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CO_E_SXS_CONFIG
COM side-by-side configuration is invalid
CO_E_SXS_CONFIG is HRESULT 2147500082 (0x80004032) from winerror.h. The documented description is “The provided side-by-side configuration is invalid.” The value must be interpreted at activation using side-by-side manifests, registration-free COM, or assembly identity resolution.
The SxS configuration used to locate the COM component is malformed, contradictory, or unsupported. When this result crosses a language or process boundary, preserve its original numeric form before projections replace it with a broad exception class.
Where the result appears
- This result may surface in activation using side-by-side manifests, registration-free COM, or assembly identity resolution.
Typical causes and interpretation
Common cause categories are: manifest syntax is invalid; identities conflict; architecture is wrong; a referenced assembly is missing; deployment combined incompatible manifests. Do not treat the cause list as a checklist of simultaneous failures; use traces and postconditions to select the matching branch.
Key distinction: the SxS configuration used to locate the COM component is malformed, contradictory, or unsupported.
Correct handling and recovery
The appropriate recovery is to validate manifests with SxS diagnostics, deploy matching assemblies atomically, and avoid falling back to global registration when isolation is required. A retry policy needs a bounded attempt count, a state refresh step, and a rule for reconciling work that may already have completed.
Cleanup following it must be generation-aware: do not destroy shared state or outputs owned by an earlier successful operation.
Practical scenario
A registration-free COM manifest names an x86 proxy for an x64 process; correcting the processor architecture restores activation.
Coverage should include the exact failure, a corrected success case, and the closest related HRESULT so classification remains stable.
Difference from related HRESULTs
ERROR_SXS_* values may reveal the detailed parser or binding failure; it is the COM-facing configuration result.
Tests and telemetry should retain the producing component and operation so future wrappers do not flatten this result into an ambiguous generic exception.
References
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