What does Windows error code 4214 (ERROR_WMI_SET_FAILURE) mean?

 
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ERROR_WMI_READ_ONLY ERROR_NOT_APPCONTAINER

ERROR_WMI_SET_FAILURE

The item was reached, but the change could not complete

This status is the operational counterpart to ERROR_WMI_READ_ONLY. The request has reached a provider path capable of considering the item, but the new value could not be accepted or committed. Causes can include value validation, an invalid data size, unavailable device state, a lower-driver failure, or a provider-specific persistence error.

A provider should preserve the distinction between a malformed address, a read-only property, and a failed update. That makes diagnostics actionable: consumers can correct an item ID or select a writable property, while a set failure calls for the rejected value and the provider's underlying status.

Information worth logging

  • Capture the GUID, instance, item ID, requested byte length, sanitized value summary, and exact lower-level failure.
  • Validate WNODE offsets, item size, alignment, and value range before changing device or persistent state.
  • Define whether an unsuccessful update is atomic; do not report success if the provider changed only part of a multi-step configuration.

References


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