What does HRESULT 0x80040167 (CS_E_INVALID_VERSION) mean?

 
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CS_E_INVALID_VERSION

The software installation data in the Active Directory is corrupt.

CS_E_INVALID_VERSION has hexadecimal value 0x80040167 (unsigned 2147746151, signed -2147221145). AllStat records “The software installation data in the Active Directory is corrupt.” The narrow interpretation is that the directory software-installation metadata contains an invalid or corrupt version. The failing stage is reading or comparing package version data during Class Store lookup.

The high bit in 0x80040167 is set, so this is a failure rather than a success or informational result. Its facility field is 4 (FACILITY_ITF) and its low 16-bit code is 359 (0x0167). Those bit fields classify the value, but they do not identify the failing object by themselves; the native method, object identity, and first producer of CS_E_INVALID_VERSION remain essential.

API stage

Understanding CS_E_INVALID_VERSION requires this subsystem context: These CS_E values describe the legacy directory-backed COM Class Store. For CS_E_INVALID_VERSION, public documentation is limited; the exact owner is the component performing automatic installation or directory lookup, so traces must identify that component rather than assigning the HRESULT to every modern COM activation path.

  • Associate CS_E_INVALID_VERSION with one exact operation in automatic class installation or lookup through COM Class Store policy and directory-backed software-installation objects.
  • Confirm that CS_E_INVALID_VERSION came from reading or comparing package version data during Class Store lookup, rather than from cleanup or a wrapper that ran afterward.
  • Preserve any IErrorInfo, underlying Win32 result, provider message, or callback failure that preceded CS_E_INVALID_VERSION; the HRESULT alone should not erase a more specific cause.

Verification steps

  1. Capture CS_E_INVALID_VERSION at the first native return before a wrapper maps it to a generic exception.
  2. Identify the exact object, method, and lifecycle phase involved in reading or comparing package version data during Class Store lookup.
  3. Capture all raw version attributes and object revision metadata.
  4. Compare the object with a known-good export or package publication record.
  5. Inspect replication conflict objects before editing production data.
  6. Reproduce CS_E_INVALID_VERSION with one controlled input or state change, and verify that the correction changes the decisive evidence rather than merely hiding the result.

Interpretation limits

  • CS_E_INVALID_VERSION can result when the version attribute has malformed syntax or an unsupported range.
  • CS_E_INVALID_VERSION can result when a partial administrative update leaves related version fields inconsistent.
  • CS_E_INVALID_VERSION can result when replication conflict combines metadata from incompatible package revisions.

Incident record

A useful CS_E_INVALID_VERSION incident records the requested CLSID or ProgID, directory object DN, package identifier, version, deployment path, domain controller, schema version, policy state, bind result, and object size. For CS_E_INVALID_VERSION, also retain the application and component build, architecture, process and thread IDs, COM apartment, operation correlation ID, elapsed time, and the first state-changing event before the failure. When logging CS_E_INVALID_VERSION, redact content and credentials while preserving types, lengths, hashes, opaque identities, and lifecycle generations needed to reproduce its contract.

  • For CS_E_INVALID_VERSION, capture all raw version attributes and object revision metadata.
  • For CS_E_INVALID_VERSION, compare the object with a known-good export or package publication record.
  • For CS_E_INVALID_VERSION, inspect replication conflict objects before editing production data.

Recovery conditions

Correction. For CS_E_INVALID_VERSION, republish or repair the package metadata from an authoritative source and let replication converge. Retry boundary. Do not coerce the invalid text into a version; retry only after the object is repaired. Before repeating the CS_E_INVALID_VERSION operation, determine whether directory metadata, package staging, or a local installation changed before failure and avoid deleting a directory object whose ownership is not established.

Practical scenario

A package revision is entered as free-form text where the Class Store expects structured version data; republishing through the administration tool restores consistency. This isolates CS_E_INVALID_VERSION within legacy COM Class Store and Active Directory software-installation metadata and provides a regression test for the stated correction.

Difference from related HRESULTs

CS_E_SCHEMA_MISMATCH concerns the shape of directory data; CS_E_INVALID_VERSION concerns version content inside that data. For CS_E_INVALID_VERSION, keep those outcomes separate in exception mappings, telemetry dimensions, user messages, and automated retry policy.

Developer and administrator guidance

For CS_E_INVALID_VERSION, treat CS_E results as a legacy automatic-installation contract, preserve directory and policy diagnostics, and fall back to ordinary COM registration only when the product explicitly supports it. Regression coverage for CS_E_INVALID_VERSION should include missing packages and classes, duplicate objects, malformed paths, version and schema mismatch, directory outages, administrative limits, and partial publication of metadata.

Operational repair for CS_E_INVALID_VERSION must target the evidence-backed owner: involve the Active Directory or software-deployment owner, verify policy and domain-controller evidence, and use the management system that created the package or class-store object. Retain before-and-after traces for CS_E_INVALID_VERSION so the change can be attributed and reversed.

References

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