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NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED
NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED: owning object, evidence and recovery
Where the boundary sits
NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED (0xC00D13F0) marks origin metadata or cache policy forbids storing the requested content. For NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED, the most useful interpretation starts with the Windows Media Services object that returned the HRESULT.
For NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED, the cache/proxy layer first applies policy, then decides whether to serve local content, revalidate it, contact an origin server, proxy it, redirect the client or reject the request. When NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED is returned, those decisions are separate from ordinary player buffering. In a NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED trace, keep the cache key, origin validators and policy decision together. While diagnosing NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED, a cache proxy behaves both as a server to the player and as a client to the origin. For NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED, the decisive question is whether the live object and values match that boundary; the base AllStat description alone does not reveal the object generation, selected plug-in or lower-level failure.
Interpret the retest
| Retest observation | Interpretation |
|---|---|
The same call still returns NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED | For NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED, the rejected precondition has not changed, or the caller is still using an old object/configuration generation. |
| The operation advances and a later code appears | The NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED boundary was cleared. After NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED, diagnose the new code at its own source, parser, sink, network or client stage. |
| A new object succeeds while the retained object fails | For NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED, object lifetime or stale context is part of the incident; update lifecycle handling rather than applying a machine-wide repair. |
| Only one publishing point, playlist, cache key or plug-in fails | For NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED, the evidence favors object-specific configuration or content over a server-wide outage. |
Code-specific failure anatomy
In a representative NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED incident, the server reaches origin metadata or cache policy forbids storing the requested content and rejects the operation before the caller can safely assume the next stage occurred. The incident record should therefore join Cache-Control directives, expiration information, policy plug-in decision, content type and requested persistence mode with the object generation and the exact administrative or protocol request.
A useful negative control is proxy without persistence or change the authoritative origin/cache policy when caching is intentionally allowed. If that change advances the same NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED call, the result supports this boundary. If NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED remains, return to the first lower-level event instead of broadening the repair.
The tempting but misleading response is forcing a file into the cache directory; that bypasses version and policy metadata. That action does not test the distinction that matters here: not modified confirms an existing cached representation; cannot be cached rejects creating or updating one. For NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED, this distinction is also why monitoring should retain the symbolic name instead of storing only a generic COM failure.
Build a reproducible incident record
| Evidence | Why it matters for NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED |
|---|---|
| Decisive state | Cache-Control directives, expiration information, policy plug-in decision, content type and requested persistence mode. |
| Owning object | Record the server, publishing point, playlist, namespace node, plug-in or cache item that returned NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED, including its creation or restart time. |
| First lower-level result | Preserve the earliest Win32, socket, COM, parser or plug-in event before the HRESULT; later wrappers can map several causes to NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED. |
| Controlled comparison | Use a known-good object of the same type and vary only the precondition described as “origin metadata or cache policy forbids storing the requested content”. |
| Security-sensitive data | For NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED, log identifiers, lengths, hashes and redacted URLs where possible; do not publish passwords, authorization files or unrestricted client data. |
Test the owning precondition
- Capture
0xC00D13F0,NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED, the exact API/administrative action and the first failure timestamp. - Preserve Cache-Control directives, expiration information, policy plug-in decision, content type and requested persistence mode.
- For
NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED, confirm that the object still belongs to the current WMServer, publishing-point or presentation generation. - Perform one isolated experiment: proxy without persistence or change the authoritative origin/cache policy when caching is intentionally allowed.
- Repeat the original
NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHEDoperation through the same protocol and service account; do not substitute a different client-side test. - After
NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED, verify the expected next state and retain any later HRESULT as a separate pipeline result.
For NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED, success means the same operation crosses this checkpoint and produces the expected next state, not merely that the symbolic code disappears.
Do not merge nearby HRESULT values
Primary distinction: not modified confirms an existing cached representation; cannot be cached rejects creating or updating one.
| Nearby result | Different checkpoint |
|---|---|
NS_E_CACHE_NOT_MODIFIED | Compare its own symbolic boundary and the first failing call; it must not be grouped automatically with NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED. |
NS_E_CACHE_NOT_BROADCAST | Relative to NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED, this neighboring result belongs to another state or validation branch even when the user-visible symptom is similar. |
NS_E_CACHE_ARCHIVE_CONFLICT | For NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED, use the object type and operation sequence to determine which result is authoritative. |
Changes that do not establish the cause
- forcing a file into the cache directory; that bypasses version and policy metadata.
- For
NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED, a broad reinstall is especially weak evidence here because it changes many unrelated components while leaving the rejected server precondition unexplained. - Do not suppress
NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHEDor replace it with a generic “media server error”; retain the symbolic code and owning operation in telemetry.
Technical references
- Windows Media Server Cache Proxy Functionality
- Creating Cache Proxy Plug-ins
- Windows Media Services HTTP Proxy Server Interaction
- Microsoft HRESULT registry
Close the incident only after NS_E_CACHE_CANNOT_BE_CACHED clears on a current object.
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