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hrInvalidParam
Operational meaning
For hrInvalidParam, a correct handler first decides whether the value is success, warning, or failure, then examines the documented outputs. The decisive boundary is a legacy Directory Service backup/restore call rejected one or more arguments before advancing its context.
The stored value for hrInvalidParam is 0xC7FF0001 (facility-specific HRESULT). For hrInvalidParam, the HRESULT carries failure severity, so output state must be treated according to the individual API contract. The legacy hrInvalidParam name comes from the Windows Directory Service backup/restore message header.
The first useful distinction is that this facility-specific result belongs to the DsBackup/DsRestore contract and should not be confused with the ESE hrInvalidParameter code. Start by capture the function name, server string, backup type, pointers, sizes, flags, and whether optional pairs were supplied consistently. That separates a reproducible hrInvalidParam incident from a later generic cleanup or service error.
Before altering files or retrying
Preserve the first hrInvalidParam result before retries, cleanup, service restart, or file replacement changes the evidence. For hrInvalidParam, the diagnostic record should identify the exact API phase and the owner of every handle or artifact involved.
- Code-specific observation: capture the function name, server string, backup type, pointers, sizes, flags, and whether optional pairs were supplied consistently.
- RPC/Win32 status beneath the HRESULT: record it together with
hrInvalidParamand the timestamp of the first occurrence. - Function and parameter values: record it together with
hrInvalidParamand the timestamp of the first occurrence. - HBC creation and owner: record it together with
hrInvalidParamand the timestamp of the first occurrence. - Current open file: record it together with
hrInvalidParamand the timestamp of the first occurrence.
For hrInvalidParam, use hashes, lengths, IDs, generation numbers, and redacted samples instead of copying directory contents or sensitive database values into routine logs. For this hrInvalidParam investigation, a complete provenance chain is often more useful than a second automatic retry.
Comparison points
hrInvalidParam specifically means that this facility-specific result belongs to the DsBackup/DsRestore contract and should not be confused with the ESE hrInvalidParameter code. Related values below can appear in the same workflow but require a different response:
hrAlreadyOpen | the backup context already has a file open when another file-open operation is attempted |
|---|---|
hrNyi | the selected legacy Directory Service backup or restore entry point is present but that operation is not implemented |
hrInvalidHandle | the HBC context or current-file state is invalid for the requested backup/restore operation |
Keep the original constant and hexadecimal value in telemetry. Replacing hrInvalidParam with “backup failed” or “database warning” removes the state information needed to select the next legal API call.
Objects and state involved
| Diagnostic layer | the legacy Ntdsbcli HBC context and exact API call contract |
|---|---|
| Relevant API surface | DsBackupPrepare/OpenFile/Read/Close/End and DsRestorePrepare/Register/Complete/End |
| Code-specific boundary | a legacy Directory Service backup/restore call rejected one or more arguments before advancing its context |
| Narrow corrective direction | validate the exact Ntdsbcli function signature and keep output parameters untouched on failure |
For hrInvalidParam, beginning with Windows Vista, Microsoft directs new implementations to VSS instead of these legacy functions. In the hrInvalidParam path, the HBC state advances across calls and must be released even when a later step fails.
Recommended handling
- Record
hrInvalidParam,0xC7FF0001, the API name, the current phase, and all live context or file owners. - Verify the decisive condition by capture the function name, server string, backup type, pointers, sizes, flags, and whether optional pairs were supplied consistently.
- Apply only the narrow correction: validate the exact Ntdsbcli function signature and keep output parameters untouched on failure.
- After
hrInvalidParam, recreate any context invalidated by the failure; do not carry stale HBC, cursor, file, or restore-map state into the retry. - For
hrInvalidParam, repeat the smallest non-destructive test that reaches the same boundary, then verify both the return value and the resulting file, cursor, backup, or database state.
Acceptance criteria for a fix
A useful regression test for hrInvalidParam should force the condition “a legacy Directory Service backup/restore call rejected one or more arguments before advancing its context”, call one documented API transition, and assert the exact HRESULT. The corrected hrInvalidParam case should change only the decisive precondition and should verify cleanup as well as the primary output. For the hrInvalidParam backup or restore path, also prove that the resulting set can be enumerated and that no file handle or context remains active after finalization.
Actions that can make diagnosis worse
- For
hrInvalidParam, do not reuse an HBC after end, abort, or a fatal sequence error. - For
hrInvalidParam, do not continue after an invalid context or undefined output. - For
hrInvalidParam, do not discard the first lower-level Win32, RPC, or JET result merely because a later cleanup call returned a more familiar error.
Technical references
- AD backup error values — API ordering, file semantics, warning/error interpretation, or recovery behavior relevant to
hrInvalidParam. - AD backup walkthrough — API ordering, file semantics, warning/error interpretation, or recovery behavior relevant to
hrInvalidParam. - DsRestorePrepare contract — API ordering, file semantics, warning/error interpretation, or recovery behavior relevant to
hrInvalidParam.
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