Windows error 80 (ERROR_FILE_EXISTS): meaning and diagnosis

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: Creation failed because a file with the requested name already exists.

Could be also:
Constant	Type	OS
ELIBBAD	errno	Linux
EAUTH	errno	Mac
ENOTUNIQ	errno	Solaris
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA	BugCheck Code	Windows

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ERROR_REDIR_PAUSED	ERROR_CANNOT_MAKE

ERROR_FILE_EXISTS

The requested name is already occupied

ERROR_FILE_EXISTS commonly occurs when an API is asked to create a new file without replacing an existing one. It protects callers from accidental overwrite and is expected in race-safe create-if-absent workflows.

What to decide

Determine whether existing content should be reused, replaced, renamed, or treated as conflict.
Use the correct CreateFile creation disposition for that policy.
Avoid a separate existence check followed by creation; another process can win the race.
Validate that the existing object is a file of the expected type.

Recovery

Choose an alternate unique name, open the existing file intentionally, or request replacement only when data loss is acceptable. For lock files and one-time initialization, this result can indicate that another process already owns or completed the operation.

References

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