Informix Error -32401
-32401 The initial extent size cannot be changed when altering a table.
The initial-extent size is set when the table is first created. The next-extent size can be altered, but the initial-extent size cannot. To change the size of the initial extent, you must unload the data from the table, drop the table, re-create the table with the CREATE TABLE statement, and reload the data into the table.
Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance
Reasons / Common Causes
-32401 fires when an ALTER TABLE/DB-Access session attempts to change a table's initial
extent size — per the official guidance, the initial-extent size is fixed at table
creation; only the next-extent size can later be altered.
- An attempt to change the initial-extent size on an existing table, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.
Solutions / Resolution
- Unload the data, drop the table, re-create it with
CREATE TABLE, and reload the data, per the official guidance, to change the initial extent size.
Examples
N/A
No specific triggering statement is documented — the initial-extent restriction applies
generally to any ALTER TABLE/DB-Access attempt.
Diagnostic Checks
- Confirm the change being requested is to the initial-extent size specifically, and plan an unload/drop/recreate/reload cycle instead of an alter.
Related Errors / Related Topics
- -32406 — "Value must be greater than zero." A related extent-size error, on the value itself being non-positive rather than the initial-extent size being immutable.
The initial-extent size can't be changed via ALTER TABLE — recreate the table to change
it.