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TPM_E_DELEGATE_LOCK
What failed and what did not
TPM_E_DELEGATE_LOCK (0x8028004B) belongs to TPM 1.2 resources, delegation and contexts. The base What Is page already shows the short Windows message; the additional diagnostic value is that this result marks TPM 1.2 delegation administration is locked for the current lifecycle.
The first producer to identify for this HRESULT is the TPM resource, context or delegation manager, sometimes mediated by TBS virtualization. TBS can virtualize finite TPM resources, but a saved TPM context and a TBS virtual handle are not durable application IDs. Their validity depends on resource type, owning client context, TPM lifecycle and the exact save/load history.
The result value 0x8028004B should remain attached to the symbolic name. Some this result logs store the value as a negative signed integer; others expose only a generic CNG, WMI, BitLocker or enrollment message. Neither substitution identifies the TPM 1.2 delegation administration is locked for the current lifecycle as precisely as it.
Collect a useful trace
- Producer for this HRESULT: the TPM resource, context or delegation manager, sometimes mediated by TBS virtualization.
- Rejected invariant: TPM 1.2 delegation administration is locked for the current lifecycle.
- Decisive capture: delegate-table lock state, family ID, owner state, command history, boot cycle, and the exact administrative command attempted.
- Safe comparison: inspect delegation state and compare behavior before and after the documented lifecycle transition on a test device.
Narrow experiment
Build the result minimal case around the original command contract. Use a disposable object when the request can write NV data, advance a counter, change authorization state or consume a lock transition. The comparison is valid only when the caller, TPM generation and security policy remain the same.
| Question | Evidence for this HRESULT |
|---|---|
| What exact state was rejected? | TPM 1.2 delegation administration is locked for the current lifecycle |
| Which layer owns the result? | The TPM resource, context or delegation manager, sometimes mediated by TBS virtualization. |
| What must be correlated? | delegate-table lock state, family ID, owner state, command history, boot cycle, and the exact administrative command attempted |
| What is the controlled comparison? | inspect delegation state and compare behavior before and after the documented lifecycle transition on a test device |
Similar-looking outcomes
| Constant | Checkpoint represented by its standard message |
|---|---|
TPM_E_DELEGATE_FAMILY | Attempt to manage a family other then the delegated family — a separate checkpoint when compared with this result. |
TPM_E_RESOURCEMISSING | The resource pointed to by context is not loaded — a separate checkpoint when compared with this result. |
TPM_E_DELEGATE_ADMIN | Delegation table management not enabled — a separate checkpoint when compared with it. |
The codes above may appear in the same workflow, but they are not aliases. TPM_E_DELEGATE_ADMIN means delegation-table administration is not enabled, not merely locked.
Operational response
Respect the delegation lock and schedule administration before it is engaged; repeated commands cannot override it. Do not persist volatile TPM or TBS handles as durable identifiers. A numeric handle can be valid only inside the creating context and lifecycle, even when its value looks unchanged after restart.
Proof for this HRESULT consists of a successful replay plus validation of the intended key, PCR, NV, context, event-log, provider or service result. A software fallback or a newly provisioned blank TPM answers a different question than it.
Source material
- Microsoft: Resource Virtualization in TBS — source for the checkpoint.
- Microsoft: Command Scheduling in TBS — source for the checkpoint.
- Microsoft: Using TPM Base Services — source for the checkpoint.
- TCG: TPM 1.2 Part 3 — Context commands — source for the checkpoint.
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