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ERROR_LOST_WRITEBEHIND_DATA_NETWORK_DISCONNECTED
delayed-write data was lost because the network connection disappeared.
ERROR_LOST_WRITEBEHIND_DATA_NETWORK_DISCONNECTED means that this condition Windows acknowledged or buffered file writes locally, but the remote path became unreachable before all dirty data reached the server. The application may have believed earlier writes completed unless it later checked flush or close results.
Where the result appears
- SMB file access over an interrupted LAN, VPN, Wi-Fi, or WAN connection.
- applications writing large files to mapped drives or UNC paths.
- offline-files and redirector paths during network failover.
- services closing a remote handle after the server session was torn down.
What the result tells you
The value identifies a specific Windows state, but it does not by itself identify the component that introduced that state. Preserve the original this result value, the API or subsystem that produced it, and the object being operated on. A wrapper that replaces it with a generic exception or Boolean failure removes the distinction needed to choose the correct recovery path.
Diagnostic evidence to collect
- the full UNC path, server, share, and file handle lifecycle.
- network disconnect, SMB client, redirector, and transport events.
- results from FlushFileBuffers, close, fsync-equivalent, or application commit operations.
- whether the remote file size, checksum, and last-write time match the intended output.
Correlate the result evidence on one timeline. The first event that changes the state associated with this result is usually more valuable than later retries returning the same code. Record process and thread identity, session, timestamp, API parameters, and the immediately preceding successful operation.
Handling and recovery
Assume the remote file may be incomplete. Stop further dependent processing, reconnect, compare file length or checksum, and write a new verified copy rather than blindly appending. Applications requiring durability must check explicit flush and final close results and use an atomic publish pattern for important files.
Retry after this result only when the evidence shows that an external condition can change. When it is caused by malformed input, revoked authority, unsupported state, hardware damage, or an offline maintenance requirement, an unchanged retry adds noise and can overwrite the earliest useful diagnostics.
Common misinterpretation
A successful buffered WriteFile return does not always prove that a remote server has committed the bytes. Delayed-write failure can surface later on flush, cleanup, or an unrelated I/O boundary.
Guidance for developers
Keep it in its Win32/LRESULT domain in structured telemetry. When converting it to an HRESULT, exception, RPC response, or JSON field, retain the source domain and numeric value alongside the human-readable text. Do not branch on the localized message string for it.
A it test should construct the specific state, assert the exact result, and verify that partial resources are released. The recovery test for it should prove that the operation is either deferred until a measurable state change or fails without an uncontrolled retry loop.
References
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