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WCM_E_INVALIDATTRIBUTECOMBINATION
WCM_E_INVALIDATTRIBUTECOMBINATION is the failure HRESULT 0x80220027 (signed decimal -2145255385, unsigned decimal 2149711911). Its severity bit is 1, facility is 34 (FACILITY_STATE_MANAGEMENT), and the facility-specific code field is 0x0027.
AllStat records the Windows SDK description as “Invalid attribute combination”
Meaning in Settings Management Infrastructure
The attribute set contains an incompatible combination. The operation reached metadata validation after attributes have been parsed and attached to an element. The first branch to test is whether two mutually exclusive modes are enabled; keep that separate from the possibility that a required companion attribute is missing.
Point of failure
At this boundary, capture complete attribute set and element type, then correlate it with source line and generated/preprocessed XML. Assign ownership only after checking target schema version.
Causes to test independently
- two mutually exclusive modes are enabled
- a required companion attribute is missing
- an attribute valid only for one setting type is combined with another type selector
- legacy and replacement attributes are emitted together
Data to collect
- complete attribute set and element type
- source line and generated/preprocessed XML
- target schema version
- known-good combinations from the owning component metadata
- which combination rule is violated, if exposed by detailed results
Step-by-step diagnosis
- evaluate the attributes as a set rather than deleting the last one mentioned
- choose one supported mode
- add required companion metadata when that is the actual rule
- remove legacy fields after migration
- recompile and validate all target branches
Recovery strategy
Retry only after changing the set. Reordering attributes does not alter their semantic combination.
What this value does not mean
WCM_E_ATTRIBUTENOTALLOWED rejects one attribute in context. INVALIDATTRIBUTECOMBINATION says the attributes may be known individually but cannot coexist as supplied.
Illustrative scenario
A setting declaration carries both a fixed value and metadata that marks it as dynamically handled. SMI rejects the contradictory attribute set.
Implementation guidance
For operational telemetry, retain target schema version; also record known-good combinations from the owning component metadata. Preserve a redacted summary of which combination rule is violated, if exposed by detailed results; use a cryptographic hash when that evidence is a file, stream, or generated artifact.
Test attributes as one set
Record the result after removing each candidate attribute individually. This distinguishes a forbidden pair from a missing companion attribute or a setting-type mismatch.
Official Microsoft references.
- Microsoft: SMI error and success constants.
- Microsoft: Settings Management Infrastructure API.
- Microsoft: SMI interfaces.
- Microsoft: ISettingsContext::Deserialize.
- Microsoft: ISettingsResult::GetLine.
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