What does HRESULT 0xC800044E (hrWriteConflict) mean?

 
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hrOutOfSessions hrTransTooDeep

hrWriteConflict

Why this is more specific than the message text

hrWriteConflict means another session owns a conflicting write lock for the target record or page.

This is the legacy Directory Service backup/restore HRESULT form of JET_errWriteConflict (0xC800044E).

The key comparison is: hrSessionWriteConflict occurs between cursors in one session; this result is cross-session contention. The first useful observation is to capture the target key/bookmark, both session IDs, transaction ages, and lock acquisition order. This evidence shows whether the failure is nesting, ownership, cursor-local conflict, cross-session contention, or changed row state.

Related ESE conditions

hrTransTooDeepthe session exceeded the supported nesting depth of transaction save points
hrerrDataHasChangedoptimistic cursor state no longer matches the row version expected by the operation
hrSessionWriteConflicttwo cursors in the same session attempted incompatible replacement of one record

The ESE objects in play

Diagnostic layerJET_SESID transaction depth, row versions, and write ownership
Typical API surfaceJetBeginSession, JetBeginTransaction, JetCommitTransaction, JetRollback, and update APIs
Code-specific conditionanother session owns a conflicting write lock for the target record or page
First corrective directionrollback the losing transaction, apply bounded jittered retry, and keep the transaction body idempotent

Nested ESE transactions are save points and still share the outer session context. Retries must re-read application preconditions because the visible row may have changed.

Data for a reproducible case

  • Code-specific observation: capture the target key/bookmark, both session IDs, transaction ages, and lock acquisition order.
  • the row version and business preconditions observed before the write.
  • every begin, commit, and rollback for the exact JET_SESID.
  • transaction depth, thread owner, cursor handles, and target bookmark or key.

Corrective workflow

  1. Freeze the failing request context and record 0xC800044E, the Jet API name, and the current instance/session ownership.
  2. Verify the code-specific precondition: capture the target key/bookmark, both session IDs, transaction ages, and lock acquisition order.
  3. Apply the targeted fix: rollback the losing transaction, apply bounded jittered retry, and keep the transaction body idempotent.
  4. Before retrying the operation, reconcile transaction depth, lock release, row version, and application-level idempotency.

Actions that can hide or worsen the problem

  • Do not blindly retry a non-idempotent update after a conflict.
  • Do not share a session with an open transaction across unrelated threads or requests.

Technical references


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