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hrBadLogSignature
What this return value changes
For hrBadLogSignature, a correct handler first decides whether the value is success, warning, or failure, then examines the documented outputs. The decisive boundary is a transaction log header signature does not match the expected log sequence.
The stored Value is 0xC8000212 (negative JET error -530; -530). The HRESULT carries failure severity, so output state must be treated according to the individual API contract. Current ESE documentation uses JET_errBadLogSignature for the corresponding published JET condition.
The first useful distinction is that this is stronger than a filename mismatch and differs from interior checksum corruption. Start by record the full signature, generation, base name, file hash, source path, and expected database/log-set identity. That separates a reproducible incident from a later generic cleanup or service error.
Objects and state involved
| Diagnostic layer | cryptographic-style ESE identity signatures linking database, logs, checkpoint, and backup set |
|---|---|
| Relevant API surface | soft recovery, hard recovery, database attachment, and backup verification |
| Code-specific boundary | a transaction log header signature does not match the expected log sequence |
| Narrow corrective direction | replace the file only with the corresponding generation from the same verified log set |
ESE signatures identify lineage; they are not interchangeable with filenames or timestamps., a signature mismatch commonly indicates mixed files even when each file is individually readable.
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: record the full signature, generation, base name, file hash, source path, and expected database/log-set identity.
- All relevant header signatures: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Generation and base name: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- File hashes and provenance: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Restore map and backup ID: record it together with this result 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 this is stronger than a filename mismatch and differs from interior checksum corruption. Related values below can appear in the same workflow but require a different response:
hrBadDbSignature | the database signature does not match the backup or log set used for recovery |
|---|---|
hrBadCheckpointSignature | the checkpoint signature is incompatible with the log sequence selected for recovery |
hrLogFileNotFound | an incremental Directory Service backup cannot assemble the required transaction-log set |
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,
0xC8000212, the API name, the current phase, and all live context or file owners. - Verify the decisive condition by record the full signature, generation, base name, file hash, source path, and expected database/log-set identity.
- Apply only the narrow correction: replace the file only with the corresponding generation from the same verified log set.
- 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 patch signatures or headers.
- do not choose files solely by matching names and dates.
- 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 transaction log header signature does not match the expected log sequence”, 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
- ESE error codes — API ordering, file semantics, warning/error interpretation, or recovery behavior relevant to it.
- ESE files and signatures
- JetExternalRestore
- Microsoft JET_ERR enumeration
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