How To Obtain Underlying Provider Errors by Using ADO.NET in Visual C# .NET

Managed providers can raise several exceptions. To obtain more detailed information about the cause, you need access to provider-specific error information.

Requirements

The following list outlines the recommended hardware, software, network infrastructure, and service packs that you need:

• Microsoft .NET Framework
• Microsoft Visual C# .NET

This article assumes that you are familiar with the following topics:

• Exceptions
• Microsoft OLE DB
• Error handling

Steps to Obtain Underlying Provider Errors

To obtain more detailed information about the cause of an exception, wrap your code in a try-catch block, catch the exception, and process the Errors collection from the OleDbException class.

1. Open a new Visual C# .NET Windows Application project.
2. Open Form1.cs in code, copy the following code, and paste the code at the beginning of the form:

   using System.Data.OleDb;
   					

3. Copy the following code into the Form1 Load event:

   {
       OleDbConnection cn
           = new OleDbConnection("Provider=SQLOLEDB.1;Data Source=MyWrongServerName");
       try
       {
           cn.Open();
       }
       catch (OleDbException ex)
       {
           for (int i = 0; i < ex.Errors.Count; i++)
           {
               MessageBox.Show("Index #" + i.ToString() + "\n" +
                   "Message: " + ex.Errors[i].Message + "\n" +
                   "Native: " + ex.Errors[i].NativeError.ToString() + "\n" +
                   "Source: " + ex.Errors[i].Source + "\n" +
                   "SQL: " + ex.Errors[i].SQLState + "\n");
           }
       }
   }
   					

4. Run the application. A message box should appear after 10 to 15 seconds.

Troubleshooting

If you have a server named "MyWrongServerName," you may not receive an error.

Fore more information on .NET managed providers, refer to the following MSDN Web site: