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hrInvalidHandle
Where the workflow stopped
hrInvalidHandle means the HBC context or current-file state is invalid for the requested backup/restore operation.
The stored value is 0xC7FF0003 (facility-specific HRESULT). The legacy symbolic name comes from the Windows Directory Service backup/restore message header.
The first useful distinction is that a syntactically non-null handle can still be stale or in the wrong state; hrAlreadyOpen instead reports an occupied file slot. Start by tracing where the HBC was created, ended, reused, crossed threads, and whether a file is currently open on it.
Similar-looking outcomes
This result specifically means that a syntactically non-null handle can still be stale or in the wrong state; hrAlreadyOpen instead reports an occupied file slot. Related values below can appear in the same workflow but require a different response:
hrRestoreInProgress | another restore context already owns the Directory Service restore workflow |
|---|---|
hrAlreadyOpen | the backup context already has a file open when another file-open operation is attempted |
hrNyi | the selected legacy Directory Service backup or restore entry point is present but that operation is not implemented |
Objects and state involved
| Diagnostic layer | the legacy Ntdsbcli HBC context and exact API call contract |
|---|---|
| Relevant API surface | DsBackupPrepare/OpenFile/Read/Close/End and DsRestorePrepare/Register/Complete/End |
| Code-specific condition | the HBC context or current-file state is invalid for the requested backup/restore operation |
| Narrow corrective direction | discard the stale context and repeat preparation rather than guessing its internal state |
Beginning with Windows Vista, Microsoft directs new implementations to VSS instead of these legacy functions. The HBC state advances across calls and must be released even when a later step fails.
Minimum useful trace
- Code-specific observation: trace where the HBC was created, ended, reused, crossed threads, and whether a file is currently open on it.
- Function and parameter values: capture the value and timestamp from the first occurrence.
- HBC creation and owner: capture the value and timestamp from the first occurrence.
- Current open file: capture the value and timestamp from the first occurrence.
- RPC/Win32 status beneath the HRESULT: capture the value and timestamp from the first occurrence.
Steps to resolve it
- Record it,
0xC7FF0003, the API name, the current phase, and all live context or file owners. - Verify the condition by tracing where the HBC was created, ended, reused, crossed threads, and whether a file is currently open on it.
- Apply only the targeted fix: discard the stale context and repeat preparation rather than guessing its internal state.
Actions that can make diagnosis worse
- Do not continue after an invalid context or undefined output.
- Do not reuse an HBC after end, abort, or a fatal sequence error.
Acceptance criteria for a fix
A useful regression test should force the condition “the HBC context or current-file state is invalid for the requested backup/restore operation”, call one documented API transition, and assert the exact HRESULT.
Technical references
- AD backup error values — API ordering, file semantics, warning/error interpretation, or recovery behavior relevant to this HRESULT.
- AD backup walkthrough
- DsRestorePrepare contract
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