| Previous | Next |
| hrLogSequenceEnd | hrInvalidBackupSequence |
hrNoBackup
How to read this HRESULT
For hrNoBackup, the useful interpretation begins with the object and phase that returned the value. The decisive boundary is a backup-only API was called when no external backup session is active.
The stored Value is 0xC8000208 (negative JET error -520; -520). The HRESULT carries failure severity, so output state must be treated according to the individual API contract. Current ESE documentation uses JET_errNoBackup for the corresponding published JET condition.
The first useful distinction is that this is the opposite state from hrBackupInProgress and usually exposes a caller state-machine bug. Start by record the call order, instance identity, result of begin-backup, and any cleanup or stop request that ended the context. That separates a reproducible incident from a later generic cleanup or service error.
Objects and state involved
| Diagnostic layer | the ESE external-backup state machine and its single active session |
|---|---|
| Relevant API surface | JetBeginExternalBackup, JetGetAttachInfo, JetOpenFile/ReadFile/CloseFile, JetGetLogInfo, and JetEndExternalBackup |
| Code-specific boundary | a backup-only API was called when no external backup session is active |
| Narrow corrective direction | restart from begin-backup and do not continue with stale file handles from the failed sequence |
Database files are enumerated and copied before the backup advances to the log-file phase., the engine tracks outstanding backup file handles and rejects calls made in the wrong phase.
What to collect first
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: record the call order, instance identity, result of begin-backup, and any cleanup or stop request that ended the context.
- Instance and active backup owner: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Open backup file handles: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Database/log enumeration transition: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Ordered API trace: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
Controlled remediation
- Record it,
0xC8000208, the API name, the current phase, and all live context or file owners. - Verify the decisive condition by record the call order, instance identity, result of begin-backup, and any cleanup or stop request that ended the context.
- Apply only the narrow correction: restart from begin-backup and do not continue with stale file handles from the failed sequence.
- 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.
Acceptance criteria for a fix
Boundary with related codes
It specifically means that this is the opposite state from hrBackupInProgress and usually exposes a caller state-machine bug. Related values below can appear in the same workflow but require a different response:
hrBackupInProgress | an external backup session is already active for the relevant ESE instance |
|---|---|
hrBackupNotAllowedYet | the instance is temporarily in a state where a backup cannot begin safely |
hrNoBackupDirectory | the external-backup operation has no destination directory configured for its temporary or copied artifacts |
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.
Actions that can make diagnosis worse
- do not omit the final end/abort path.
- do not continue using a context after a sequence failure.
- do not discard the first lower-level Win32, RPC, or JET result merely because a later cleanup call returned a more familiar error.
Technical references
- Begin external backup — API ordering, file semantics, warning/error interpretation, or recovery behavior relevant to it.
- Enumerating backup logs
- End external backup
- Microsoft JET_ERR enumeration
Looking for a different code? Search another status or error code.