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RPC_E_INVALID_HEADER
What RPC_E_INVALID_HEADER means
RPC_E_INVALID_HEADER (0x80010111) is a COM/RPC failure reported when the packet header presented to the OLE/COM RPC path is not valid for the marshalled call being processed. It is a low-level communication or marshalling boundary, not a generic network timeout and not evidence by itself that a remote server is offline.
Preserve the first failing COM boundary
- Record the interface IID, method, client and server process identities, process architectures, COM apartment, and whether the call is local cross-process or remote.
- Capture the first native HRESULT before a framework replaces it with a generic automation, .NET, scripting, or application exception.
- Correlate process restarts, proxy/stub or component updates, registration changes, and the first operation that began returning the result.
- If custom marshalling or an out-of-process component is involved, reproduce with the smallest interface call that preserves the same marshalled data shape.
Do not infer a damaged Windows installation from this code alone. A bad packet can result from a broken or incompatible marshalling path, stale cross-process state, or process corruption. The useful investigation is to identify the producer and the exact interface contract before applying broad repairs.
Nearby RPC result
RPC_E_INVALID_EXTENSION identifies an invalid packet extension rather than the base packet header. Keep the two values separate because they point to different portions of the marshalled RPC representation.
Verification
After correcting the identified component, registration, marshalling, or lifetime problem, recreate the relevant COM objects and repeat the same interface call. A later successful call from a newly created object is meaningful only if the same input and process boundary are exercised.
Technical references
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