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ERROR_SOURCE_ELEMENT_EMPTY
The selected media-changer source element contains no medium.
ERROR_SOURCE_ELEMENT_EMPTY is Win32 error 1160 (0x488). It belongs to robotic media-changer operations: a move, exchange, or load request named a source element, but the device reported that no cartridge or other medium was present there. An element can be a storage slot, drive, import/export port, or another addressable location defined by the changer.
What the code says—and what it does not
The request reached a device model that understood the source address. Therefore this is different from an illegal element address. It also does not prove that the cartridge is lost; the management application's inventory may simply be stale after an operator action, previous failed move, door opening, or power cycle.
Likely scenarios
- an operator removed media through an import/export port without the software refreshing inventory
- a previous robotic move completed but its database update failed
- the source was a drive that had already unloaded its cartridge
- bar-code inventory and physical element status became inconsistent
- two controllers attempted to allocate the same cartridge concurrently
Evidence to collect from the failed command
- changer device identity, serial number, and logical library name
- source element type and address, destination address, and requested operation
- element status immediately before and after the failure
- volume tag or bar code expected in the source slot
- door, magazine, transport, and drive exception flags
- the last successful inventory generation and any operator intervention since then
Do not log only a friendly slot label such as “Slot 12.” Preserve the native element type and address because user-facing numbering can be offset, grouped by magazine, or remapped by library-management software.
Recovery sequence
- stop issuing repeated move commands to the same source
- query the relevant elements with
IOCTL_CHANGER_GET_ELEMENT_STATUS - if device state is uncertain, run the supported inventory or element-status initialization procedure
- reconcile the physical result with the application's cartridge database
- select the newly reported element containing the required volume, or report the volume absent
A blind retry cannot create media in an empty source. Retry is appropriate only after inventory has changed or an operator has inserted the expected cartridge.
Developer guidance
Library software should treat robotic movement and inventory persistence as a recoverable state machine. Record an operation ID, mark the cartridge “in transit,” issue the device command, then reconcile actual element status before committing ownership. After restart, unfinished moves should trigger inventory validation rather than assuming the old source still contains the medium.
How it differs from neighboring changer codes
ERROR_DESTINATION_ELEMENT_FULL means the target already contains media. ERROR_ILLEGAL_ELEMENT_ADDRESS says the addressed element does not exist. ERROR_MAGAZINE_NOT_PRESENT indicates that the containing removable magazine is absent. Error 1160 specifically means the source element is valid and currently empty.
Example
A backup server selects a cartridge from storage element 42 using an inventory captured before the library door was opened. An operator moved that cartridge to the mail slot, so the robotic move returns 1160. Refreshing element status locates the volume in the import/export element and lets the scheduler update its inventory before retrying from the correct address.
References
- Microsoft: System Error Codes (1000–1299)
- Microsoft: IOCTL_CHANGER_GET_ELEMENT_STATUS
- Microsoft: ELEMENT_TYPE enumeration
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