What does HRESULT 0x400E0009 (MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL) mean?

MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL

What this result actually narrows down

The important part of MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL is not only whether the call failed, but which MSMQ subsystem had enough information to return this specific result. Its diagnostic boundary is successful queue creation with truncated output capacity. The queue exists even though the caller did not receive its complete format name.

For MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL, MSMQ property structures can include an optional status array parallel to the property identifiers and values. When diagnosing MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL, A nonfatal top-level result therefore does not replace inspection of individual entries.

When diagnosing MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL, informational HRESULTs are especially easy to mishandle in wrappers that treat every nonzero value as an exception. In the MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL path, the caller must first determine whether the documented operation and its side effects already completed.

MSMQ objects involved

When diagnosing MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL, unlike an error HRESULT, this informational value can accompany a completed operation. In the MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL path, it must still be handled because ignored or duplicate properties can change the stored result. For MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL, the code-specific boundary is successful queue creation with truncated output capacity.

Triage data

• The matching apropid and mqpropvariant index; associate it explicitly with MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL.
• When diagnosing MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL, whether an output object or queue was nevertheless created; capture the value before cleanup or retry changes it.
• In the MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL path, the function result and every entry of the optional astatus array; compare it with a known-good call using the same account and queue type.
• For this MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL result, record the queue path or format name, local/remote placement, transactional flag, caller SID, process build, and UTC correlation ID when they apply.

For MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL, log certificate thumbprints, provider names, SIDs, GUIDs, lengths, and hashes where useful, but do not log private keys, symmetric keys, credentials, or confidential message bodies.

A safe investigation order

1. Record the unsigned HRESULT, MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL, and the native API or COM method before a framework replaces it with a generic exception.
2. When diagnosing MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL, capture whether an output object or queue was nevertheless created.
3. Reproduce with the smallest queue/message/property set that still returns MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL; change one precondition at a time.
4. For this MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL result, verify the postcondition after the failed call: queue existence, message presence, directory object state, transaction outcome, or generated output may differ by result.
5. Capture the matching aPropID and MQPROPVARIANT index.
6. When diagnosing MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL, apply the code-specific recovery rule: Discover the created queue using its path name or request a larger format-name buffer; do not blindly create it again.

Correct response

Discover the created queue using its path name or request a larger format-name buffer; do not blindly create it again.

When diagnosing MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL, an immediate loop around the same call is not recovery. In the MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL path, define who owns cancellation, handle recreation, transaction reconciliation, and duplicate suppression before another attempt is issued.

What this code is not

In the MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL path, do not treat a nonzero informational HRESULT as proof that the primary operation failed. For this MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL result, verify the completed effect and the individual property status. The specific focus for MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL remains successful queue creation with truncated output capacity.

• In the MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL path, granting broad queue or certificate permissions may mask the symptom while creating a security defect. For this MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL result, test the exact identity and access needed by the operation.
• For this MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL result, changing queue names, deleting directory objects, or recreating certificates without reconciliation can create a second object while callers still reference the first.

Example failure path

A com-based administration utility encounters MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL. For MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL, it records both the successful primary effect and the property warning, then corrects only the affected field. When diagnosing MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL, the acceptance test then changes only the decisive precondition and confirms both the HRESULT and the actual queue/message state.

Automated coverage should preserve the original arrays/identities, confirm that cleanup is safe after MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL, and test that a retry does not duplicate messages or directory objects.

Technical references

• Microsoft: Message Queuing overview — source used for the MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL analysis.
• Microsoft: Message Queuing error and information codes — source used for the MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL analysis.
• Microsoft: queue properties and MQQUEUEPROPS — source used for the MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL analysis.
• Microsoft: MSMQ message properties — source used for the MQ_INFORMATION_FORMATNAME_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL analysis.

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