What does HRESULT 0x80040E3A (DB_E_BADPRECISION) mean?

 
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DB_E_BADPRECISION

Precision is invalid

Exact value and interpretation

DB_E_BADPRECISION has the unsigned 32-bit value 2147749434 (0x80040E3A) and the signed representation -2147217862. AllStat defines the result as “Precision is invalid”. In the concrete failure represented here, a column, parameter or binding specifies a precision value outside the range accepted for its type.

The high bit is set for DB_E_BADPRECISION, 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 3642 (0x0E3A). Those bit fields place DB_E_BADPRECISION 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_BADPRECISION must be interpreted against this contract: OLE DB schema contracts combine DBIDs, provider type metadata, column attributes, constraints and locale rules; current provider metadata is authoritative; cached ordinals or type assumptions can become invalid after a schema or command change.

Start with the table, column, parameter or schema object named by the failing definition or data operation when investigating DB_E_BADPRECISION. Preserve DB_E_BADPRECISION 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_BADPRECISION 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_BADPRECISION: a column, parameter or binding specifies a precision value outside the range accepted for its type.
  3. For DB_E_BADPRECISION, compare the live command, rowset, accessor or schema state with the metadata and properties actually granted by the provider.
  4. For DB_E_BADPRECISION, 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_BADPRECISION, reproduce the issue with the smallest command, rowset or definition operation that preserves the same contract boundary.
  6. For DB_E_BADPRECISION, apply one evidence-backed correction, then verify that the operation succeeds and does not merely change into a nearby HRESULT.

Specific conditions that produce this result

  • Cause 1 for DB_E_BADPRECISION: precision is zero where the type requires a positive value.
  • Cause 2 for DB_E_BADPRECISION: precision exceeds provider or native-type limits.
  • Cause 3 for DB_E_BADPRECISION: precision is supplied for a type where that field is not meaningful.

Evidence to collect before changing the system

A useful DB_E_BADPRECISION 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_BADPRECISION involves table names, column values, keys, constraints and provider-specific type declarations, record types, lengths, hashes or redacted identifiers instead of secrets or full business data.

  • Evidence 1 for DB_E_BADPRECISION: the DBTYPE, precision and scale values.
  • Evidence 2 for DB_E_BADPRECISION: provider type metadata and native type name.
  • Evidence 3 for DB_E_BADPRECISION: the structure and ordinal carrying the invalid precision.

Corrective actions

  • Action 1 for DB_E_BADPRECISION: derive precision from provider metadata.
  • Action 2 for DB_E_BADPRECISION: validate type-specific limits before creating bindings or schema objects.
  • Action 3 for DB_E_BADPRECISION: keep precision and buffer length calculations separate.

Retry and recovery policy

Retry rule for DB_E_BADPRECISION: retry after correcting the precision for the selected type. A safe DB_E_BADPRECISION retry must use a changed input, object generation, provider capability or state transition. If the call returning DB_E_BADPRECISION could have created, updated, deleted or copied data, determine partial completion before replaying it.

For DB_E_BADPRECISION, use bounded retries and preserve cancellation. For DB_E_BADPRECISION, 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_BADSCALE rejects the fractional scale, while DB_E_BADPRECISION rejects the total number of significant digits. Keep these outcomes separate in telemetry and user-facing remediation because DB_E_BADPRECISION requires a different next action.

Practical incident

A schema generator copies a 38-digit precision to a provider whose numeric type supports only 28 digits; mapping to the provider limit resolves DB_E_BADPRECISION. The diagnostic value comes from retaining DB_E_BADPRECISION together with the failing interface and object state, not from reducing every provider result to “database error”.

Implementation guidance

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

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

Official Microsoft references

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