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hrInvalidPath
Diagnostic boundary
For hrInvalidPath, read this result as a boundary in the ESE state machine, not as a generic Windows failure. The decisive boundary is a database, system, log, or temporary directory does not satisfy the path contract.
This result is the legacy Directory Service backup/restore HRESULT form of the ESE condition normally written as JET_errInvalidPath. Preserve the original value 0xC80003FF when a wrapper also exposes a signed JET_ERR.
The key comparison for this HRESULT is this: hrFileNotFound can follow a valid path; this code means the path argument or location is invalid for the API. The first useful observation is to log the expanded absolute path, current directory, service identity, existence, volume type, and trailing separator handling. This evidence separates malformed input from a valid name, path, or buffer that simply produced no result.
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 boundary | a database, system, log, or temporary directory does not satisfy the path contract |
| First corrective direction | canonicalize and validate the directory before engine initialization or attachment |
ESE distinguishes malformed input from a valid lookup that finds nothing. Many output APIs expose a required byte count, while fixed-width inputs must match a declared type exactly.
Evidence that resolves the ambiguity
A useful trace for this HRESULT should preserve the first failing operation and the state of the API argument, naming, path, and buffer contracts.
- Code-specific observation: log the expanded absolute path, current directory, service identity, existence, volume type, and trailing separator handling.
- the unmodified argument value with its Unicode and byte lengths; associate it with this result rather than with a later generic exception.
- structure sizes, reserved fields, grbits, and API version; associate it with it rather than with a later generic exception.
- the documented required-size value for any output buffer; associate it with it rather than with a later generic exception.
Log lengths, hashes, IDs, flags, and redacted samples where appropriate.
Nearby results that mean something different
For this HRESULT, hrFileNotFound can follow a valid path; this code means the path argument or location is invalid for the API. The following neighboring results belong to the same broad subsystem but mark different boundaries:
hrInvalidParameter | the function received a value or combination that violates its call contract |
|---|---|
hrBufferTooSmall | a caller-provided output area cannot hold the value ESE is returning |
hrInvalidName | an ESE object name failed the naming contract before object lookup could succeed |
Keep it in the incident record; replacing it with “database error” hides whether the next step is handle renewal, schema correction, lock reconciliation, or file preservation.
A disciplined correction path
- Freeze the failing request context and record it,
0xC80003FF, the Jet API name, and the current instance/session ownership. - Verify the code-specific precondition: log the expanded absolute path, current directory, service identity, existence, volume type, and trailing separator handling.
- Apply the narrow correction: canonicalize and validate the directory before engine initialization or attachment.
- Before retrying it, reconcile the exact argument bytes and the absence of unintended object creation.
- Repeat the smallest read-only or disposable test that exercises the corrected precondition; then confirm both the returned HRESULT and the resulting database, cursor, or file state.
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.
Developer-facing acceptance test
Build a focused test that reproduces it at the API argument, naming, path, and buffer contracts layer. Record the precondition, execute one API call, and assert the HRESULT plus the resulting handle and transaction state. The corrected test should change only the decisive condition—a database, system, log, or temporary directory does not satisfy the path contract—and should prove that cleanup is safe if the call still fails.
Technical references
- ESE reference — used to verify the ESE object model, API ordering, or error family relevant to it.
- Using ESE and esent.h
- JET_ERR enumeration
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