What does HRESULT 0x80040E90 (DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED) mean?

 
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DB_E_RESOURCEOUTOFSCOPE DB_E_NOSOURCEOBJECT

DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED

Column or constraint could not be dropped because it is referenced by a dependent view or constraint

Exact value and result class

DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED has unsigned value 2147749520 (0x80040E90) and signed 32-bit value -2147217776. AllStat describes it as “Column or constraint could not be dropped because it is referenced by a dependent view or constraint”. In this result, a drop operation targets a column or constraint that still has dependent views or constraints.

The high bit is set, so DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED is a failure HRESULT. Its facility is 4 (FACILITY_ITF) and its low code is 3728 (0x0E90). For DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED, these fields identify an interface-defined result family; they do not identify the provider instance, method, object generation or partial effects.

Conditions that specifically lead to this result

  • Cause 1 for DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED: a view references the column.
  • Cause 2 for DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED: a foreign key or check constraint depends on the object.
  • Cause 3 for DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED: dependency metadata changed after the migration plan was generated.

Contract boundary

For DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED, OLE DB DDL interfaces identify indexes, commands and constraints with provider-scoped DBIDs. For DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED, constraint descriptors also carry type, column arrays, match behavior, deferrability and update/delete rules that must agree as one structure.

Investigation of DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED should start with the session performing DDL, target table metadata and the exact DBID or DBCONSTRAINTDESC supplied. Capture DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED before ADO, ATL, .NET or a database abstraction layer replaces the native HRESULT with a generic exception.

Diagnostic sequence

  1. Capture raw 0x80040E90 and symbolic DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED at the native call boundary.
  2. Identify the exact failing stage for DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED: a drop operation targets a column or constraint that still has dependent views or constraints.
  3. Retrieve all OLE DB error records for DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED 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_DROPRESTRICTED.
  5. Reduce the DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED operation to the smallest case that preserves the same ddl contract.
  6. Apply one evidence-backed correction for DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED and verify that the result is not merely replaced by a neighboring HRESULT.

Evidence to collect

A useful DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED 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_DROPRESTRICTED data involving catalog names, schema names, object identifiers and deployment definitions, use types, lengths, hashes or redacted identifiers rather than secrets or complete business data.

  • Evidence 1 for DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED: target object DBID.
  • Evidence 2 for DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED: provider dependency metadata.
  • Evidence 3 for DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED: ordered list of views and constraints referencing it.

Corrective actions

  • Action 1 for DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED: drop or alter dependents in a deliberate order.
  • Action 2 for DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED: refresh dependency metadata immediately before migration.
  • Action 3 for DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED: wrap compatible DDL in a transaction where supported.

Practical scenario

A migration drops a key column before its foreign key; reversing the dependency order prevents DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED. Keeping DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED with the method and object state makes this scenario diagnosable instead of reducing it to “database error”.

Retry and recovery

Retry rule for DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED: retry after every blocking dependency has been removed or changed. A DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED 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_DROPRESTRICTED, determine whether rows, schema objects or URL resources were partially created or changed.

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

Difference from nearby HRESULT values

DB_E_ALTERRESTRICTED blocks alteration due to a constraint, while DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED blocks removal of a referenced object. Telemetry and remediation for DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED should keep these outcomes distinct.

Developer and operations guidance

Code handling DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED 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_DROPRESTRICTED, 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_DROPRESTRICTED should group by provider version, interface, method and normalized failure stage. A DB_E_DROPRESTRICTED event must not expose passwords, tokens, full connection strings, unrestricted command text or raw row contents.

Official Microsoft references

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