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DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED
Exact value and result class
DB_E_CHAPTERNOTRELEASED has unsigned value 2147749455 (0x80040E4F) and signed 32-bit value -2147217841. AllStat describes it as “Rowset is single-chaptered. The chapter was not released”. In this result, a single-chapter rowset is asked to activate another chapter while the current chapter remains referenced.
The high bit is set, so this result is a failure HRESULT. Its facility is 4 (FACILITY_ITF) and its low code is 3663 (0x0E4F). These fields identify an interface-defined result family; they do not identify the provider instance, method, object generation or partial effects.
Evidence to collect
A useful this result event records provider CLSID and version, process architecture, interface IID and method, object correlation ID, transaction state and the immediately preceding HRESULT. When recording it data involving parent keys, chapter identifiers and hierarchical row values, use types, lengths, hashes or redacted identifiers rather than secrets or complete business data.
- Evidence 1 for it: the current chapter handle and reference ownership.
- Evidence 2 for it: all child objects created from the chapter.
- Evidence 3 for it: the call sequence from chapter acquisition through attempted replacement.
Contract boundary
Chapter handles represent a provider-owned view into a hierarchical rowset. Single-chapter rowsets permit only one active chapter at a time, so chapter lifetime and release ordering are part of the method contract rather than optional cleanup.
Investigation of this result should start with the chaptered rowset, current HCHAPTER and every reference that keeps the old chapter active. Capture it before ADO, ATL,.NET or a database abstraction layer replaces the native HRESULT with a generic exception.
Conditions that specifically lead to it
- Cause 1 for it: the consumer forgot to release the previous HCHAPTER.
- Cause 2 for it: a child rowset or wrapper still retains the chapter.
- Cause 3 for it: error cleanup skipped chapter release after an earlier operation.
Diagnostic sequence
- Capture raw
0x80040E4Fand symbolic it at the native call boundary. - Identify the exact failing stage for it: a single-chapter rowset is asked to activate another chapter while the current chapter remains referenced.
- Retrieve all OLE DB error records for it before another COM call replaces thread error information.
- Compare the live object state and provider-granted capabilities with the input that produced it.
- Reduce the operation to the smallest case that preserves the same chapter contract.
- Apply one evidence-backed correction for it and verify that the result is not merely replaced by a neighboring HRESULT.
Corrective actions
- Action 1 for it: release child objects before releasing the chapter.
- Action 2 for it: centralize HCHAPTER ownership in a scoped wrapper.
- Action 3 for it: do not request a second chapter until the first release is confirmed.
Practical scenario
A hierarchical browser switches parents without closing the prior child chapter; deterministic cleanup permits the new chapter to open. Keeping it with the method and object state makes this scenario diagnosable instead of reducing it to “database error”.
Developer and operations guidance
Code handling it should release COM objects in ownership order, retain per-row, per-column or per-property statuses, and log granted capabilities rather than only requested options. While handling it, opaque values such as HACCESSOR, HROW, HCHAPTER, DBID components and provider handles must remain scoped to the object that issued them.
Operational dashboards for it should group by provider version, interface, method and normalized failure stage. A it event must not expose passwords, tokens, full connection strings, unrestricted command text or raw row contents.
Retry and recovery
Retry rule for it: retry after the existing chapter and all dependent references have been released. A it retry is safe only when the relevant input, object generation, capability or external state has changed. Before replaying a modifying call that returned it, determine whether rows, schema objects or URL resources were partially created or changed.
Do not turn it into an unbounded retry loop. Preserve cancellation for it and use a fresh provider object when the failed call may have left local state ambiguous.
Difference from nearby HRESULT values
DB_E_BADCHAPTER means a supplied chapter handle is invalid, while it means the existing valid chapter is still active. Telemetry and remediation for it should keep these outcomes distinct.
Official Microsoft references
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