How to get the error message from the error code returned by GetLastError()?

Question

After a Windows API call, how can I get the last error message in a textual form?

GetLastError() returns an integer value, not a text message.

Answer 1

//Returns the last Win32 error, in string format. Returns an empty string if there is no error.
std::string GetLastErrorAsString()
{
    //Get the error message ID, if any.
    DWORD errorMessageID = ::GetLastError();
    if(errorMessageID == 0) {
        return std::string(); //No error message has been recorded
    }
    
    LPSTR messageBuffer = nullptr;

    //Ask Win32 to give us the string version of that message ID.
    //The parameters we pass in, tell Win32 to create the buffer that holds the message for us (because we don't yet know how long the message string will be).
    size_t size = FormatMessageA(FORMAT_MESSAGE_ALLOCATE_BUFFER | FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM | FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS,
                                 NULL, errorMessageID, MAKELANGID(LANG_NEUTRAL, SUBLANG_DEFAULT), (LPSTR)&messageBuffer, 0, NULL);
    
    //Copy the error message into a std::string.
    std::string message(messageBuffer, size);
    
    //Free the Win32's string's buffer.
    LocalFree(messageBuffer);
            
    return message;
}

Answer 2

Updated (11/2017) to take into consideration some comments.

Easy example:

wchar_t buf[256];
FormatMessageW(FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM | FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS,
               NULL, GetLastError(), MAKELANGID(LANG_NEUTRAL, SUBLANG_DEFAULT), 
               buf, (sizeof(buf) / sizeof(wchar_t)), NULL);

Answer 3

MSDN has some sample code that demonstrates how to use FormatMessage() and GetLastError() together: Retrieving the Last-Error Code

Answer 4

GetLastError returns a numerical error code. To obtain a descriptive error message (e.g., to display to a user), you can call FormatMessage:

// This functions fills a caller-defined character buffer (pBuffer)
// of max length (cchBufferLength) with the human-readable error message
// for a Win32 error code (dwErrorCode).
// 
// Returns TRUE if successful, or FALSE otherwise.
// If successful, pBuffer is guaranteed to be NUL-terminated.
// On failure, the contents of pBuffer are undefined.
BOOL GetErrorMessage(DWORD dwErrorCode, LPTSTR pBuffer, DWORD cchBufferLength)
{
    if (cchBufferLength == 0)
    {
        return FALSE;
    }

    DWORD cchMsg = FormatMessage(FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM | FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS,
                                 NULL,  /* (not used with FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM) */
                                 dwErrorCode,
                                 MAKELANGID(LANG_NEUTRAL, SUBLANG_DEFAULT),
                                 pBuffer,
                                 cchBufferLength,
                                 NULL);
    return (cchMsg > 0);
}

In C++, you can simplify the interface considerably by using the std::string class:

#include <Windows.h>
#include <system_error>
#include <memory>
#include <string>
typedef std::basic_string<TCHAR> String;

String GetErrorMessage(DWORD dwErrorCode)
{
    LPTSTR psz{ nullptr };
    const DWORD cchMsg = FormatMessage(FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM
                                         | FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS
                                         | FORMAT_MESSAGE_ALLOCATE_BUFFER,
                                       NULL, // (not used with FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM)
                                       dwErrorCode,
                                       MAKELANGID(LANG_NEUTRAL, SUBLANG_DEFAULT),
                                       reinterpret_cast<LPTSTR>(&psz),
                                       0,
                                       NULL);
    if (cchMsg > 0)
    {
        // Assign buffer to smart pointer with custom deleter so that memory gets released
        // in case String's c'tor throws an exception.
        auto deleter = [](void* p) { ::LocalFree(p); };
        std::unique_ptr<TCHAR, decltype(deleter)> ptrBuffer(psz, deleter);
        return String(ptrBuffer.get(), cchMsg);
    }
    else
    {
        auto error_code{ ::GetLastError() };
        throw std::system_error( error_code, std::system_category(),
                                 "Failed to retrieve error message string.");
    }
}

NOTE: These functions also work for HRESULT values. Just change the first parameter from DWORD dwErrorCode to HRESULT hResult. The rest of the code can remain unchanged.

