What does HRESULT 0x8009001A (NTE_KEYSET_ENTRY_BAD) mean?

 
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NTE_KEYSET_NOT_DEF NTE_PROV_TYPE_NO_MATCH

NTE_KEYSET_ENTRY_BAD

NTE_KEYSET_ENTRY_BAD means that the registered key-container entry is invalid or corrupted. The provider can find the container reference but cannot use it safely as a valid key container.

Recovery steps for NTE_KEYSET_ENTRY_BAD

  • Check whether the key material, user profile, or token-backed storage was restored or migrated incompletely.
  • Use the provider's supported repair, reenrollment, or reimport process to restore a known-good key container.
  • Back up and validate any recoverable key material before removing damaged state.

Microsoft: CryptAcquireContext

Diagnostic interpretation of NTE_KEYSET_ENTRY_BAD

NTE_KEYSET_ENTRY_BAD has the HRESULT value 0x8009001A. AllStat records the condition as “Keyset as registered is invalid.”. For NTE_KEYSET_ENTRY_BAD, in practice, interpret that wording at the boundary owned by cryptography, certificate, trust, or key-provider processing, rather than treating the value as a generic Windows message.

Evidence to capture for NTE_KEYSET_ENTRY_BAD

  • Record the exact COM method or Windows API, its input object, the calling thread, and the full 0x8009001A value before a wrapper converts it to an exception or Boolean result.
  • Capture any IErrorInfo text, activity identifier, event-log entry, and subsystem trace that mentions NTE_KEYSET_ENTRY_BAD or the nte / keyset / entry operation.
  • Reproduce NTE_KEYSET_ENTRY_BAD with the smallest valid input and note whether the result changes with identity, architecture, service state, or target object.

Retry and recovery for NTE_KEYSET_ENTRY_BAD

Retry NTE_KEYSET_ENTRY_BAD only when the owning API documents a transient state or after the condition described as “Keyset as registered is invalid.” has changed. For NTE_KEYSET_ENTRY_BAD, configuration, policy, format, and authorization failures normally require correction first; an immediate loop can hide the original call site and add secondary errors.

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