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DB_E_BADRECORDNUM
Record number is invalid
Exact value and interpretation
DB_E_BADRECORDNUM has the unsigned 32-bit value 2147749442 (0x80040E42) and the signed representation -2147217854. AllStat defines the result as “Record number is invalid”. In the concrete failure represented here, IErrorRecords is asked for an error-record index outside the current OLE DB error object.
The high bit is set for DB_E_BADRECORDNUM, 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 3650 (0x0E42). Those bit fields place DB_E_BADRECORDNUM 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_BADRECORDNUM must be interpreted against this contract: OLE DB error objects can contain multiple records and per-element status arrays; the aggregate HRESULT is only the entry point; consumers need the error object captured immediately after the failing provider call.
Start with the current thread error object, its record array and the provider method that installed it when investigating DB_E_BADRECORDNUM. Preserve DB_E_BADRECORDNUM 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.
Evidence to collect before changing the system
A useful DB_E_BADRECORDNUM 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_BADRECORDNUM involves provider descriptions, native database messages, command fragments and row values, record types, lengths, hashes or redacted identifiers instead of secrets or full business data.
- Evidence 1 for
DB_E_BADRECORDNUM: the requested record number and count. - Evidence 2 for
DB_E_BADRECORDNUM: the thread and call that produced the error object. - Evidence 3 for
DB_E_BADRECORDNUM: whether another COM call occurred before enumeration.
Specific conditions that produce this result
- Cause 1 for
DB_E_BADRECORDNUM: the index is greater than or equal to GetRecordCount. - Cause 2 for
DB_E_BADRECORDNUM: the consumer treats the one-based count as a valid zero-based final index. - Cause 3 for
DB_E_BADRECORDNUM: the thread error object was replaced before records were enumerated.
Diagnostic sequence
- Capture
DB_E_BADRECORDNUMimmediately at the native OLE DB return and obtain the current OLE DB error object before another COM call replaces thread error information. - Identify the exact stage for
DB_E_BADRECORDNUM: IErrorRecords is asked for an error-record index outside the current OLE DB error object. - For
DB_E_BADRECORDNUM, compare the live command, rowset, accessor or schema state with the metadata and properties actually granted by the provider. - For
DB_E_BADRECORDNUM, 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. - For
DB_E_BADRECORDNUM, reproduce the issue with the smallest command, rowset or definition operation that preserves the same contract boundary. - For
DB_E_BADRECORDNUM, apply one evidence-backed correction, then verify that the operation succeeds and does not merely change into a nearby HRESULT.
Retry and recovery policy
Retry rule for DB_E_BADRECORDNUM: retry by enumerating the same captured error object with a valid zero-based index. A safe DB_E_BADRECORDNUM retry must use a changed input, object generation, provider capability or state transition. If the call returning DB_E_BADRECORDNUM could have created, updated, deleted or copied data, determine partial completion before replaying it.
For DB_E_BADRECORDNUM, use bounded retries and preserve cancellation. For DB_E_BADRECORDNUM, configuration and contract failures should normally fail fast; concurrency, resource or transient state failures may justify retry only after their stated precondition changes.
Corrective actions
- Action 1 for
DB_E_BADRECORDNUM: call GetRecordCount and iterate from zero to count minus one. - Action 2 for
DB_E_BADRECORDNUM: capture the error object immediately after the failing provider call. - Action 3 for
DB_E_BADRECORDNUM: avoid provider calls inside the enumeration loop unless the error object is retained.
Practical incident
A logger loops from one through GetRecordCount inclusive and fails on the final lookup; using zero-based indices prevents DB_E_BADRECORDNUM. The diagnostic value comes from retaining DB_E_BADRECORDNUM together with the failing interface and object state, not from reducing every provider result to “database error”.
Implementation guidance
Code handling DB_E_BADRECORDNUM 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_BADRECORDNUM, handles such as HACCESSOR, HROW, HCHAPTER and provider-specific region tokens must never be treated as portable integers across object lifetimes.
When DB_E_BADRECORDNUM 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_BADRECORDNUM, do not log passwords, access tokens, complete SQL text or unrestricted row values merely to make the event easier to search.
Difference from related HRESULT values
DB_E_BADDYNAMICERRORID and DB_E_BADLOOKUPID concern identifiers stored in an error record, while DB_E_BADRECORDNUM concerns the record's position in the error object. Keep these outcomes separate in telemetry and user-facing remediation because DB_E_BADRECORDNUM requires a different next action.
Official Microsoft references
- Microsoft: IErrorRecords — official documentation relevant to
DB_E_BADRECORDNUM. - Microsoft: returning an OLE DB error object — official documentation relevant to
DB_E_BADRECORDNUM. - Microsoft: OLE DB interfaces — official documentation relevant to
DB_E_BADRECORDNUM.
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