What does HRESULT 0x80040E46 (DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS) mean?

 
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DB_E_INVALID DB_E_BADSTORAGEFLAGS

DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS

One or more accessor flags were invalid

Exact value and interpretation

DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS has the unsigned 32-bit value 2147749446 (0x80040E46) and the signed representation -2147217850. AllStat defines the result as “One or more accessor flags were invalid”. In the concrete failure represented here, IAccessor::CreateAccessor receives an invalid combination of DBACCESSORFLAGS.

The high bit is set for DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS, 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 3654 (0x0E46). Those bit fields place DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS 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_BADACCESSORFLAGS 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_BADACCESSORFLAGS. Preserve DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS 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_BADACCESSORFLAGS: unknown flag bits are set.
  • Cause 2 for DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS: row-data and parameter-data flags are combined where the object does not permit them.
  • Cause 3 for DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS: a provider-specific unsupported flag is treated as universally available.

Evidence to collect before changing the system

A useful DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS 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_BADACCESSORFLAGS 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_BADACCESSORFLAGS: the exact DBACCESSORFLAGS bitmask.
  • Evidence 2 for DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS: whether the accessor is created on a command or rowset.
  • Evidence 3 for DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS: provider capability and per-binding status.

Diagnostic sequence

  1. Capture DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS 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_BADACCESSORFLAGS: IAccessor::CreateAccessor receives an invalid combination of DBACCESSORFLAGS.
  3. For DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS, compare the live command, rowset, accessor or schema state with the metadata and properties actually granted by the provider.
  4. For DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS, 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_BADACCESSORFLAGS, reproduce the issue with the smallest command, rowset or definition operation that preserves the same contract boundary.
  6. For DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS, 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_BADACCESSORFLAGS: mask out unknown bits.
  • Action 2 for DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS: create separate row and parameter accessors when required.
  • Action 3 for DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS: derive flags from the operation rather than copying them from another object.

Retry and recovery policy

Retry rule for DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS: retry after creating an accessor with a valid flag combination. A safe DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS retry must use a changed input, object generation, provider capability or state transition. If the call returning DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS could have created, updated, deleted or copied data, determine partial completion before replaying it.

For DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS, use bounded retries and preserve cancellation. For DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS, 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 wrapper copies parameter-accessor flags onto a rowset-only accessor; selecting DBACCESSOR_ROWDATA for that object removes DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS. The diagnostic value comes from retaining DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS 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 individual DBBINDING entries, while DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS concerns the accessor-level flag mask. Keep these outcomes separate in telemetry and user-facing remediation because DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS requires a different next action.

Implementation guidance

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

When DB_E_BADACCESSORFLAGS 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_BADACCESSORFLAGS, 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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