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MK_E_NOPREFIX
No common prefix
Windows defines MK_E_NOPREFIX as 2147746286 (0x800401EE; signed value -2147221010). The documented description is “No common prefix”. Two monikers have no common prefix under their class-specific comparison rules. The relevant operation is calling IMoniker::CommonPrefixWith for relative naming or link simplification.
Where it is raised
- Confirm that this result came from calling IMoniker::CommonPrefixWith for relative naming or link simplification, rather than from cleanup or a wrapper that ran afterward.
Telemetry checklist
- Log both moniker classes and canonical display names.
- Compare reduced forms before CommonPrefixWith.
- treat the result as a valid comparison outcome rather than corruption.
Why it is specific
- It can result when the monikers refer to unrelated roots, servers, files, or namespaces.
- It can result when different moniker classes cannot establish a shared prefix.
- It can result when normalization differences prevent a prefix that textual comparison appears to show.
Investigation order
- Identify the exact object, method, and lifecycle phase involved in calling IMoniker::CommonPrefixWith for relative naming or link simplification.
Safe handling
Correction. retain absolute monikers or choose another relation strategy; no repair is required when unrelated names are expected. Retry condition. Do not retry unless one moniker changes or is reduced to a comparable form. Before repeating the operation, release partial monikers and bound interfaces, unregister only owned Running Object Table entries, and abandon a bind context whose deadline or parameters no longer match the retry.
Practical scenario
Two document links reside on different servers, so no shared file-moniker prefix exists; the application stores both absolute links.
Difference from related HRESULTs
MK_E_NEEDGENERIC concerns composition representation; it concerns comparison and may be an expected nonmatch.
Developer and administrator guidance
References
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