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Informix Error -4825: Seek on file file_name cannot be done. Accompanying OS message : OS_Message.

Cause and resolution

Seek on file file_name cannot be done. Accompanying OS message : OS_Message.

Seek on the file cannot be done. Look for the accompanying error messages from the operating system. Possibly the file may already be closed or the file descriptor may be changed in the program.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-4825 fires when a file I/O Seek operation fails — per the official guidance.

  1. The file is already closed, per the official guidance — the first named cause.
  2. The file descriptor variable was changed elsewhere in the program, per the official guidance — the second named cause.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Look for the accompanying operating-system error message, per the official guidance, for the specific cause.
  2. Trace the file descriptor's lifecycle, similar to -4823, to confirm the file is still open under the descriptor being used.
Examples
N/A

No specific triggering statement is documented beyond an unopened file or an incorrect descriptor.

Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check the accompanying OS message, and confirm the file is still open under the descriptor used for the seek.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -4823 — "The file associated with the file descriptor may not be opened." The same underlying descriptor-validity issue, for file I/O operations generally.
  • -4831 — "The variable var_name is not of type INTEGER or SMALLINT. It cannot be used to store offset bytes returned from the seek operation." A related seek error, about the destination variable's type rather than the seek itself failing.

A Seek operation failed — check the accompanying OS message, and confirm the file is still open under the descriptor used.