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FILTER_E_UNREACHABLE
The document cannot be reached by the filter
FILTER_E_UNREACHABLE is HRESULT 0x80041737 (-2147215561 signed; 2147751735 unsigned). Its severity bit is 1, facility is 4 (FACILITY_ITF for these values), and code field is 0x1737. Standard HRESULT severity rules classify the value as a failure. AllStat describes the value as “The file is not reachable.”
API stage and meaning
This result belongs to resolving or fetching the source object before its bytes can be parsed. The decisive interpretation is that the path, URL, storage object or remote endpoint is not currently reachable. Keep the symbolic constant and method stage together in logs; its hexadecimal value alone cannot identify the owning transition or input.
The IFilter contract is stateful: GetChunk selects a chunk, then GetText or GetValue consumes content according to STAT_CHUNK flags. In the result investigation, method order and filter-instance ownership are therefore part of the evidence. This context narrows the responsible component without replacing the code-specific checks below.
Failure paths
- The result investigation should record a share or server is unavailable.
- The result investigation should record the item was moved after enumeration.
- The result investigation should record name resolution fails.
- The result investigation should record an offline placeholder has no hydrated content.
The useful hypothesis for it must explain both resolving or fetching the source object before its bytes can be parsed and the documented condition. Compare the failing case with a control that preserves canonical source address and changes only resolution result and network endpoint; this prevents unrelated environment differences from dominating the result test.
Observability checklist
- At step 1 for it, canonical source address
- At step 2 for it, resolution result and network endpoint
- At step 3 for it, enumeration-to-open time gap
- At step 4 for it, underlying transport or storage status
Capture canonical source address before releasing objects, closing handles or reconnecting. Retain the raw HRESULT with resolution result and network endpoint, component version, UTC timestamp and correlation ID. Bound the result telemetry to diagnostic metadata because document content, credentials and unrestricted query text may be sensitive.
How to isolate the cause
- Resolve the exact canonical address from the filter host. Associate this observation specifically with this result.
- Check whether the item still exists at that identity.
- Separate transient transport loss from permanent relocation.
- Use bounded backoff only when the dependency is known to recover. Associate this observation specifically with it.
Change one variable per it control run. Preserve the component version and target identity, then alter only the condition described as the path, URL, storage object or remote endpoint is not currently reachable. This isolates whether it is causal rather than merely repeatable.
Remediation policy
Restore reachability or update the indexed identity; recreate the filter after the dependency becomes available. Record whether resolving or fetching the source object before its bytes can be parsed produced any content, update or state transition before returning. If completion remains unknown, the path must not replay non-idempotent work until the owner confirms final state.
The retry gate for it should be a concrete change in canonical source address or resolution result and network endpoint. A timer alone cannot demonstrate that the result contract condition has changed.
Wrong conclusions to avoid
It does not indicate that an existing reachable object was denied by ACL or locked by a process. Without the call boundary for resolving or fetching the source object before its bytes can be parsed, it also cannot identify which wrapper or configuration layer introduced the condition.
Comparison
FILTER_E_ACCESS follows an access attempt, while it indicates the source cannot be contacted or resolved. In it telemetry, preserve neighboring constants separately because the same visible symptom may require a different caller action, owner or recovery gate.
Developer and administrator actions
- It: At the code boundary, keep canonical source address beside the returned HRESULT.
- It: In telemetry, correlate resolution result and network endpoint with the target and component generation.
- It: For regression coverage, force the documented condition: the path, URL, storage object or remote endpoint is not currently reachable.
- It: For operations staff, expose the corrective state change rather than a generic retry button.
- It: After remediation, validate one known-good control and the original failing case.
Worked scenario
A crawler enumerates a network file, then the share is disconnected before filtering. Correlation timestamps expose the race. In this scenario, handling it at its real contract boundary prevents the application from collapsing a precise state into an unhelpful generic “search failed” message.
Official Microsoft references
- Microsoft: Content-Indexing values — official contract information relevant to it.
- Microsoft: filter handlers in Windows Search
- Microsoft: IFilter interface
- Microsoft: testing filter handlers
- Microsoft: Filter-Interface values
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