What does HRESULT 0x80040210 (EVENT_E_PER_USER_SID_NOT_LOGGED_ON) mean?

EVENT_E_PER_USER_SID_NOT_LOGGED_ON

Meaning

Windows documents EVENT_E_PER_USER_SID_NOT_LOGGED_ON as “The owner of the PerUser subscription is not logged on to the system specified”. In practical terms, it is returned when a valid per-user subscription owner is not logged on to the system where COM+ Events is attempting delivery.

Where the failure belongs

This result belongs to COM+ Events catalog and delivery. COM+ Events separates publishers, event classes, subscriptions and subscribers through catalog records. A useful diagnosis therefore follows both the catalog relationship and the eventual subscriber invocation. The relevant condition is that a valid per-user subscription owner is not logged on to the system where COM+ Events is attempting delivery.

Likely causes

• Possible cause 1: the event fires before the user session starts.
• Possible cause 2: the owner logged off while a queued delivery remained.
• Possible cause 3: delivery targets the wrong host for the user session.

Evidence to collect

• Capture 1: owner SID and resolved account name.
• Capture 2: interactive-session and logon-session state on the target system.
• Capture 3: subscription delivery mode, host and event timestamp.

Diagnostic sequence

1. Confirm that the observed path matches this condition: a valid per-user subscription owner is not logged on to the system where COM+ Events is attempting delivery.

Correct handling and retry

• Corrective action 1: deliver only while the owning session is present or use an appropriate non-per-user subscription.
• Corrective action 2: route events to the host where the user is logged on.
• Corrective action 3: handle logoff by suspending or removing transient user-scoped subscriptions.

Retry guidance. Retry when the same owner is logged on and duplicate delivery is safe; otherwise retain or discard the event according to application policy. When retrying, avoid deliver an event twice, modify the wrong catalog object or hide partial subscriber completion.

Practical scenario

A desktop subscriber remains registered after sign-out and a service publishes another event; session-aware subscription cleanup prevents it.

Difference from nearby HRESULTs

EVENT_E_INVALID_PER_USER_SID means the account SID cannot be resolved; this HRESULT uses a valid SID but requires an active logon session.

Developer and operational guidance

Official Microsoft references

• Microsoft: generic COM error codes
• Microsoft: COM+ Events
• Microsoft: COM+ Events security