What does NTSTATUS 0xC00001AB (STATUS_FILE_METADATA_OPTIMIZATION_IN_PROGRESS) mean?

 
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STATUS_NO_APPLICATION_PACKAGE STATUS_NOT_SAME_OBJECT

STATUS_FILE_METADATA_OPTIMIZATION_IN_PROGRESS

A second metadata optimization cannot start concurrently

Some file-system maintenance operations reorganize metadata independently of user data. This status means the requested optimization overlaps an operation already in progress, so starting another pass would conflict with the same metadata state.

Treat it as serialized maintenance, not as evidence that file contents are corrupt. The correct response is to observe the existing operation and retry after completion rather than launching parallel optimizers.

What to inspect

  • Identify the FSCTL or maintenance tool that initiated the first pass.
  • Monitor file-system events and operation completion instead of polling aggressively.
  • Ensure scheduled maintenance jobs use a volume-level mutex or equivalent coordination.

References


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