What does HRESULT 0x00080013 (CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND) mean?

CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND

COM machine name was absent from the activation cache

CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND is HRESULT 524307 (0x00080013) from winerror.h. The documented description is “The specified machine name was not found in the cache.” The severity bit indicates a nonfailure result, but the value carries a specific condition that must not be collapsed into plain S_OK.

In the COM activation or interface negotiation, this result means that the specified machine name was not found in the cache. Consumers of it must decide from the API contract whether to stop, wait, continue, or expose a reduced outcome.

What must be true before accepting it

Verify that the caller distinguishes a cache miss from proof that the machine or COM server does not exist. Checking the boundary keeps this result from hiding stale data, pending work, or a deliberately reduced result.

Do not compensate until the caller knows which sub-operations actually occurred.

Where the status is encountered

• This result can be returned during COM activation requesting multiple interfaces; log the exact method and object state instead of interpreting the constant outside that contract.
• This result can be returned during remote COM or DCOM activation; log the exact method and object state instead of interpreting the constant outside that contract.
• It can be returned during component wrappers that preserve per-interface outcomes; log the exact method and object state instead of interpreting the constant outside that contract.

Evidence to preserve

• Preserve requested machine name.
• Preserve canonical DNS and NetBIOS names.
• Preserve cache generation or timestamp.
• Preserve COSERVERINFO settings.
• Preserve activation and name-resolution traces.

Correct handling and recovery

Refresh or bypass the machine-name cache through the owning COM path, validate DNS and configured remote server identity, and retry only after the resolution data changes.

Continuation after it may be appropriate, but an identical restart is not automatically recovery.

Practical scenario

A remote activation request uses a recently renamed server. The client refreshes configuration and name resolution rather than repeatedly activating against the stale cached name.

Difference from nearby results

RPC_S_SERVER_UNAVAILABLE indicates communication failure after resolution; this status specifically reports that the machine name was not found in the cache.

References

• Microsoft: IUnknown::QueryInterface — official Microsoft material relevant to this HRESULT.
• Microsoft: COM and DCOM
• Microsoft: HRESULT values