---

• Complete sample code, not just a reference to the API to call.
• Provides both C and C++ implementations.
• Works for both Unicode and MBCS project settings.
• Takes the error code as an input parameter. This is important, as a thread's last error code is only valid at well defined points. An input parameter allows the caller to follow the documented contract.
• Implements proper exception safety. Unlike all of the other solutions that implicitly use exceptions, this implementation will not leak memory in case an exception is thrown while constructing the return value.
• Proper use of the FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS flag. See The importance of the FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS flag for more information.
• Proper error handling/error reporting, unlike some of the other answers, that silently ignore errors.

---

This answer has been incorporated from Stack Overflow Documentation. The following users have contributed to the example: stackptr, Ajay, Cody Gray♦, IInspectable.

Answer 5

FormatMessage will turn GetLastError's integer return into a text message.

Answer 6

In general, you need to use FormatMessage to convert from a Win32 error code to text.

From the MSDN documentation:

Formats a message string. The function requires a message definition as input. The message definition can come from a buffer passed into the function. It can come from a message table resource in an already-loaded module. Or the caller can ask the function to search the system's message table resource(s) for the message definition. The function finds the message definition in a message table resource based on a message identifier and a language identifier. The function copies the formatted message text to an output buffer, processing any embedded insert sequences if requested.

The declaration of FormatMessage:

DWORD WINAPI FormatMessage(
  __in      DWORD dwFlags,
  __in_opt  LPCVOID lpSource,
  __in      DWORD dwMessageId, // your error code
  __in      DWORD dwLanguageId,
  __out     LPTSTR lpBuffer,
  __in      DWORD nSize,
  __in_opt  va_list *Arguments
);

Answer 7

Since c++11, you can use the standard library instead of FormatMessage:

#include <system_error>

std::string GetLastErrorAsString(){
    DWORD errorMessageID = ::GetLastError();
    if (errorMessageID == 0) {
        return std::string(); //No error message has been recorded
    } else {
        return std::system_category().message(errorMessageID);
    }
}

Answer 8

If you're using c# you can use this code:

using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

public static class WinErrors
{
    #region definitions
    [DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
    static extern IntPtr LocalFree(IntPtr hMem);

    [DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
    static extern int FormatMessage(FormatMessageFlags dwFlags, IntPtr lpSource, uint dwMessageId, uint dwLanguageId, ref IntPtr lpBuffer, uint nSize, IntPtr Arguments);

    [Flags]
    private enum FormatMessageFlags : uint
    {
        FORMAT_MESSAGE_ALLOCATE_BUFFER = 0x00000100,
        FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS = 0x00000200,
        FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM = 0x00001000,
        FORMAT_MESSAGE_ARGUMENT_ARRAY = 0x00002000,
        FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_HMODULE = 0x00000800,
        FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_STRING = 0x00000400,
    }
    #endregion

    /// <summary>
    /// Gets a user friendly string message for a system error code
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="errorCode">System error code</param>
    /// <returns>Error string</returns>
    public static string GetSystemMessage(int errorCode)
    {
        try
        {
            IntPtr lpMsgBuf = IntPtr.Zero;

            int dwChars = FormatMessage(
                FormatMessageFlags.FORMAT_MESSAGE_ALLOCATE_BUFFER | FormatMessageFlags.FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM | FormatMessageFlags.FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS,
                IntPtr.Zero,
                (uint) errorCode,
                0, // Default language
                ref lpMsgBuf,
                0,
                IntPtr.Zero);
            if (dwChars == 0)
            {
                // Handle the error.
                int le = Marshal.GetLastWin32Error();
                return "Unable to get error code string from System - Error " + le.ToString();
            }

            string sRet = Marshal.PtrToStringAnsi(lpMsgBuf);

            // Free the buffer.
            lpMsgBuf = LocalFree(lpMsgBuf);
            return sRet;
        }
        catch (Exception e)
        {
            return "Unable to get error code string from System -> " + e.ToString();
        }
    }
}

Answer 9

If you need to support MBCS as well as Unicode, Mr.C64's answer is not quite enough. The buffer must be declared TCHAR, and cast to LPTSTR. Note that this code doesn't deal with the annoying newline that Microsoft appends to the error message.

