Informix Error -214

Reasons / Common Causes

-214 means a DROP TABLE (or similar) succeeded at the catalog level but couldn't fully remove the table's underlying file — an OS-level failure, not a data or SQL logic problem. The official guidance points at the accompanying ISAM error code for specifics, and names permissions, read-only files, and hardware as the likely categories.

1. OS-level file permissions preventing removal — the database server process lacking permission to delete the underlying file.
2. A read-only file — the file marked read-only at the OS level, blocking deletion regardless of the database's own intent.
3. Hardware issues — a failing disk or filesystem problem preventing the delete operation from completing.
4. The file held open by another process, on platforms where that blocks deletion — an external backup tool or monitoring process holding a lock, for example.
5. Filesystem-level issues — corruption, or a mount unexpectedly going read-only, similar to other storage-layer causes elsewhere in this catalogue.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Check the accompanying ISAM error code for more specific detail, per the official guidance.
2. Check OS-level file permissions on the table's underlying files/chunk and correct them if wrong.
3. Check whether the file is marked read-only and clear that attribute if so.
4. Check hardware and filesystem health if permissions aren't the issue.
5. Confirm whether this leaves an inconsistent state — the catalog reflecting the table as dropped while the underlying file still exists — and consult the accompanying ISAM code or administrator guidance for the specific remediation needed to reconcile that.
6. Identify and address any external process holding a lock on the file, if that's the cause.

Examples

Checking file permissions

ls -la /informix/dbspace/customer.dat
-- confirm the informix service account actually has permission
-- to delete this file

A read-only file

$ ls -la /informix/dbspace/customer.dat
-r--r--r-- 1 informix informix 1048576 Sep 20 03:00 /informix/dbspace/customer.dat
-- read-only permissions block the delete regardless of database-level intent

chmod u+w /informix/dbspace/customer.dat

An external process holding a lock

A backup tool that opened the file moments before the DROP TABLE ran can hold a lock preventing its removal on some platforms — identifying and stopping (or waiting out) that process resolves the immediate issue, and scheduling shouldn't overlap backup windows with drop operations going forward.

Diagnostic Checks

1. Check the accompanying ISAM error code for the specific underlying cause.
2. Check file permissions and ownership at the OS level for the affected table's storage.
3. Check filesystem and hardware health.
4. Check for external processes holding a lock on the file.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -115 — "ISAM error: cannot create lock file." The closest sibling — the same class of OS-level file-access failure (permissions, disk space, mount state), applied to file removal instead of creation.
• -105 — "ISAM error: bad ISAM file format." A broader storage-integrity sibling, relevant if hardware issues are implicated.

Check the accompanying ISAM error code and OS-level file permissions first — this is almost always an infrastructure issue, not something wrong with the DROP TABLE statement itself.