What does HRESULT 0x80040E07 (DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE) mean?

 
Previous Next
DB_E_BADCHAPTER DB_E_BADBINDINFO

DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE

Data or literal value could not be converted to the type of the column in the data source, and the provider was unable to determine which columns could not be converted. Data overflow or sign mismatch was not the cause

Exact value and interpretation

DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE has the unsigned 32-bit value 2147749383 (0x80040E07) and the signed representation -2147217913. AllStat defines the result as “Data or literal value could not be converted to the type of the column in the data source, and the provider was unable to determine which columns could not be converted. Data overflow or sign mismatch was not the cause”. In the concrete failure represented here, the provider cannot convert a data value or literal to the target column type and cannot identify a narrower overflow or sign-mismatch cause.

The high bit is set for DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE, so it is a failure HRESULT rather than a success or informational status. Its facility field is 4 (FACILITY_ITF) and its low code is 3591 (0x0E07). Those bit fields place DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE in an interface-defined family, but they do not reveal the provider, object identity, method, rowset generation or command state that produced it.

Specific conditions that produce this result

  • Cause 1 for DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE: text does not conform to the target type's lexical format.
  • Cause 2 for DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE: the value uses an encoding, locale or date representation the provider cannot parse.
  • Cause 3 for DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE: the provider's conversion path loses required semantic information even though the source and destination types are nominally compatible.

OLE DB contract boundary

DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE must be interpreted against this contract: OLE DB separates conversion capability from conversion of a particular value; IConvertType reports supported type routes, while bindings additionally carry length, precision, scale, status and storage semantics.

Start with the provider object performing the conversion and the exact source and destination type description when investigating DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE. Preserve DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE before ADO, ATL, .NET, a database abstraction layer or an application exception replaces it with a generic message; the exact interface and method matter because one OLE DB object can expose several contracts with different preconditions.

Diagnostic sequence

  1. Capture DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE immediately at the native OLE DB return and obtain the current OLE DB error object before another COM call replaces thread error information.
  2. Identify the exact stage for DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE: the provider cannot convert a data value or literal to the target column type and cannot identify a narrower overflow or sign-mismatch cause.
  3. For DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE, compare the live command, rowset, accessor or schema state with the metadata and properties actually granted by the provider.
  4. For DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE, inspect per-binding, per-property, per-row or per-record statuses whenever the method supplies them; the aggregate result may not identify the rejected element.
  5. For DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE, reproduce the issue with the smallest command, rowset or definition operation that preserves the same contract boundary.
  6. For DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE, apply one evidence-backed correction, then verify that the operation succeeds and does not merely change into a nearby HRESULT.

Evidence to collect before changing the system

A useful DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE record includes provider CLSID and version, process architecture, interface and method, COM apartment and thread, object correlation ID, transaction state, and the first preceding HRESULT. When DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE involves unconverted values, binary payloads, locale-specific text and parameter data, record types, lengths, hashes or redacted identifiers instead of secrets or full business data.

  • Evidence 1 for DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE: the source DBTYPE, destination DBTYPE and exact length.
  • Evidence 2 for DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE: the binding ordinal, DBSTATUS and sanitized value representation.
  • Evidence 3 for DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE: locale, code page and provider version used for conversion.

Corrective actions

  • Action 1 for DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE: perform explicit validation and normalization before invoking the provider.
  • Action 2 for DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE: bind with a source type the provider documents as convertible.
  • Action 3 for DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE: retrieve OLE DB error records to identify provider-specific parsing requirements.

Practical incident

A timestamp string uses a regional format not accepted by the provider; binding a typed timestamp structure instead of text eliminates DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE. The diagnostic value comes from retaining DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE together with the failing interface and object state, not from reducing every provider result to “database error”.

Retry and recovery policy

Retry rule for DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE: retry only after changing the value representation, locale or binding type. A safe DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE retry must use a changed input, object generation, provider capability or state transition. If the call returning DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE could have created, updated, deleted or copied data, determine partial completion before replaying it.

For DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE, use bounded retries and preserve cancellation. For DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE, configuration and contract failures should normally fail fast; concurrency, resource or transient state failures may justify retry only after their stated precondition changes.

Difference from related HRESULT values

DB_E_DATAOVERFLOW identifies a range overflow, while DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE covers conversion failure where overflow or sign mismatch is not the stated cause. Keep these outcomes separate in telemetry and user-facing remediation because DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE requires a different next action.

Implementation guidance

Code handling DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE should release OLE DB resources in ownership order, preserve every provider error record, and log granted properties rather than only requested properties. When handling DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE, handles such as HACCESSOR, HROW, HCHAPTER and provider-specific region tokens must never be treated as portable integers across object lifetimes.

When DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE crosses an abstraction boundary, attach a stable correlation ID and structured fields for the native HRESULT, provider source, interface IID, method, object generation and operation phase. For DB_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE, do not log passwords, access tokens, complete SQL text or unrestricted row values merely to make the event easier to search.

Official Microsoft references

Looking for a different code? Search another status or error code.