CString FormatErrorMessage(DWORD ErrorCode)
{
    TCHAR   *pMsgBuf = NULL;
    DWORD   nMsgLen = FormatMessage(FORMAT_MESSAGE_ALLOCATE_BUFFER |
        FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM | FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS,
        NULL, ErrorCode, MAKELANGID(LANG_NEUTRAL, SUBLANG_DEFAULT),
        reinterpret_cast<LPTSTR>(&pMsgBuf), 0, NULL);
    if (!nMsgLen)
        return _T("FormatMessage fail");
    CString sMsg(pMsgBuf, nMsgLen);
    LocalFree(pMsgBuf);
    return sMsg;
}

Also, for brevity I find the following method useful:

CString GetLastErrorString()
{
    return FormatErrorMessage(GetLastError());
}

Answer 10

void WinErrorCodeToString(DWORD ErrorCode, string& Message)
{
char* locbuffer = NULL;
DWORD count = FormatMessageA(FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM | FORMAT_MESSAGE_ALLOCATE_BUFFER, NULL, ErrorCode,
    0, (LPSTR)&locbuffer, 0, nullptr);
if (locbuffer)
{
    if (count)
    {
        int c;
        int back = 0;
        //
        // strip any trailing "\r\n"s and replace by a single "\n"
        //
        while (((c = *CharPrevA(locbuffer, locbuffer + count)) == '\r') ||
            (c == '\n')) {
            count--;
            back++;
        }

        if (back) {
            locbuffer[count++] = '\n';
            locbuffer[count] = '\0';
        }

        Message = "Error: ";
        Message += locbuffer;
    }
    LocalFree(locbuffer);
}
else
{
    Message = "Unknown error code: " + to_string(ErrorCode);
}
}

Answer 11

i'll leave this here since i will need to use it later. It's a source for a small binary compatible tool that will work equally well in assembly, C and C++.

GetErrorMessageLib.c (compiled to GetErrorMessageLib.dll)

#include <Windows.h>

/***
 * returns 0 if there was enough space, size of buffer in bytes needed
 * to fit the result, if there wasn't enough space. -1 on error.
 */
__declspec(dllexport)
int GetErrorMessageA(DWORD dwErrorCode, LPSTR lpResult, DWORD dwBytes)
{    
    LPSTR tmp;
    DWORD result_len;

    result_len = FormatMessageA (
        FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM | FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS | FORMAT_MESSAGE_ALLOCATE_BUFFER,
        NULL,
        dwErrorCode,
        LANG_SYSTEM_DEFAULT,
        (LPSTR)&tmp,
        0,
        NULL
    );        

    if (result_len == 0) {
        return -1;
    }

    // FormatMessage's return is 1 character too short.
    ++result_len;

    strncpy(lpResult, tmp, dwBytes);

    lpResult[dwBytes - 1] = 0;
    LocalFree((HLOCAL)tmp);

    if (result_len <= dwBytes) {
        return 0;
    } else {
        return result_len;
    }
}

/***
 * returns 0 if there was enough space, size of buffer in bytes needed
 * to fit the result, if there wasn't enough space. -1 on error.
 */
__declspec(dllexport)
int GetErrorMessageW(DWORD dwErrorCode, LPWSTR lpResult, DWORD dwBytes)
{   
    LPWSTR tmp;
    DWORD nchars;
    DWORD result_bytes;

    nchars = dwBytes >> 1;

    result_bytes = 2 * FormatMessageW (
        FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM | FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS | FORMAT_MESSAGE_ALLOCATE_BUFFER,
        NULL,
        dwErrorCode,
        LANG_SYSTEM_DEFAULT,
        (LPWSTR)&tmp,
        0,
        NULL
    );    

    if (result_bytes == 0) {
        return -1;
    } 

    // FormatMessage's return is 1 character too short.
    result_bytes += 2;

    wcsncpy(lpResult, tmp, nchars);
    lpResult[nchars - 1] = 0;
    LocalFree((HLOCAL)tmp);

    if (result_bytes <= dwBytes) {
        return 0;
    } else {
        return result_bytes * 2;
    }
}

inline version(GetErrorMessage.h):

