What does NTSTATUS 0xC00002E3 (STATUS_SAM_INIT_FAILURE) mean?

STATUS_SAM_INIT_FAILURE

Security Accounts Manager initialization did not complete

STATUS_SAM_INIT_FAILURE (0xC00002E3) identifies failure while the Security Accounts Manager is initializing. The status is a lifecycle boundary: it does not by itself prove one historical Active Directory defect or prescribe a particular hotfix.

What to preserve

• Capture the first SAM, LSA, directory-service, registry, storage, or dependency event from the same boot or service-start sequence.
• Record whether the machine is a domain controller or member system and whether the failure follows directory, registry, storage, security-database, or configuration changes.
• On a domain controller, inspect Active Directory health and configuration using the earliest companion error; on a member system, keep the local SAM/LSA failure path separate from domain-controller-specific repair procedures.

Recovery

Repair the underlying initialization failure identified by the accompanying event or lower-level status, then restart through the supported system lifecycle and verify that SAM initialization proceeds normally. Do not apply an obsolete version-specific hotfix or delete directory/security database state merely because an old article associated one particular cause with this code.

If the same status recurs, compare the first failing dependency and event sequence across boots. Later authentication failures are consequences of unsuccessful SAM initialization and are less useful than the initial startup evidence.

Official references

• Microsoft Open Specifications: NTSTATUS values
• Microsoft: Using NTSTATUS values