DCOM server process launcher high cpu

[hotpotato]

Hi everyone!

As mentioned in the title, I have a problem with the DCOM server process launcher process which uses more than 50% of the CPU. I have checked several suggestions in other forums but none has solved this problem.
Most solutions suggest removing external devices, creating a new account, or disabling some third-party applications and unpin the live tiles from windows start. I have tried all of this but none works.

This problem started like 3 or 4 days ago. I have checked a recent thread in this forum, but the suggestions didn't work for me.

For more details:

I tried to check when was the last time I did an update for windows to see if it was the source of the problem, but I wasn't able to check that as the Windows Update page in my settings doesn't show up. I tried also using Process Explorer from Windows, but it doesn't work. I can find its process running in the Task Manager but the app doesn't show up, and I tried other alternatives like Process Lasso and System Explorer but the installations don't finish but I can find them as installed applications. Somehow the System Explorer worked and the information about the process details didn't help me to identify the problem (the picture below shows the System Explorer details). The same goes for many other apps that I try to open but don't show up while I can find their process running in the background, like CCleaner for example. Also, the Office 365 apps show me a message whenever I open one of them like Outlook, Word, or PowerPoint and they close after that.

I downloaded the BSOD Collection Application, run it and it stops at the "waiting for system info" message. It didn't stop showing for more than an hour so I stopped it. it is mentioned that it's due to excess msinfo32/ WERCON entries. But no zip file was generated. I have zipped the final output and I can attach it if needed.

I tried also going back to a restored point, but the function doesn't work, as I mentioned earlier many functions and apps stopped working properly but I managed to open them in Safe Mode. As I tried to restore the pc in safe mode, I didn't find one, unfortunately.

(I have found that many people on Facebook have this problem, and the recent thread on this forum has a high amount of views which means many people are having this problem recently I guess)

I hope you can help me solve this problem since I am using my own computer for my work the whole time and it is slowing me for the moment.
And thank you!

 

[britechguy]

Whenever inexplicable issues present themselves “out of the blue” and with seemingly no reason, these are the two things I try first, in order:

1. Using DISM (Deployment Imaging Servicing and Management) and SFC (System File Checker) to Repair Windows 8.1, 10 & 11

2. Performing a Windows 10 or 11 Repair Install or Feature Update Using the Windows ISO file

If #1 fixes the issue, #2 is unnecessary.

 

[hotpotato]

I have tried the first suggestion using DISM and SFC and I get the "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations" message and the sfcdetails text file shows no corrupted file on my pc.

As I didn't found any corrupted file using those methods, do I still have to try to repair Windows with a Windows Installation ISO file ?

 

[britechguy]

Yes. You have nothing to lose by doing a repair install and potentially a lot to gain.

Not every issue gets caught and fixed by DISM and SFC. If they did, I'd not have that "step 2" at all.

If, by chance, you have a freshly created copy of the Windows 10 install media on USB, it's fine to use that rather than the ISO file. I only give the ISO file version because it's not necessary to create USB install media and if someone doesn't have a thumb drive handy, they can still do what's necessary without one.

 

[hotpotato]

Do I have to do any backup for my personal files or it is not necessary? I'm using my pc right now and it will be hard for me to do any backup at the moment.

 

[britechguy]

Strictly speaking, no, but I always recommend doing a full system image backup before doing something like this, just as an insurance policy.

The process is no different than what occurs when a feature update is applied under "the usual circumstances," so you have to decide whether your past history with same makes you fall into the "I can do this without backing up first" camp or not.

The process, if followed as written, keeps all files and apps.

 

[hotpotato]

Ok. I will try to do a backup.

I am in the middle of the process of the repair install. I will get back to you as soon as I finish the process and see if it resolve this problem (which I hope so).

Thanks for your help!

 

[hotpotato]

I tried to do the repair install method but it doesn't work at all. After I start the installation, it doesn't do anything and gets stuck on 0% for more than 2 hours.

