What does Windows error code 8260 (ERROR_DS_REFERRAL_LIMIT_EXCEEDED) mean?

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: The LDAP client reached its configured limit while chasing referrals.

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ERROR_DS_REFERRAL_LIMIT_EXCEEDED

ERROR_DS_REFERRAL_LIMIT_EXCEEDED (0x00002044) is an Active Directory Domain Services LDAP result. The LDAP client reached its configured limit while chasing referrals.

What to check

Review the referral sequence and determine why the expected object was not found in the first target naming context.
Fix referral loops, stale DNS records, or incorrect search bases before simply raising the limit.
Use a domain-specific or partition-specific LDAP endpoint when the target location is known.

Useful command

Get-ADRootDSE -Server "<dc-fqdn>" | Select-Object namingContexts

Microsoft: AD DS LDAP operations · Microsoft: LDAP ETW tracing · Microsoft: AD DS diagnostic logging

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