What does HRESULT 0x80040E91 (DB_E_NOSOURCEOBJECT) mean?

 
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DB_E_NOSOURCEOBJECT

Exact value and result class

DB_E_NOSOURCEOBJECT has unsigned value 2147749521 (0x80040E91) and signed 32-bit value -2147217775. AllStat describes it as “Source row does not exist”. In this result, a scoped copy, move or related resource operation cannot find the source row named by the source URL.

The high bit is set, so this result is a failure HRESULT. Its facility is 4 (FACILITY_ITF) and its low code is 3729 (0x0E91). These fields identify an interface-defined result family; they do not identify the provider instance, method, object generation or partial effects.

Contract boundary

The OLE DB binder model maps URLs to row, rowset, stream or collection objects. URL scope, requested object type, bind flags, asynchronous capability, locks and server reachability are independent parts of the binding contract.

Investigation of this result should start with the binder or session, normalized URL, requested GUID/object type and DBBINDURLSTATUS result. Capture it before ADO, ATL,.NET or a database abstraction layer replaces the native HRESULT with a generic exception.

Diagnostic sequence

  1. Capture raw 0x80040E91 and symbolic this result at the native call boundary.
  2. Identify the exact failing stage for it: a scoped copy, move or related resource operation cannot find the source row named by the source URL.
  3. Retrieve all OLE DB error records for it before another COM call replaces thread error information.
  4. Compare the live object state and provider-granted capabilities with the input that produced it.
  5. Reduce the operation to the smallest case that preserves the same binder contract.
  6. Apply one evidence-backed correction for it and verify that the result is not merely replaced by a neighboring HRESULT.

Conditions that specifically lead to it

  • Cause 1 for it: the source was deleted or renamed.
  • Cause 2 for it: the URL resolves in a different scope than expected.
  • Cause 3 for it: a concurrent operation moved the source first.

Evidence to collect

A useful it event records provider CLSID and version, process architecture, interface IID and method, object correlation ID, transaction state and the immediately preceding HRESULT. When recording it data involving URLs containing credentials, tenant paths and remote object names, use types, lengths, hashes or redacted identifiers rather than secrets or complete business data.

  • Evidence 1 for it: normalized source URL and scope.
  • Evidence 2 for it: existence check immediately before the operation.
  • Evidence 3 for it: concurrent move or delete correlation IDs.

Corrective actions

  • Action 1 for it: refresh the source identity before mutation.
  • Action 2 for it: make copy or move workflows resilient to concurrent disappearance.
  • Action 3 for it: treat absence as a distinct idempotency outcome where appropriate.

Retry and recovery

Retry rule for it: retry only after the source row exists again or a new valid source is selected. A it retry is safe only when the relevant input, object generation, capability or external state has changed. Before replaying a modifying call that returned it, determine whether rows, schema objects or URL resources were partially created or changed.

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

Difference from nearby HRESULT values

DB_E_NOTFOUND is a broad absence result, while it specifically identifies the source row of a resource operation. Telemetry and remediation for it should keep these outcomes distinct.

Practical scenario

Two workers move the same resource; the second observes that the source row no longer exists and records an idempotent completion. Keeping it with the method and object state makes this scenario diagnosable instead of reducing it to “database error”.

Developer and operations guidance

Code handling it 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 it, opaque values such as HACCESSOR, HROW, HCHAPTER, DBID components and provider handles must remain scoped to the object that issued them.

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

Official Microsoft references

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