Is there anything else I can do because my CPU is on fire for more than 3 days!

 

[britechguy]

Did you follow the instructions I gave to the letter?

I have seen Repair Installs/Feature Updates get stuck, but never, ever at 0% for hours on end.

My next step, unless you can find someone who can help, and wishes to do so, by digging deeply under the hood is Doing a Completely Clean (Re)install of Windows 10 Using Media Creation Tool to Fetch the Win10 ISO File (since you already have the ISO file). If you prefer to create your install media using the Media Creation Tool instead that's just fine, too.

This is not intended to rub salt in an open wound, as I feel for you, but this is a teachable moment as to Why you MUST Routinely Take Full System Image Backups of Your Computer. There are so many things that can go wrong, more than can be listed, and you're experiencing one, where being able to restore back to a clean system image you took recently is a godsend compared to having to do a completely clean reinstall and rebuild your entire Windows computing environment.

 

[hotpotato]

Sorry for the late reply. I will try using a USB for the repair install tomorrow because I cannot now.
And yes you are right about the backups which I should take it in consideration for the future, but the problem is that it will be hard to take a backup each time windows wants to update, because we don't know if that update will cause a problem or not, as I am facing it right now and many others who have the same problem after the last windows 10 updates.

I would like to ask if there is a way to delete the last updates, which I don't remember when windows installed them, because I don't have a restore point.

Thanks again for your help

 

[britechguy]

Yes, recent updates can be rolled back (at least most of the time), but for a limited period of time.

Settings, Update & Security, Windows Update Pane, View Update History. Then, in the Update History, at the top, is a link, Uninstall Updates. You will only see the updates you can remove.

The key to backups is just taking them at regular intervals, and those intervals should be based on "what could I lose, wholesale, since the last update?" There are times when the interval could be longer than others. If you've done something like uploading a thousand vacation pictures and deleted the source media, I'd be taking a backup immediately afterward. If I haven't done something in months, then I'd be sticking to my regular interval, which so happens to be once per month. I even take backups to two different drives, one for the odd months the other for the even, so that, worst case scenario, the furthest I'd have to "go back in time" is two months. Usually, though, it would be one month or less.

 

[hotpotato]

Thanks for the information about the backups.

I already tried to check the latest updates done, but the Windows Update page in Settings doesn't load at all and shows me "A problem has occurred..".

I also tried using USB for the repair but I get the same problem, the installation gets stuck at the beginning for more than an hour without any progress. You can see it in the picture below.

Is there any other solution please ? Thanks again for your help!

 

[hotpotato]

Another information that can maybe help, is that whenever I want to restart or shutdown the pc, I get the message that says to confirm the shutdown/restart and it shows that 3 tasks are running that are unknown for me with one displayed without any name.

 

[britechguy]

You're letting out information in dribs and drabs (e.g., Settings not loading) that strongly suggest one of two things, either of which is a major problem:

1. You possibly have a system disk that is in the process of failing, and seems to be pretty far along.

2. You have such major corruption in your Windows that even the usual repair tools cannot work.

I suggest you see this message, Logon.UI.exe - System Error, in another active thread and consider using that utility and technique to check the state of your system disk. If the disk is bad, there is no point in doing anything as far as repairing/reinstalling to it. Even before you do those checks, I'd strongly advise copying off all of your user data to some external media so that you have it. If you do have a failing drive, it could fail catastrophically without warning. At least at the moment it's functioning well enough to try to get your data off of it. [Important Note: Since you are still able to boot into Windows, you do have the option of using a non-bootable disk check, such as SeaTools for Windows or CrystalDiskInfo. I would try the latter first, as it's quicker and I strongly suspect just the SMART data is going to be enough for a verdict.]

