What does HRESULT 0x80040E08 (DB_E_BADBINDINFO) mean?

DB_E_BADBINDINFO

Meaning

Windows documents DB_E_BADBINDINFO as “Binding information is invalid”. Here, IAccessor::CreateAccessor or a data-transfer method receives invalid binding information.

Relevant OLE DB contract

This result must be interpreted against this contract: OLE DB accessors describe how columns or parameters map to a consumer buffer; an HACCESSOR is object-scoped, reference-counted and inseparable from its DBBINDING layout, bound parts, data types, offsets and ownership rules.

Start with the command or rowset that created the accessor and the consumer buffer passed to the failing method when investigating this result.

Diagnostic sequence

1. Capture this result immediately at the native OLE DB return and obtain the current OLE DB error object before another COM call replaces thread error information.
2. Identify the exact stage: IAccessor::CreateAccessor or a data-transfer method receives invalid binding information.

Specific conditions that produce it

• Cause 1: a DBBINDING ordinal does not exist for the command or rowset.
• Cause 2: offsets, lengths or bound parts do not fit the consumer buffer layout.
• Cause 3: the requested type, memory ownership or object binding conflicts with the provider contract.

Evidence to collect before changing the system

• Evidence 1: the complete DBBINDING array and row-buffer size.
• Evidence 2: column or parameter metadata used to construct each binding.
• Evidence 3: per-binding DBBINDSTATUS values returned by CreateAccessor.

Corrective actions

• Action 1: rebuild bindings from current metadata rather than cached ordinals.
• Action 2: validate offsets, alignment, parts and maximum lengths before CreateAccessor.
• Action 3: handle partial binding failures by inspecting every DBBINDSTATUS entry.

Retry and recovery policy

Retry rule: retry after correcting the binding description and creating a new accessor.

Difference from related HRESULT values

DB_E_BADACCESSORHANDLE rejects an invalid accessor handle, while DB_E_BADBINDINFO rejects the binding definition used to create or apply an accessor.

Practical incident

A schema change reorders columns but a consumer reuses hard-coded ordinals and offsets; regenerating DBBINDING entries removes it.

Official Microsoft references

• Microsoft: IAccessor
• Microsoft: using OLE DB accessors
• Microsoft: getting and setting OLE DB data