What does NTSTATUS 0xC0210014 (STATUS_FVE_KEYFILE_INVALID) mean?

Status / error code:

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Constant name:

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Operating System:

Description:

external startup or recovery material is invalid for this operation

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STATUS_FVE_KEYFILE_NOT_FOUND	STATUS_FVE_KEYFILE_NO_VMK

STATUS_FVE_KEYFILE_INVALID

Meaning and context of STATUS_FVE_KEYFILE_INVALID

The removable media or file was reached, but its contents could not serve as valid key material. That differentiates this result from STATUS_FVE_KEYFILE_NOT_FOUND, which stops before a valid candidate file can be read.

Confirm that the material was created for the intended volume and was not truncated, replaced, or copied from a different device. In recovery workflows, match the displayed recovery-key identifier to the stored record instead of judging a file by its name or USB drive letter.

Do not repeatedly alter firmware, TPM ownership, or partition data to correct a bad external key file. Use a known recovery method or recreate the appropriate protector only after the volume has been unlocked through an authorised path.

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Native status interpretation

STATUS_FVE_KEYFILE_INVALID is 0xC0210014, an NTSTATUS error value. AllStat describes it as “The BitLocker startup key or recovery password file is corrupt or invalid.”. The first useful question is which native API, IRP, protocol operation, or subsystem in the kernel, native API, or subsystem that returned the status produced that status.

Debugging sequence

Preserve this result before RtlNtStatusToDosError, HRESULT conversion, exception translation, or provider-specific remapping removes information.
Log the operation associated with fve / keyfile, the object or handle type, process and thread identity, and the state transition immediately before the return.
When user mode receives this result, capture both the native status and the final Win32/COM error so the translation boundary remains visible.

Recovery considerations

A retry is appropriate only after the owner of this result has changed the state described by “The BitLocker startup key or recovery password file is corrupt or invalid.”, or when its contract explicitly marks the status as transient. If the value reports corruption, invalid format, access policy, or a lifecycle mismatch, preserve evidence and correct that cause before repeating the request.

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