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hrInvalidParameter
Why this is more specific than the message text
hrInvalidParameter means the function received a value or combination that violates its call contract.
This is the legacy Directory Service backup/restore HRESULT form of JET_errInvalidParameter (0xC80003EB).
The key comparison is: hrInvalidBufferSize targets a buffer/column width mismatch; this result covers the wider parameter contract. The first useful observation is to capture the API name, all scalar arguments, structure sizes, grbits, and the engine version that interpreted them. This evidence separates malformed input from a valid name, path, or buffer that simply produced no result.
Related ESE conditions
hrInvalidName | an ESE object name failed the naming contract before object lookup could succeed |
|---|---|
hrInvalidPath | a database, system, log, or temporary directory does not satisfy the path contract |
hrInvalidFilename | the filename component fails ESE rules even if the parent path exists |
The ESE objects in play
| Diagnostic layer | API argument, naming, path, and buffer contracts |
|---|---|
| Typical API surface | the specific Jet* function named by the caller and its structure definitions in esent.h |
| Code-specific condition | the function received a value or combination that violates its call contract |
| First corrective direction | reduce the call to a documented minimal argument set and add options back one at a time |
Many output APIs expose a required byte count, while fixed-width inputs must match a declared type exactly. The original Unicode value and byte length matter when diagnosing names and paths.
Data for a reproducible case
- the documented required-size value for any output buffer.
- the unmodified argument value with its Unicode and byte lengths.
- structure sizes, reserved fields, grbits, and API version.
Corrective workflow
- Freeze the failing request context and record
0xC80003EB, the Jet API name, and the current instance/session ownership. - Apply the targeted fix: reduce the call to a documented minimal argument set and add options back one at a time.
- Before retrying the operation, reconcile the exact argument bytes and the absence of unintended object creation.
Actions that can hide or worsen the problem
- Do not silently trim, recode, or sanitize the value into a different identifier.
- Do not grow a fixed-width input buffer as though it were a variable output.
Technical references
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