If the disk tests good, then I would just bite the bullet and do a completely clean reinstall of Windows 10 to it. You are in a "too far gone" situation, in my opinion, to trust any repair method as fixing things in such a way that they're likely to stick over the long term. If the disk tests bad, then you need to acquire a new system disk and then, afterward, still Doing a Completely Clean (Re)install of Windows 10 Using Media Creation Tool to Create Bootable Win10 Install Media on a USB Thumb Drive.

And with that, other than possibly assisting if you need it with the instructions for doing a completely clean reinstall, I'm out of ideas. The sum of what you've now offered so far clearly indicates a major problem, be it with your disk or with the running instance of Windows 10, where the only solution I feel comfortable with is starting over from scratch after having backed up/copied off your user data.

 

[hotpotato]

I have a Samsung SSD 860 EVO 500Gb and normally I use the Samsung Magician to check my SSD but it doesn't open like the other apps.

So I used CrystalDiskInfo to check the disk health.

 

[britechguy]

Well, that result is good enough for me to say that I doubt it's a problem with the system disk. So that's one variable now successfully eliminated.

And your comment about Samsung Magician, which I have to presume once behaved typically, not doing so now supports a corrupt Windows installation, too.

I say bite the bullet and start from scratch after you have successfully archived your user data. Then after you have everything set up again as you like it, be sure to start a routine, cyclic, backup protocol.

 

[hotpotato]

I guess it wasn't clear about the "Programs are running but not displayed" part. When I open an app (not all apps have this problem but many), it shows as a process running but I cannot access the app. In the picture below, we can see both Samsung Magician and CCleaner processes are running but I cannot access the apps' interfaces.

---

For the Windows Update part, when I say that the page doesn't appear, this is what I get :



The same for other windows functions like "Settings -> System -> About"

 

[britechguy]

The long and short of it is that you now have, for whatever reason, a badly corrupted Windows 10 instance that is misbehaving in myriad ways.

When something this screwed up presents itself, for myself, I absolutely refuse to even try playing the "whack a mole" game to try to knock out individual issues, as others constantly pop up. Essentially, it's like trying to rebuild a house on quicksand.

I stand by my last advice. Bite the bullet and start all over again.

 

[britechguy]

By the way, if your machine has the hardware specs to support it, I would really consider doing an upgrade to Windows 11 right after getting the brand spankin' new Windows 10 copy installed.

Windows 10 has only 3 years of support left, and while that may seem like a long time away, it's not. Not only that, but history shows that it is easier, overall, to transition to new versions of Windows while there are large numbers of people doing it at the same time. The common issues get discussed, and fixed, and it's easier to follow all that in realtime when you're a part of it. By the time a couple of years have passed, enough has changed that the information you can find on the internet is often no longer valid and it gets more confusing to sift through what works and what doesn't after a version has been live for several years and you're just jumping on the band wagon.

I've got one Windows 11 machine in my household and I actually like it. There are some typical hiccups (what they did as far as setting a default web browser and not showing everything in the taskbar are both really annoying) but even those can be lived with and I know that the first is slated to be fixed. Now that almost six months has gone by since release I would be updating my Windows 10 boxes to Windows 11 if they supported it, but unfortunately the AMD processors I have are not ones that Microsoft approved for Windows 11.

 

[hotpotato]

I understand. I'll try to backup my data and do a clean reinstallation.

I tried to update to Win 11 but I don't find the option. I found in my Windows Update and some settings the message "Some settings are managed by your organization" while I am using my own windows account. This couldn't let me do the Win 11 updates. And btw, I am using another account of mine which is an academic account for the Office 365 apps. Could it cause the "Some settings are managed by your organization" message? If so, will I be able to have full control of my pc after the clean installation?

Another question please, is that I have now the windows ISO file that I created from last steps you mentioned, is it enough to have an activated windows with it? Because I purchased my pc like 6y ago with Windows installed and I migrated from an HDD to an SSD after that but I cannot find now any license but my Windows is activated right now.

Sorry for these many questions and thanks again!