instance, provider or filter version, thread or apartment, and operation phase.
• Validate the decisive contract boundary for DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED: the partial result count is explicit and the caller does not assume continuation is available.
• For DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED, 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_STOPLIMITREACHED; do not assume that a success severity bit means every optional sub-operation completed.
• For DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED, reproduce the smallest request with the same object state and then change only the condition identified by the evidence before repeating the operation.

Practical validation scenario

A provider stops a broad search at its resource ceiling after returning 10,000 rows. The client marks the set incomplete and reruns narrower key ranges rather than requesting another batch from the stopped rowset.

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

Difference from nearby HRESULT values

DB_S_ROWLIMITEXCEEDED can often continue after releasing active rows; DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED says this execution cannot resume.

For DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED, 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

Tests for DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED should verify both the encoded condition and the resulting outputs. A test for DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED that checks only SUCCEEDED cannot detect stale counts, partial streams, adjusted properties, missing callbacks, or other code-specific effects.

A support report for DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED should include decimal 265942, hexadecimal 0x00040ED6, 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_STOPLIMITREACHED.
• Microsoft: OLE DB Driver return codes — official documentation relevant to DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED.
• Microsoft: OLE DB error records — official documentation relevant to DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED.
• Microsoft: IRowset::GetNextRows — official documentation relevant to DB_S_STOPLIMITREACHED.

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