HRESULT 0xC03B0006 (HNS_ADAPTER_NOT_FOUND): meaning and diagnosis

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Description:

Host Networking Service could not find the required network adapter.

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HNS_SUBNET_NOT_FOUND	HNS_PORT_NOT_FOUND

HNS_ADAPTER_NOT_FOUND

HNS_ADAPTER_NOT_FOUND is an HRESULT used by Windows Host Networking Service (HNS). It indicates that the physical, virtual, or host adapter referenced by the network configuration is absent.

What to check for HNS_ADAPTER_NOT_FOUND

List host adapters and verify the interface name, GUID, and operational state expected by HNS.
Check recent driver, Hyper-V, VPN, or network-reset changes that may have replaced the adapter.
Recreate the dependent network only after selecting a valid active adapter.

For HNS_ADAPTER_NOT_FOUND, Microsoft documentation on Windows container networking and HNS

Diagnostic interpretation of HNS_ADAPTER_NOT_FOUND

HNS_ADAPTER_NOT_FOUND has the HRESULT value 0xC03B0006. AllStat records the condition as “An adapter was not found.”. For HNS_ADAPTER_NOT_FOUND, in practice, interpret that wording at the boundary owned by the Windows component or COM interface that returned the HRESULT, rather than treating the value as a generic Windows message.

Evidence to capture for HNS_ADAPTER_NOT_FOUND

Record the exact COM method or Windows API, its input object, the calling thread, and the full 0xC03B0006 value before a wrapper converts it to an exception or Boolean result.
Capture any IErrorInfo text, activity identifier, event-log entry, and subsystem trace that mentions HNS_ADAPTER_NOT_FOUND or the hns / adapter / found operation.
For HNS_ADAPTER_NOT_FOUND, compare the failing machine with a working one at the same configuration boundary: component version, policy, registration, identity, and target resource.

Retry and recovery for HNS_ADAPTER_NOT_FOUND

Retry HNS_ADAPTER_NOT_FOUND only when the owning API documents a transient state or after the condition described as “An adapter was not found.” has changed. For HNS_ADAPTER_NOT_FOUND, configuration, policy, format, and authorization failures normally require correction first; an immediate loop can hide the original call site and add secondary errors.

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