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RO_E_CLOSED
Operation targeted a closed Windows Runtime object
RO_E_CLOSED is HRESULT 2147483667 (0x80000013) from winerror.h. AllStat describes it as “The object has been closed.” In the Windows Runtime metadata, object lifetime, asynchronous operation, activation, and apartment model, the code identifies a specific failure boundary and should not be replaced by a generic COM exception.
The caller should keep this result intact through logging, exception translation, and RPC or language projection boundaries.
Where it is encountered
- C++/WinRT, WRL,.NET projections, or native WinRT ABI calls. Record the interface, method, component version, thread, apartment, process, and correlation ID.
- Runtime-class activation, WinMD reflection, asynchronous objects, observable state, or view lifecycle.
- Cross-thread and cross-apartment handoff between UI, ASTA, STA, MTA, broker, and background work.
The immediate focus for it is an object with an explicit close or dispose lifetime whose methods are no longer valid after terminal closure. Keep it attached to that operation; the same numeric severity outside the owning API does not supply enough context.
Decisive interpretation boundary
Before choosing recovery, verify that the code can identify who closed the object and whether outstanding asynchronous callbacks still retain stale references. The decisive boundary for it determines whether the same object can continue, a new object is required, or policy must change.
Also confirm that all observed objects, tokens, buffers, proxies, metadata files, or ACLs belong to the current operation generation and were not retained from an earlier attempt.
Correct handling and recovery
Stop using the instance, cancel dependent work, and obtain a new object if the operation remains necessary. Make close idempotent and coordinate it with callbacks.
Reconcile partial output and server-side effects before attempting the operation again.
Lifetime, retry, and cleanup rules
After it, determine whether the current object, interface pointer, call context, token, stream, metadata reader, asynchronous operation, or access-control instance remains valid. Release only resources owned by the failing attempt, cancel callbacks through their documented mechanism, and avoid double close, double commit, repeated activation, or replay of a non-idempotent remote method.
The retry policy for it should state the trigger, maximum attempts, cancellation owner, and reconciliation step for effects that may have completed elsewhere.
Practical scenario
A stream is closed by navigation teardown while an async read callback is queued. The callback observes cancellation and does not issue another read on the closed stream.
A regression test should reproduce it, assert the raw HRESULT and all relevant outputs, then correct only the decisive condition and verify the intended success or neighboring failure result.
Difference from nearby HRESULTs
It is a terminal lifetime condition; E_CHANGED_STATE can be recoverable by refreshing state on the same live object.
Merging it with the neighboring HRESULT would choose the wrong retry, recreation, authorization, or cleanup path.
Developer and administrator guidance
Dashboards should classify it by its actual cause category—lifetime, timing, apartment, marshaling, identity, authorization, format, buffer, or storage—rather than grouping every COM failure under one counter.
Change the smallest component, identity, ACL, package, or threading boundary that the evidence identifies, then reproduce the same operation. Define who owns retry, cancellation, cleanup, policy changes, package repair, and user-facing messaging for it.
References
- Microsoft: C++/WinRT error handling
- Microsoft: concurrency and asynchronous operations
- Microsoft: WinMD files
- Microsoft: IAgileObject
- Microsoft: COM apartments
- Microsoft: HRESULT values
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