#ifndef GetErrorMessage_H 
#define GetErrorMessage_H 
#include <Windows.h>    

/***
 * returns 0 if there was enough space, size of buffer in bytes needed
 * to fit the result, if there wasn't enough space. -1 on error.
 */
static inline int GetErrorMessageA(DWORD dwErrorCode, LPSTR lpResult, DWORD dwBytes)
{    
    LPSTR tmp;
    DWORD result_len;

    result_len = FormatMessageA (
        FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM | FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS | FORMAT_MESSAGE_ALLOCATE_BUFFER,
        NULL,
        dwErrorCode,
        LANG_SYSTEM_DEFAULT,
        (LPSTR)&tmp,
        0,
        NULL
    );        

    if (result_len == 0) {
        return -1;
    }

    // FormatMessage's return is 1 character too short.
    ++result_len;

    strncpy(lpResult, tmp, dwBytes);

    lpResult[dwBytes - 1] = 0;
    LocalFree((HLOCAL)tmp);

    if (result_len <= dwBytes) {
        return 0;
    } else {
        return result_len;
    }
}

/***
 * returns 0 if there was enough space, size of buffer in bytes needed
 * to fit the result, if there wasn't enough space. -1 on error.
 */
static inline int GetErrorMessageW(DWORD dwErrorCode, LPWSTR lpResult, DWORD dwBytes)
{   
    LPWSTR tmp;
    DWORD nchars;
    DWORD result_bytes;

    nchars = dwBytes >> 1;

    result_bytes = 2 * FormatMessageW (
        FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM | FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS | FORMAT_MESSAGE_ALLOCATE_BUFFER,
        NULL,
        dwErrorCode,
        LANG_SYSTEM_DEFAULT,
        (LPWSTR)&tmp,
        0,
        NULL
    );    

    if (result_bytes == 0) {
        return -1;
    } 

    // FormatMessage's return is 1 character too short.
    result_bytes += 2;

    wcsncpy(lpResult, tmp, nchars);
    lpResult[nchars - 1] = 0;
    LocalFree((HLOCAL)tmp);

    if (result_bytes <= dwBytes) {
        return 0;
    } else {
        return result_bytes * 2;
    }
}

#endif /* GetErrorMessage_H */

dynamic usecase(assumed that error code is valid, otherwise a -1 check is needed):

#include <Windows.h>
#include <Winbase.h>
#include <assert.h>
#include <stdio.h>

int main(int argc, char **argv)
{   
    int (*GetErrorMessageA)(DWORD, LPSTR, DWORD);
    int (*GetErrorMessageW)(DWORD, LPWSTR, DWORD);
    char result1[260];
    wchar_t result2[260];

    assert(LoadLibraryA("GetErrorMessageLib.dll"));

    GetErrorMessageA = (int (*)(DWORD, LPSTR, DWORD))GetProcAddress (
        GetModuleHandle("GetErrorMessageLib.dll"),
        "GetErrorMessageA"
    );        
    GetErrorMessageW = (int (*)(DWORD, LPWSTR, DWORD))GetProcAddress (
        GetModuleHandle("GetErrorMessageLib.dll"),
        "GetErrorMessageW"
    );        

    GetErrorMessageA(33, result1, sizeof(result1));
    GetErrorMessageW(33, result2, sizeof(result2));

    puts(result1);
    _putws(result2);

    return 0;
}

regular use case(assumes error code is valid, otherwise -1 return check is needed):

#include <stdio.h>
#include "GetErrorMessage.h"
#include <stdio.h>

int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
    char result1[260];
    wchar_t result2[260];

    GetErrorMessageA(33, result1, sizeof(result1));
    puts(result1);

    GetErrorMessageW(33, result2, sizeof(result2));
    _putws(result2);

    return 0;
}

example using with assembly gnu as in MinGW32(again, assumed that error code is valid, otherwise -1 check is needed).

    .global _WinMain@16

    .section .text
_WinMain@16:
    // eax = LoadLibraryA("GetErrorMessageLib.dll")
    push $sz0
    call _LoadLibraryA@4 // stdcall, no cleanup needed

    // eax = GetProcAddress(eax, "GetErrorMessageW")
    push $sz1
    push %eax
    call _GetProcAddress@8 // stdcall, no cleanup needed

    // (*eax)(errorCode, szErrorMessage)
    push $200
    push $szErrorMessage
    push errorCode       
    call *%eax // cdecl, cleanup needed
    add $12, %esp

    push $szErrorMessage
    call __putws // cdecl, cleanup needed
    add $4, %esp

    ret $16

    .section .rodata
sz0: .asciz "GetErrorMessageLib.dll"    
sz1: .asciz "GetErrorMessageW"
errorCode: .long 33

    .section .data
szErrorMessage: .space 200

result: The process cannot access the file because another process has locked a portion of the file.