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hrBufferTruncated
Interpretation in the backup state machine
For hrBufferTruncated, a correct handler first decides whether the value is success, warning, or failure, then examines the documented outputs. The decisive boundary is the caller-provided output buffer did not hold the complete value even though the engine identified the value.
The stored Value is 0x880003EE (positive JET status 1006; 1006). The HRESULT carries a warning, so the call may have useful output or a valid cursor state that must be inspected. Current ESE documentation uses JET_wrnBufferTruncated for the corresponding published JET condition.
The first useful distinction is that the value exists; hrColumnNull means no value exists and hrColumnMaxTruncated concerns a schema maximum being reduced. Start by capture requested buffer size, actual required size, column type, retrieval flags, and whether partial data was intentionally permitted. That separates a reproducible incident from a later generic cleanup or service error.
Start with these observations
Preserve the first result before retries, cleanup, service restart, or file replacement changes the evidence. The diagnostic record should identify the exact API phase and the owner of every handle or artifact involved.
- Code-specific observation: capture requested buffer size, actual required size, column type, retrieval flags, and whether partial data was intentionally permitted.
- Input/output buffer sizes: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Actual returned length: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Retrieval or set flags: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Column ID and type: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
Objects and state involved
| Diagnostic layer | column NULL state, schema limits, and caller output-buffer contracts |
|---|---|
| Relevant API surface | JetRetrieveColumn, JetSetColumn, column enumeration, and schema creation |
| Code-specific boundary | the caller-provided output buffer did not hold the complete value even though the engine identified the value |
| Narrow corrective direction | resize from the returned length or use a deliberate bounded-read policy without treating the partial bytes as complete |
JET warnings can carry valid output state and must not be reduced to a boolean failure., nULL, empty, defaulted, and truncated values are distinct application states.
Recovery or retry plan
- Record it,
0x880003EE, the API name, the current phase, and all live context or file owners. - Verify the decisive condition by capture requested buffer size, actual required size, column type, retrieval flags, and whether partial data was intentionally permitted.
- Apply only the narrow correction: resize from the returned length or use a deliberate bounded-read policy without treating the partial bytes as complete.
- After it, recreate any context invalidated by the failure; do not carry stale HBC, cursor, file, or restore-map state into the retry.
- repeat the smallest non-destructive test that reaches the same boundary, then verify both the return value and the resulting file, cursor, backup, or database state.
Not the same as
It specifically means that the value exists; hrColumnNull means no value exists and hrColumnMaxTruncated concerns a schema maximum being reduced. Related values below can appear in the same workflow but require a different response:
hrColumnNull | column retrieval found a genuine NULL value and therefore no payload bytes exist for that column |
|---|---|
hrColumnSetNull | a column update resulted in a NULL value as an explicit outcome |
hrRestoreLogTooHigh | the configured starting restore generation is above an available log that belongs to the required set |
Keep the original constant and hexadecimal value in telemetry. Replacing it with “backup failed” or “database warning” removes the state information needed to select the next legal API call.
Actions that can make diagnosis worse
- do not replace NULL with an empty value without an explicit data-model rule.
- do not decode an undefined or partial buffer as a complete value.
- do not discard the first lower-level Win32, RPC, or JET result merely because a later cleanup call returned a more familiar error.
Acceptance criteria for a fix
Technical references
- ESE warning table — API ordering, file semantics, warning/error interpretation, or recovery behavior relevant to it.
- JET_ERR enumeration
- Open-source ESE implementation
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