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STATUS_IMAGE_ALREADY_LOADED
The image has already been loaded for this operation
Windows tracks loaded images and their mappings to avoid creating conflicting loader state for the same module or system image. This status indicates that the requested image is already registered or mapped in the context where the operation expects a new load. It is not the same as finding a second file with the same base name.
The correct response depends on the caller contract. A normal user-mode DLL load can return the existing module and increment a reference count, while lower-level image or driver paths may reject a duplicate load. Reusing a stale handle or forcing another mapping can produce mismatched initialization and unload accounting.
What to inspect
- Identify the existing module by full normalized path, file ID, image base, and load context.
- Check reference counts and initialization state before deciding whether the existing load satisfies the request.
- Distinguish a duplicate load request from two different files that share the same module base name.
- Do not manually call an entry point again on an image whose loader initialization has already completed.
References
- Microsoft Open Specifications: NTSTATUS values
- Microsoft: LoadLibrary
- Wine source: PE module loader
- Microsoft: PE and COFF format
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