What does HRESULT 0x80040E18 (DB_E_CANNOTRESTART) mean?

 
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DB_E_DUPLICATEDATASOURCE DB_E_NOTFOUND

DB_E_CANNOTRESTART

Rowset position cannot be restarted

Exact value and interpretation

DB_E_CANNOTRESTART has the unsigned 32-bit value 2147749400 (0x80040E18) and the signed representation -2147217896. AllStat defines the result as “Rowset position cannot be restarted”. In the concrete failure represented here, a consumer asks a rowset to restart its sequential fetch position but the provider cannot do so.

The high bit is set for DB_E_CANNOTRESTART, 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 3608 (0x0E18). Those bit fields place DB_E_CANNOTRESTART in an interface-defined family, but they do not reveal the provider, object identity, method, rowset generation or command state that produced it.

Evidence to collect before changing the system

A useful DB_E_CANNOTRESTART 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_CANNOTRESTART involves row values, bookmarks, keys and query parameters, record types, lengths, hashes or redacted identifiers instead of secrets or full business data.

  • Evidence 1 for DB_E_CANNOTRESTART: rowset properties for scrolling and restart behavior.
  • Evidence 2 for DB_E_CANNOTRESTART: the current fetch position and rows already consumed.
  • Evidence 3 for DB_E_CANNOTRESTART: the command, transaction isolation and source type that produced the rowset.

OLE DB contract boundary

DB_E_CANNOTRESTART must be interpreted against this contract: OLE DB rowsets own HROW values, fetch position, granted properties and visibility rules; row handles, bookmarks, update state and navigation capabilities remain valid only under the lifetime and generation that produced them.

Start with the current rowset instance, its granted properties and the exact row or position token used by the consumer when investigating DB_E_CANNOTRESTART. Preserve DB_E_CANNOTRESTART 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.

Specific conditions that produce this result

  • Cause 1 for DB_E_CANNOTRESTART: the rowset is forward-only and does not support restart.
  • Cause 2 for DB_E_CANNOTRESTART: the underlying command is nonrepeatable or has side effects.
  • Cause 3 for DB_E_CANNOTRESTART: the transaction or live data source cannot recreate the original sequence consistently.

Diagnostic sequence

  1. Capture DB_E_CANNOTRESTART 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_CANNOTRESTART: a consumer asks a rowset to restart its sequential fetch position but the provider cannot do so.
  3. For DB_E_CANNOTRESTART, compare the live command, rowset, accessor or schema state with the metadata and properties actually granted by the provider.
  4. For DB_E_CANNOTRESTART, 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_CANNOTRESTART, reproduce the issue with the smallest command, rowset or definition operation that preserves the same contract boundary.
  6. For DB_E_CANNOTRESTART, apply one evidence-backed correction, then verify that the operation succeeds and does not merely change into a nearby HRESULT.

Corrective actions

  • Action 1 for DB_E_CANNOTRESTART: request a scrollable or restartable rowset when restart is required.
  • Action 2 for DB_E_CANNOTRESTART: reexecute a safe read-only command and replace the rowset when permitted.
  • Action 3 for DB_E_CANNOTRESTART: design streaming consumers to process data in one pass.

Practical incident

A CSV-backed provider exposes a forward-only stream and a report engine tries to rewind it for a second pass; materializing the rows or reopening the source avoids DB_E_CANNOTRESTART. The diagnostic value comes from retaining DB_E_CANNOTRESTART together with the failing interface and object state, not from reducing every provider result to “database error”.

Implementation guidance

Code handling DB_E_CANNOTRESTART 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_CANNOTRESTART, handles such as HACCESSOR, HROW, HCHAPTER and provider-specific region tokens must never be treated as portable integers across object lifetimes.

When DB_E_CANNOTRESTART 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_CANNOTRESTART, do not log passwords, access tokens, complete SQL text or unrestricted row values merely to make the event easier to search.

Retry and recovery policy

Retry rule for DB_E_CANNOTRESTART: retry only by creating a new suitable rowset or reexecuting a repeatable command; calling restart again on the same unsupported rowset is pointless. A safe DB_E_CANNOTRESTART retry must use a changed input, object generation, provider capability or state transition. If the call returning DB_E_CANNOTRESTART could have created, updated, deleted or copied data, determine partial completion before replaying it.

For DB_E_CANNOTRESTART, use bounded retries and preserve cancellation. For DB_E_CANNOTRESTART, 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_CANTSCROLLBACKWARDS concerns backward offset movement, while DB_E_CANNOTRESTART specifically reports inability to return the rowset position to its start. Keep these outcomes separate in telemetry and user-facing remediation because DB_E_CANNOTRESTART requires a different next action.

Official Microsoft references

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