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. AllStat describes it as “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, CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND means that the specified machine name was not found in the cache. Consumers of CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND must decide from the API contract whether to stop, wait, continue, or expose a reduced outcome.

What must be true before accepting it

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

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

Where the status is encountered

• CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND can be returned during COM activation requesting multiple interfaces; log the exact method and object state instead of interpreting the constant outside that contract.
• CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND can be returned during remote COM or DCOM activation; log the exact method and object state instead of interpreting the constant outside that contract.
• CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND 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.

Because CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND is informational, a language binding may expose it as success and hide the symbolic distinction. Keep the original HRESULT available until the code-specific branch has run.

Diagnostic sequence

• Capture the raw value 0x00080013 before wrappers, signed-decimal formatting, exceptions, or generic success handling replace CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND.
• Identify the operation that returned CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND, including interface or callback, component build, thread, process, and the state-machine phase.
• For CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND, prove the decisive condition: the caller distinguishes a cache miss from proof that the machine or COM server does not exist.
• Inspect every output, count, status array, buffer, callback, task state, media timestamp, transaction vote, or security token that remains part of the CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND contract.
• Compare state immediately before and after CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND; success severity does not guarantee that optional work or the caller’s intended high-level action completed.
• Reproduce CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND with the smallest input that retains the same condition, then alter only the recorded cause before repeating the operation.

Evidence and telemetry

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

Also record co_s_machinenamenotfound_operation, co_s_machinenamenotfound_state_before, co_s_machinenamenotfound_state_after, UTC time, process and thread identifiers, component version, and a correlation ID. A diagnostic bundle for CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND should preserve correlation fields without copying tokens, keys, or private media.

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.

Retry CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND only when a documented input or state has changed. Continuation after CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND 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.

A regression test should reproduce CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND, assert the relevant outputs and state, then change only the decisive condition and verify the expected neighboring result or ordinary completion.

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.

The practical value of distinguishing CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND is choosing the right wait, stop, retry, or user-notification behavior.

Developer and administrator guidance

When CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND crosses COM, RPC, managed-code, scripting, or logging boundaries, preserve the unsigned 32-bit value. Tests should verify the postcondition encoded by CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND, not merely that the severity bit denotes success.

For CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND, document ownership of retry, cancellation, cleanup, and user messaging. For CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND, avoid unrelated service changes that erase evidence without altering the decisive condition.

References

• Microsoft: IUnknown::QueryInterface — official Microsoft material used to interpret CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND.
• Microsoft: COM and DCOM — official Microsoft material used to interpret CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND.
• Microsoft: HRESULT values — official Microsoft material used to interpret CO_S_MACHINENAMENOTFOUND.

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