What does Windows error code 15301 (ERROR_HASH_NOT_PRESENT) mean?

ERROR_HASH_NOT_PRESENT

The hash requested from the server is not available or no longer valid.

ERROR_HASH_NOT_PRESENT is Windows system result 15301 (0x00003BC5). Microsoft defines it as “The hash requested from the server is not available or no longer valid.”

How to classify the result

This result represents a missing or stale server-side hash result. The correct interpretation depends on the content identity, version, server cache, and validity epoch associated with the requested hash.

Where it can appear

• This result can appear in a distributed content or file service retrieving previously generated metadata.
• This result can appear in a client validating content by a server-side hash identifier.
• It can appear in a cache lookup after content replacement or metadata eviction.

Typical causes

• the hash was never generated.
• the associated content changed after hash creation.
• server cleanup evicted the metadata.
• the client reused an identifier from another content version.
• replication or failover routed the request to a node without the hash.

Useful evidence

• Record content and hash identifiers.
• Record content version, size, and last modification.
• Record server node and cache generation.
• Record hash creation and expiry timestamps.
• Record failover, replication, and eviction events.

Recovery and retry

Request a new hash for the current content version or restore the server metadata source that owns the missing value.

A bounded regeneration request can be safe for immutable content. Do not loop on an obsolete identifier after the server says it is no longer valid.

Difference from related results

ERROR_HASH_NOT_SUPPORTED rejects the algorithm capability; it accepts the kind of hash but cannot supply this particular current value.

Example

A deployment client stores a hash ID, then the package is rebuilt in place. The server invalidates the old hash; the client detects the content version change and requests a fresh value instead of retrying the stale ID.

Developer and administrator guidance

Clients should bind hash identifiers to immutable content versions. Server monitoring should expose generation failures, evictions, and cross-node cache misses separately.

References

• Microsoft: System Error Codes 12000–15999
• Microsoft Open Specifications: Win32 error values
• Microsoft: BranchCache overview