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hrBadLogVersion
How to read this HRESULT
For hrBadLogVersion, a correct handler first decides whether the value is success, warning, or failure, then examines the documented outputs. The decisive boundary is the transaction log format is incompatible with the ESE version attempting to read it.
The stored Value is 0xC8000202 (negative JET error -514; -514). The HRESULT carries failure severity, so output state must be treated according to the individual API contract. Current ESE documentation uses JET_errBadLogVersion for the corresponding published JET condition.
The first useful distinction is that a version mismatch is not repaired by renaming the file and differs from a broken checksum. Start by record engine build, log header version, database provenance, backup creation system, and any mixed binaries or copied files. That separates a reproducible incident from a later generic cleanup or service error.
Objects and state involved
| Diagnostic layer | transaction-log format, checksum, version, and sequence identity |
|---|---|
| Relevant API surface | JetInit soft recovery, hard recovery, log backup, and log replay |
| Code-specific boundary | the transaction log format is incompatible with the ESE version attempting to read it |
| Narrow corrective direction | use a compatible engine and restore the complete set produced by one supported version lineage |
ESE uses write-ahead logs to reconstruct a transaction-consistent database after an unclean shutdown., a log filename is not enough; header signature, generation, version, and contents must agree.
What to collect first
Preserve the first result before retries, cleanup, service restart, or file replacement changes the evidence. The diagnostic record should identify the exact API phase and the owner of every handle or artifact involved.
- Code-specific observation: record engine build, log header version, database provenance, backup creation system, and any mixed binaries or copied files.
- Hash and failing offset: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Engine version: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Database and checkpoint signatures: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Log generation and header: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
Use hashes, lengths, IDs, generation numbers, and redacted samples instead of copying directory contents or sensitive database values into routine logs. For this it investigation, a complete provenance chain is often more useful than a second automatic retry.
Controlled remediation
- Record it,
0xC8000202, the API name, the current phase, and all live context or file owners. - Verify the decisive condition by record engine build, log header version, database provenance, backup creation system, and any mixed binaries or copied files.
- Apply only the narrow correction: use a compatible engine and restore the complete set produced by one supported version lineage.
- After it, recreate any context invalidated by the failure; do not carry stale HBC, cursor, file, or restore-map state into the retry.
- 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
Boundary with related codes
It specifically means that a version mismatch is not repaired by renaming the file and differs from a broken checksum. Related values below can appear in the same workflow but require a different response:
hrLogFileCorrupt | ESE detected structural or checksum corruption while reading a transaction log |
|---|---|
hrLogBufferTooSmall | the available recovery log buffer cannot hold the log record or sector data required for replay |
hrMissingRestoreLogFiles | hard recovery cannot reach consistency because one or more mandatory restore logs are absent |
Keep the original constant and hexadecimal value in telemetry. Replacing it with “backup failed” or “database warning” removes the state information needed to select the next legal API call.
Actions that can make diagnosis worse
- do not run destructive repair before preserving the original set.
- do not edit or rename logs to force acceptance.
- 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
- ESE files and recovery — API ordering, file semantics, warning/error interpretation, or recovery behavior relevant to it.
- JetInit recovery behavior
- ESE error-code table
- Microsoft JET_ERR enumeration
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