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SDIAG_E_ROOTCAUSE
SDIAG_E_ROOTCAUSE — 0x803C010B
A productive investigation starts at invalid root-cause reporting sequence. The status means that the pack reported data for a root cause that it had not added or declared in the expected WTP result model.
Operational meaning
A troubleshooting pack has distinct initialization, detection, resolution, and verification phases. Keep the ordinary result report together with the debug report, and identify whether the pack script, PowerShell host, managed host, resource loader, trust check, or verifier produced the first failure.
Do not collapse this result into a nearby status. Finding no root cause is valid; reporting against an unknown/unregistered root cause violates the pack model. Compare lifecycle, identity, caller, and first API.
Build the incident record
| Record | How it narrows the cause |
|---|---|
| Root-cause IDs in manifest and script calls, phase, and execution branch | Pins evidence to one attempt. |
| Detect script output and WTP debug report ordering | Separates contract failure from environment. |
| Conditional/dynamic root-cause creation and localization identifiers | Creates a stable before/after control. |
| Parallel or repeated script execution that may report stale IDs | Tests whether the first boundary moves. |
The goal is reproducibility, not a full data dump. Prefer object IDs, configuration exports, event correlation, and redacted paths over credentials, cryptographic material, or user content.
Tests that separate the causes
- Reduce the detector to one declared root cause; use a disposable or backed-up environment when the comparison changes boot, security, device, queue, or encryption state.
- Assert root-cause registration before adding details or resolutions; retain one negative control so that a broad workaround is not mistaken for a root-cause correction.
- Run repeated and multi-root-cause cases with deterministic IDs; keep every other input fixed and record the first event that differs from the failing run.
A retry becomes evidence only when one controlled variable changes. In this case, if the same operation later succeeds unchanged, preserve that fact but continue checking timing, object generation, service restart, cache replacement, or policy refresh; transient success does not explain the earlier boundary.
Interpretation boundaries
Use the outcomes to narrow the failing layer rather than to accumulate unrelated fixes:
| Observed result | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| The minimal or known-good comparison succeeds | The control works; inspect production-specific state. |
| The control fails at the same first operation | The control also fails; inspect host/provider evidence. |
| A new HRESULT marks another boundary | this boundary moved; diagnose the new status separately rather than treating it as confirmation that the entire operation is fixed. |
Repair without losing evidence
Apply the smallest change that addresses the first rejected condition: Make root-cause identifiers stable and ensure scripts add/return them before attaching evidence or resolution data. Preserve the pre-change configuration or trace.
Close the incident only when the result report contains only declared root causes, with correct detected/fixed/not-found state across every branch. Repeat under the original identity and state. A different environment is comparison, not proof.
Technical references
The following documentation is most relevant when checking the code against the actual Windows contract for this condition:
- Microsoft Open Specifications: HRESULT values.
- Microsoft: Windows Troubleshooting Platform.
- Microsoft: About WTP.
- Microsoft: debugging troubleshooting packs.
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