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TYPE_E_INVDATAREAD
Type library contains invalid or obsolete data
TYPE_E_INVDATAREAD is HRESULT 2147647512 (0x80028018) from winerror.h. AllStat describes it as “Old format or invalid type library.” The value must be interpreted at LoadTypeLib, registry loading, or metadata parsing of a type library resource, because the same high-level symptom can come from a different contract boundary and require different cleanup.
The decisive Interpretation is that the type-library data cannot be parsed as a valid supported representation. For reliable triage of this result, store the native HRESULT and symbolic identity before generic error handling rewrites either one.
Where the result appears
- This result belongs to type-library and metadata processing around LoadTypeLib, registry loading, or metadata parsing of a type library resource.
- identify the LIBID, major/minor version, LCID, SYSKIND, file path, resource ID, and the specific ITypeLib or ITypeInfo operation.
- Metadata consumers should treat this result as a contract-version or construction problem until file integrity, registry view, import dependencies, TYPEKIND, and builder phase are verified.
The root-cause boundary for it is the component that returned it, not the application screen on which the result was eventually displayed.
Typical causes and interpretation boundary
Common cause categories for it are: the file is truncated; the resource is not a type library; binary data is corrupted; an obsolete format is encountered. Investigate this result through falsifiable cause hypotheses and keep the first lower-level failure that explains the observed HRESULT.
The check that separates it from nearby HRESULTs is: the type-library data cannot be parsed as a valid supported representation. Use the decisive condition for it as a test assertion; if it cannot be asserted, diagnosis is not complete.
Evidence and telemetry
- Record it with the type-library path and hash, LIBID and version, LCID, architecture, source package, and producer toolchain.
- capture file path and hash; resource ID; file version; architecture; parser result; signature and deployment source.
- Retain the exact type, member, field, name, MEMBERID, HREFTYPE, TYPEKIND, or registry path involved in it.
- When it is produced during generation, record construction order, imported libraries, layout/finalization state, and output TLB hash.
- After it, release TYPEATTR, FUNCDESC, VARDESC, BSTR, and interface resources using the matching API even when parsing or lookup fails.
Logs for it should expose enough structure to reproduce the failure without becoming a secondary store of sensitive input data.
Diagnostic sequence
- Capture it (0x80028018) before a compiler, importer, or language runtime reduces it to a generic metadata error.
- Verify the exact type-library identity, file/resource loaded, registry view, architecture, and operation that returned it.
- Prove the decisive metadata condition for it: the type-library data cannot be parsed as a valid supported representation.
- Test the likely causes independently for it: the file is truncated; the resource is not a type library; binary data is corrupted; an obsolete format is encountered.
- For <code>it</code>, enumerate the relevant TYPEATTR, members, imports, names, IDs, locales, and builder state instead of assuming source declarations match deployed metadata.
- Rebuild or reload one corrected metadata generation and verify that it disappears without introducing a different identity or compatibility break.
Correct handling and recovery
The appropriate recovery is to restore the signed library from the matching package, verify the resource and hash, and do not register or consume partially parsed metadata. Do not loop on it; retry only under a documented transient condition with bounded delay and post-operation reconciliation.
After observing it, separate local resource cleanup from server-side reconciliation and perform each only for the failing activity ID.
Practical scenario
A deployment copies only part of a DLL containing the embedded type library; package repair restores the resource.
The acceptance test for it should prove that the proposed repair changes the predicted contract fact rather than merely hiding the message.
Difference from related HRESULTs
TYPE_E_UNSUPFORMAT says the format is recognized but unsupported; it emphasizes invalid data read from the library.
Preserve the neighboring-result distinction for it in metrics and incident reports to avoid applying the wrong remediation.
Developer and administrator guidance
Tools handling it should pin type-library identity and version, avoid caching raw indices across versions, and preserve stable GUIDs and DISPIDs for published contracts. Repair for <code>it</code> should be performed by the metadata producer or installer, not by ad hoc registry edits in the consuming process.
Administrators should compare installed files and registration against the product manifest, repair the matching package, and keep 32-bit and 64-bit registry views explicit. For <code>it</code>, copying a TLB from another machine can silence lookup while creating a more dangerous ABI mismatch.
References
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