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hrRestoreLogTooLow
Interpretation in the backup state machine
For hrRestoreLogTooLow, this result identifies a specific state transition rather than a generic “database failure.” The decisive boundary is the configured upper or ending restore generation is below a log that the restore set requires.
The stored Value is 0xC8000229 (negative JET error -553; -553). The HRESULT carries failure severity, so output state must be treated according to the individual API contract. Current ESE documentation uses JET_errEndingRestoreLogTooLow for the corresponding published JET condition.
The first useful distinction is that the legacy name can be misleading: validate the actual range relationship rather than guessing from “too low”. Start by record genLow, genHigh, every supplied generation, database required range, and the API parameters passed to hard recovery. That separates a reproducible incident from a later generic cleanup or service error.
Start with these observations
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 genLow, genHigh, every supplied generation, database required range, and the API parameters passed to hard recovery.
- Earliest and latest supplied generations: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Database-required positions: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Signatures and contiguous ordering: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- GenLow and genHigh: 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.
Objects and state involved
| Diagnostic layer | the explicit low/high transaction-log generation range used for hard recovery |
|---|---|
| Relevant API surface | JetExternalRestore and JET_LOGINFO range parameters |
| Code-specific boundary | the configured upper or ending restore generation is below a log that the restore set requires |
| Narrow corrective direction | expand the restore range to include all mandatory generations from the same sequence |
Phase I requires every mandatory generation needed to bring the backup database to consistency., later roll-forward logs are optional only after the mandatory range has been satisfied.
Recovery or retry plan
- Record it,
0xC8000229, the API name, the current phase, and all live context or file owners. - Verify the decisive condition by record genLow, genHigh, every supplied generation, database required range, and the API parameters passed to hard recovery.
- Apply only the narrow correction: expand the restore range to include all mandatory generations from the same 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.
Not the same as
It specifically means that the legacy name can be misleading: validate the actual range relationship rather than guessing from “too low”. Related values below can appear in the same workflow but require a different response:
hrRestoreLogTooHigh | the configured starting restore generation is above an available log that belongs to the required set |
|---|---|
hrSeekNotEqual | a less-than-or-equal or greater-than-or-equal seek positioned the cursor without finding an exact key match |
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.
Actions that can make diagnosis worse
- do not skip a mandatory generation to make recovery continue.
- do not guess range endpoints from filenames alone.
- 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 “the configured upper or ending restore generation is below a log that the restore set requires”, 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
- JetExternalRestore ranges and phases — API ordering, file semantics, warning/error interpretation, or recovery behavior relevant to it.
- JET_LOGINFO structure
- ESE restore errors
- Microsoft JET_ERR enumeration
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