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hrRestoreMapExists
What this return value changes
For hrRestoreMapExists, this code narrows the investigation to one engine boundary and should not be flattened into a generic exception. The decisive boundary is a restore map is already registered for the component while the caller attempts to add another mapping.
The stored Value is 0xC7FF0008 (facility-specific HRESULT). The HRESULT carries failure severity, so output state must be treated according to the individual API contract. The legacy this result name comes from the Windows Directory Service backup/restore message header.
The first useful distinction is that a restore map is valid only in the supported full-restore path; it is not a general path override for incremental restore. Start by capture the component identifier, restore type, existing old/new paths, and the call order that populated the map. That separates a reproducible incident from a later generic cleanup or service error.
Objects and state involved
| Diagnostic layer | offline AD restore preparation, path mapping, directory locking, and HBC lifetime |
|---|---|
| Relevant API surface | DsRestorePrepare, DsRestoreGetDatabaseLocations, DsRestoreRegister, DsRestoreRegisterComplete, and DsRestoreEnd |
| Code-specific boundary | a restore map is already registered for the component while the caller attempts to add another mapping |
| Narrow corrective direction | reuse or clear the one authoritative map and restart preparation if the mapping itself is wrong |
Legacy AD restore is performed offline and the restore directories are registered and locked before files are replaced., restore completion status affects whether Active Directory is allowed to start.
Evidence worth preserving
Preserve the first result before retries, cleanup, service restart, or file replacement changes the evidence. The diagnostic record should identify the exact API phase and the owner of every handle or artifact involved.
- Code-specific observation: capture the component identifier, restore type, existing old/new paths, and the call order that populated the map.
- Restore type and HBC: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Old/new path map: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Directory lock owner: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Final status passed to completion: record it together with it and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
Use hashes, lengths, IDs, generation numbers, and redacted samples instead of copying directory contents or sensitive database values into routine logs. For this it investigation, a complete provenance chain is often more useful than a second automatic retry.
How to distinguish nearby results
It specifically means that a restore map is valid only in the supported full-restore path; it is not a general path override for incremental restore. Related values below can appear in the same workflow but require a different response:
hrNoFullRestore | an incremental restore was requested before a full backup had established the destination database baseline |
|---|---|
hrCircularLogging | the Directory Service component is using circular logs, so the historical range needed for an incremental backup is not guaranteed to remain |
hrBadDbSignature | the database signature does not match the backup or log set used for recovery |
Keep the original constant and hexadecimal value in telemetry. Replacing it with “backup failed” or “database warning” removes the state information needed to select the next legal API call.
A safe response sequence
- Record it,
0xC7FF0008, the API name, the current phase, and all live context or file owners. - Verify the decisive condition by capture the component identifier, restore type, existing old/new paths, and the call order that populated the map.
- Apply only the narrow correction: reuse or clear the one authoritative map and restart preparation if the mapping itself is wrong.
- After it, recreate any context invalidated by the failure; do not carry stale HBC, cursor, file, or restore-map state into the retry.
- repeat the smallest non-destructive test that reaches the same boundary, then verify both the return value and the resulting file, cursor, backup, or database state.
Actions that can make diagnosis worse
- do not copy files before the restore directories are prepared and locked.
- do not report success to completion when file restoration failed.
- do not discard the first lower-level Win32, RPC, or JET result merely because a later cleanup call returned a more familiar error.
Acceptance criteria for a fix
A useful regression test for this HRESULT should force the condition “a restore map is already registered for the component while the caller attempts to add another mapping”, call one documented API transition, and assert the exact HRESULT. The corrected the case should change only the decisive precondition and should verify cleanup as well as the primary output. For the result backup or restore path, also prove that the resulting set can be enumerated and that no file handle or context remains active after finalization.
Technical references
- AD restore walkthrough — API ordering, file semantics, warning/error interpretation, or recovery behavior relevant to it.
- DsRestorePrepare contract
- Restore completion contract
- Microsoft list of AD DS backup errors
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