What does HRESULT 0x80040E45 (DB_E_INVALID) mean?

 
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DB_E_BADPROPERTYVALUE DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS

DB_E_INVALID

Rowset is not chaptered

Exact value and interpretation

DB_E_INVALID has the unsigned 32-bit value 2147749445 (0x80040E45) and the signed representation -2147217851. AllStat defines the result as “Rowset is not chaptered”. In the concrete failure represented here, an operation requiring a chaptered rowset is invoked on a rowset that is not chaptered.

The high bit is set for DB_E_INVALID, 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 3653 (0x0E45). Those bit fields place DB_E_INVALID 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_INVALID 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_INVALID involves parent keys, chapter identifiers, row contents and hierarchical paths, record types, lengths, hashes or redacted identifiers instead of secrets or full business data.

  • Evidence 1 for DB_E_INVALID: the rowset interfaces and granted properties.
  • Evidence 2 for DB_E_INVALID: column metadata for chapter columns.
  • Evidence 3 for DB_E_INVALID: the command and result shape that produced the rowset.

OLE DB contract boundary

DB_E_INVALID must be interpreted against this contract: chaptered rowsets expose hierarchical results through chapter columns and HCHAPTER values; a flat rowset, an invalid chapter handle and a valid chapter with no matching row are different contracts and must be diagnosed separately.

Start with the chaptered rowset, parent row and HCHAPTER lifetime associated with the operation when investigating DB_E_INVALID. Preserve DB_E_INVALID 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_INVALID: the rowset was created without chapter support.
  • Cause 2 for DB_E_INVALID: the consumer assumes a hierarchical provider always returns chapters.
  • Cause 3 for DB_E_INVALID: a different result shape is returned for this command execution.

Diagnostic sequence

  1. Capture DB_E_INVALID 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_INVALID: an operation requiring a chaptered rowset is invoked on a rowset that is not chaptered.
  3. For DB_E_INVALID, compare the live command, rowset, accessor or schema state with the metadata and properties actually granted by the provider.
  4. For DB_E_INVALID, 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_INVALID, reproduce the issue with the smallest command, rowset or definition operation that preserves the same contract boundary.
  6. For DB_E_INVALID, 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_INVALID: test for chapter support before chapter operations.
  • Action 2 for DB_E_INVALID: use ordinary row navigation for flat results.
  • Action 3 for DB_E_INVALID: request the provider property or query shape that actually produces chapters.

Practical incident

A data-shaping consumer receives a flat fallback rowset and immediately requests a child chapter; checking the actual rowset shape prevents DB_E_INVALID. The diagnostic value comes from retaining DB_E_INVALID together with the failing interface and object state, not from reducing every provider result to “database error”.

Implementation guidance

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

When DB_E_INVALID 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_INVALID, 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_INVALID: retry only with a chaptered rowset or a nonchapter operation. A safe DB_E_INVALID retry must use a changed input, object generation, provider capability or state transition. If the call returning DB_E_INVALID could have created, updated, deleted or copied data, determine partial completion before replaying it.

For DB_E_INVALID, use bounded retries and preserve cancellation. For DB_E_INVALID, 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_BADCHAPTER means an HCHAPTER is invalid, while DB_E_INVALID here means the rowset itself is not chaptered. Keep these outcomes separate in telemetry and user-facing remediation because DB_E_INVALID requires a different next action.

Official Microsoft references

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