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STATUS_KEY_DELETED
The key handle outlived the key namespace entry
Registry deletion and handle lifetime are separate. Once a key is marked for deletion, existing handles can remain in code paths, but further operations through them can fail because the namespace object is no longer a valid target.
This commonly exposes a race between configuration cleanup and another thread that caches a key handle. Reopening the same path may also fail until outstanding handles are closed and deletion completes, so immediate create-delete-create loops require careful synchronization.
What to inspect
- Trace which thread or process issued the delete operation first.
- Close cached handles before attempting to recreate the same key path.
- Serialize migration or uninstall work against normal configuration access.
- Do not convert the error into a generic access-denied retry loop.
References
- Microsoft Learn: Registry Functions
- Microsoft Learn: RegCreateKeyEx
- ReactOS source: Configuration Manager
- Microsoft Open Specifications: NTSTATUS values
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