| Previous | Next |
| CO_E_WRONGOSFORAPP | CO_E_OBJISREG |
CO_E_OBJNOTREG
Meaning
Windows documents CO_E_OBJNOTREG as “Object is not registered”. In practical terms, it is returned when an object-registration operation expects a live object entry but no matching registration is present.
Evidence to collect
- Capture 1: the exact registration API, identity key and registration token used by the producer.
- Capture 2: timestamps for registration, revocation and the failed lookup.
- Capture 3: process lifetime and running-object-table state in the same user session.
Where the failure belongs
This result belongs to COM activation and object lifetime. COM activation is a sequence rather than one registry lookup: identifier resolution, class registration, module or process start, class-factory publication, marshaling, and object lifetime can fail independently. The relevant condition is that an object-registration operation expects a live object entry but no matching registration is present.
Likely causes
- Possible cause 1: the producer never registered the object instance.
- Possible cause 2: the registration was revoked during shutdown or recovery.
- Possible cause 3: the lookup key, moniker or object identity differs from the value used at registration.
Diagnostic sequence
- Confirm that the observed path matches this condition: an object-registration operation expects a live object entry but no matching registration is present.
Correct handling and retry
- Corrective action 1: register the object before exposing discovery to clients.
- Corrective action 2: use the same canonical identity for registration and lookup.
- Corrective action 3: serialize shutdown so revocation cannot race an in-flight consumer.
Retry guidance. Retry after a producer has created a new registration; blind polling should be bounded and tied to observable server startup. When retrying, avoid launch duplicate servers, reuse stale proxies or repeat an activation whose side effects are unknown.
Difference from nearby HRESULTs
REGDB_E_CLASSNOTREG concerns class activation metadata, while it concerns a missing live object registration.
Developer and operational guidance
Practical scenario
A document server revokes its running-object entry during restart while a client still looks up the old moniker; waiting for the new registration resolves it.
Official Microsoft references
Looking for a different code? Search another status or error code.