What does HRESULT 0x80310089 (FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG) mean?

Status / error code:

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Constant name:

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Facility:

Operating System:

Description:

The requested virtualization size is too big.

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FVE_E_CONV_RECOVERY_FAILED	FVE_E_POLICY_CONFLICT_OSV_RP_OFF_ADB_ON

FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG

Where the operation stops

The value 0x80310089, named FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG, is returned when the requested BitLocker virtualized address space exceeds the volume or implementation limit. For FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG, it belongs to the volume state and geometry part of BitLocker rather than to generic file I/O.

For FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG, note: Conversion status and protection status answer different questions: sectors can be encrypted while protectors are suspended, and a fully decrypted volume can still contain stale management context in a caller. For FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG, note: The BitLocker provider tracks encryption conversion, protection, lock state, metadata version, filesystem geometry and outstanding volume use independently. When diagnosing FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG, remember: Two volumes can both appear “encrypted” in a UI while being in very different states for a management API.

Question	What to verify
Which object failed?	For `FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG`, the exact volume GUID, protector GUID, certificate or API target supplied by the caller.
Which state matters?	requested virtualization size, physical and logical volume size, sector size, thin-provisioning state and the API parameters.
What is the nearest false lead?	FVE_E_BUFFER_TOO_LARGE, which concerns an API input buffer rather than virtualized storage geometry.

Build a minimal diagnostic record

For FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG, record requested virtualization size, physical and logical volume size, sector size, thin-provisioning state and the API parameters. For FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG, keep the full HRESULT and the first method that returned it because later cleanup calls can report a different state.
For FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG, capture manage-bde -status and the protector inventory for the exact volume GUID, not only the drive letter, because letters can change in WinRE, clusters and deployment environments.
Export BitLocker operational events for the FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG failure and note the boot session, caller identity and management source; that evidence separates this BitLocker condition from a generic access or storage error.

Change only the failed prerequisite

recalculate the requested range from current volume geometry and avoid stale size values captured before resize or attach operations. For FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG, collect a fresh state snapshot and issue a single retry from the same management layer.

manage-bde -status
powershell -NoProfile -Command "Get-BitLockerVolume | Format-List *"

Do not delete all key protectors, clear a TPM, reformat a partition or decrypt the volume as a generic response to FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG; those actions affect different trust layers and can destroy the easiest recovery route.

State checks specific to FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG

Checkpoint	How to interpret it for FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG
Before the call	Record the target identity and the pre-call volume state and geometry state. For FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG, the decisive boundary is that the requested BitLocker virtualized address space exceeds the volume or implementation limit.
At failure	Preserve requested virtualization size, physical and logical volume size, sector size, thin-provisioning state and the API parameters. This proves whether FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG came from BitLocker itself or from a wrapper translating another result.
After correction	Recalculate the requested range from current volume geometry and avoid stale size values captured before resize or attach operations. The FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG request should then advance without removing an unrelated recovery route.
After reboot or remount	Recheck protection, conversion and lock state for FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG; a successful management call is incomplete if the next boot cannot unlock the volume.

Verification after the change

For FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG, success means more than the absence of a dialog. Confirm that the condition represented by FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG now matches the intended design, that the protector inventory has not lost an independent recovery route, and that the next reboot or remount can unlock the volume. If the FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG request advances to another HRESULT, record both values in order because that transition reveals the next unmet prerequisite.

Official documentation

Reference set for FVE_E_VIRTUALIZED_SPACE_TOO_BIG:

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