What does HRESULT 0x80040E4F (DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED) mean?

 
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DB_E_CANCELED DB_E_BADSOURCEHANDLE

DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED

Rowset is single-chaptered. The chapter was not released

Exact value and result class

DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED has unsigned value 2147749455 (0x80040E4F) and signed 32-bit value -2147217841. AllStat describes it as “Rowset is single-chaptered. The chapter was not released”. In this result, a single-chapter rowset is asked to activate another chapter while the current chapter remains referenced.

The high bit is set, so DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED is a failure HRESULT. Its facility is 4 (FACILITY_ITF) and its low code is 3663 (0x0E4F). For DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED, these fields identify an interface-defined result family; they do not identify the provider instance, method, object generation or partial effects.

Evidence to collect

A useful DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED event records provider CLSID and version, process architecture, interface IID and method, object correlation ID, transaction state and the immediately preceding HRESULT. When recording DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED data involving parent keys, chapter identifiers and hierarchical row values, use types, lengths, hashes or redacted identifiers rather than secrets or complete business data.

  • Evidence 1 for DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED: the current chapter handle and reference ownership.
  • Evidence 2 for DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED: all child objects created from the chapter.
  • Evidence 3 for DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED: the call sequence from chapter acquisition through attempted replacement.

Contract boundary

For DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED, chapter handles represent a provider-owned view into a hierarchical rowset. For DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED, single-chapter rowsets permit only one active chapter at a time, so chapter lifetime and release ordering are part of the method contract rather than optional cleanup.

Investigation of DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED should start with the chaptered rowset, current HCHAPTER and every reference that keeps the old chapter active. Capture DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED before ADO, ATL, .NET or a database abstraction layer replaces the native HRESULT with a generic exception.

Conditions that specifically lead to this result

  • Cause 1 for DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED: the consumer forgot to release the previous HCHAPTER.
  • Cause 2 for DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED: a child rowset or wrapper still retains the chapter.
  • Cause 3 for DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED: error cleanup skipped chapter release after an earlier operation.

Diagnostic sequence

  1. Capture raw 0x80040E4F and symbolic DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED at the native call boundary.
  2. Identify the exact failing stage for DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED: a single-chapter rowset is asked to activate another chapter while the current chapter remains referenced.
  3. Retrieve all OLE DB error records for DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED before another COM call replaces thread error information.
  4. Compare the live object state and provider-granted capabilities with the input that produced DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED.
  5. Reduce the DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED operation to the smallest case that preserves the same chapter contract.
  6. Apply one evidence-backed correction for DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED and verify that the result is not merely replaced by a neighboring HRESULT.

Corrective actions

  • Action 1 for DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED: release child objects before releasing the chapter.
  • Action 2 for DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED: centralize HCHAPTER ownership in a scoped wrapper.
  • Action 3 for DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED: do not request a second chapter until the first release is confirmed.

Practical scenario

A hierarchical browser switches parents without closing the prior child chapter; deterministic cleanup permits the new chapter to open. Keeping DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED with the method and object state makes this scenario diagnosable instead of reducing it to “database error”.

Developer and operations guidance

Code handling DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED should release COM objects in ownership order, retain per-row, per-column or per-property statuses, and log granted capabilities rather than only requested options. While handling DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED, opaque values such as HACCESSOR, HROW, HCHAPTER, DBID components and provider handles must remain scoped to the object that issued them.

Operational dashboards for DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED should group by provider version, interface, method and normalized failure stage. A DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED event must not expose passwords, tokens, full connection strings, unrestricted command text or raw row contents.

Retry and recovery

Retry rule for DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED: retry after the existing chapter and all dependent references have been released. A DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED retry is safe only when the relevant input, object generation, capability or external state has changed. Before replaying a modifying call that returned DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED, determine whether rows, schema objects or URL resources were partially created or changed.

Do not turn DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED into an unbounded retry loop. Preserve cancellation for DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED and use a fresh provider object when the failed call may have left local state ambiguous.

Difference from nearby HRESULT values

DB_E_BADCHAPTER means a supplied chapter handle is invalid, while DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED means the existing valid chapter is still active. Telemetry and remediation for DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED should keep these outcomes distinct.

Official Microsoft references

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