What does HRESULT 0x80040E28 (DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE) mean?

DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE

Status flag was neither DBCOLUMNSTATUS_OK nor DBCOLUMNSTATUS_ISNULL

Exact value and interpretation

DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE has the unsigned 32-bit value 2147749416 (0x80040E28) and the signed representation -2147217880. AllStat defines the result as “Status flag was neither DBCOLUMNSTATUS_OK nor DBCOLUMNSTATUS_ISNULL”. In the concrete failure represented here, a write or parameter binding supplies a DBSTATUS value other than the statuses accepted for input.

The high bit is set for DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE, 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 3624 (0x0E28). Those bit fields place DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE in an interface-defined family, but they do not reveal the provider, object identity, method, rowset generation or command state that produced it.

OLE DB contract boundary

DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE must be interpreted against this contract: OLE DB accessors describe how columns or parameters map to a consumer buffer; an HACCESSOR is object-scoped, reference-counted and inseparable from its DBBINDING layout, bound parts, data types, offsets and ownership rules.

Start with the command or rowset that created the accessor and the consumer buffer passed to the failing method when investigating DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE. Preserve DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE 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_BADSTATUSVALUE: the consumer passes an output-only error status back into SetData.
• Cause 2 for DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE: an uninitialized status field contains an arbitrary value.
• Cause 3 for DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE: the binding does not include status storage consistently with the buffer layout.

Evidence to collect before changing the system

A useful DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE 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_BADSTATUSVALUE involves parameter values, row contents, connection-specific identifiers and long-data buffers, record types, lengths, hashes or redacted identifiers instead of secrets or full business data.

• Evidence 1 for DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE: the DBSTATUS value and binding ordinal.
• Evidence 2 for DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE: which DBPART flags are bound for value, length and status.
• Evidence 3 for DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE: the buffer initialization path before the provider call.

Diagnostic sequence

1. Capture DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE 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_BADSTATUSVALUE: a write or parameter binding supplies a DBSTATUS value other than the statuses accepted for input.
3. For DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE, compare the live command, rowset, accessor or schema state with the metadata and properties actually granted by the provider.
4. For DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE, 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_BADSTATUSVALUE, reproduce the issue with the smallest command, rowset or definition operation that preserves the same contract boundary.
6. For DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE, 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_BADSTATUSVALUE: initialize every bound status field explicitly.
• Action 2 for DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE: use DBSTATUS_S_OK or DBSTATUS_S_ISNULL only where the method contract permits.
• Action 3 for DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE: do not recycle output status arrays as input without normalization.

Retry and recovery policy

Retry rule for DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE: retry after correcting the status fields and validating the buffer layout. A safe DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE retry must use a changed input, object generation, provider capability or state transition. If the call returning DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE could have created, updated, deleted or copied data, determine partial completion before replaying it.

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

Practical incident

A bulk updater reuses a GetData buffer containing DBSTATUS_E_CANTCONVERTVALUE as SetData input; resetting statuses to valid input values removes DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE. The diagnostic value comes from retaining DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE together with the failing interface and object state, not from reducing every provider result to “database error”.

Difference from related HRESULT values

DB_E_BADBINDINFO concerns the binding description, while DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE concerns a status value placed in an otherwise addressable binding buffer. Keep these outcomes separate in telemetry and user-facing remediation because DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE requires a different next action.

Implementation guidance

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

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

Official Microsoft references

• Microsoft: IAccessor — official documentation relevant to DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE.
• Microsoft: using OLE DB accessors — official documentation relevant to DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE.
• Microsoft: getting and setting OLE DB data — official documentation relevant to DB_E_BADSTATUSVALUE.

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