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Informix Error -343

-343 Row from audit trail was added to a different position than expected.

While the database server was reconstructing a table from the audit trail, it found a discrepancy between the position of an inserted row now and the position that was recorded in the audit trail when the row was first inserted. Either the audit-trail file has been corrupted, or the audit-trail file is incomplete, with missing records for some alterations. The table cannot be recovered as it stands. Try the operation again after you make sure that the table has been restored to exactly the same state as when the audit trail was created. If the error recurs, rebuild the table by other means.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-343 fires during audit-trail-based table reconstruction: a row being replayed from the audit trail lands at a different position than the trail originally recorded, which almost always points to either a corrupted audit-trail file or a set of incomplete records missing some intervening alterations.

  1. A corrupted audit-trail file, where the recorded sequence of changes no longer accurately reflects what actually happened to the table.
  2. Incomplete audit-trail records — some alterations to the table were missed or not recorded, so replaying the trail produces a table state inconsistent with the recorded positions.
  3. The table was modified outside the audit-trail-tracked path at some point, breaking the trail's assumption of a complete, ordered history.
  4. A partial or interrupted audit-trail write during an earlier operation, leaving a gap in the recorded sequence.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Restore the table to its original state from when the audit trail was created, per the official guidance, and replay the trail again from that clean starting point.
  2. If the problem persists after restoring and replaying, treat the audit trail as unreliable and rebuild the table through alternative means (a fresh backup, or reconstructing from another source of truth) rather than continuing to rely on this trail.
  3. Investigate whether the table was modified outside the audit-tracked path at any point, to prevent recurrence once a clean state is re-established.
Examples
Restoring and replaying from a clean starting point
1. Restore the table to its state at the time the audit trail
   was created (from a matching backup).
2. Replay the audit trail's recorded changes from that point.
3. If -343 recurs, the trail itself is unreliable — rebuild the
   table from a different, trustworthy source instead.
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Confirm exactly when the audit trail was created, and whether a matching backup of the table from that point exists.
  2. Check whether the table was modified through any path other than the audit-tracked one during the trail's lifetime.
  3. If -343 recurs after a clean restore-and-replay attempt, treat the audit trail itself as corrupted rather than retrying indefinitely.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -341 — "Could not read a row from audit trail file." A related audit-trail integrity failure, at the read level rather than the reconstruction/replay level.
  • -332 — "Cannot access audit trail name information." Another audit-trail infrastructure failure in the same general family.

If restoring to the audit trail's starting point and replaying doesn't resolve this, treat the trail as corrupted and rebuild the table from a different trusted source rather than continuing to retry against it.