Informix Error -240

Reasons / Common Causes

-240 is a generic wrapper around a failed DELETE — the accompanying ISAM error code carries the specific cause, which could be any of several underlying conditions.

1. A locking conflict — the same lock-conflict family as -233 (-107, -113, -134, -143, -144, -154), encountered while trying to delete rather than read.
2. Disk space or storage issues interrupting the delete operation.
3. Referential integrity constraints — a row that can't be deleted because dependent rows in another table still reference it via a foreign key (though this often surfaces as its own distinct error depending on version; check the accompanying code to confirm).
4. General corruption or storage issues, consistent with other severe conditions elsewhere in this catalogue.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Roll back the current transaction, per the official guidance.
2. Check the accompanying ISAM error code for the specific cause, and address it using that code's own guidance elsewhere in this catalogue.
3. If a lock conflict, apply the same retry-with-backoff approach as -233/-107.
4. If a referential-integrity issue, address dependent rows first — delete or reassign them before retrying the delete on the parent row.

Examples

Checking the accompanying code first

-- The specific ISAM error code accompanying -240 determines the fix:
--   -107/-113/-134/-143/-144/-154: a lock conflict — retry with backoff
--   a referential-integrity-specific code: address dependent rows first

Diagnostic Checks

1. Check the accompanying ISAM error code for the specific underlying cause.
2. Check for dependent rows in other tables if a referential integrity issue is suspected.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -233 — "Cannot read record that is locked by another user." The closest structural sibling — the same accompanying-ISAM-code wrapper pattern, for reads instead of deletes.
• -238 — "Cannot commit work." Another DML/transaction-lifecycle generic wrapper in the same general family.

Check the accompanying ISAM error code before anything else — -240 alone only says the delete failed, not why.