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WSAEPROVIDERFAILEDINIT
WSAEPROVIDERFAILEDINIT is returned when Winsock cannot initialize a requested provider. Microsoft names three important failure points: loading the provider DLL, the provider's WSPStartup routine, and a namespace provider's NSPStartup routine.
Separate load failure from startup failure
A missing or wrong-architecture DLL is different from a DLL that loads successfully and then rejects its configuration. The second case can involve provider version negotiation, dependency initialization, catalog data, or a provider-specific internal error.
Evidence to collect
- Process architecture and the exact provider DLL selected from the Winsock catalog.
- DLL load failures and dependent-module resolution.
- The provider GUID, protocol chain, and namespace identifier.
- Return status from the provider startup entry point when provider-side logging is available.
- Recent catalog or networking middleware changes.
This error occurs before normal transport processing through the provider. Testing remote reachability with ping does not validate provider initialization. A useful comparison is whether a plain TCP socket through the base Microsoft provider works while the affected custom or layered provider fails.
Microsoft: Winsock error codes · Microsoft: WSPStartup · Microsoft: NSPStartup
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