Windows Event ID 10024 – DistributedCOM: DCOM Server Process Launcher Service Termination

Start by examining the complete event context to identify the root cause:

1. Open Event Viewer → Windows Logs → System
2. Filter for Event ID 10024 and note the timestamp and frequency
3. Look for related DCOM events (10016, 10028, 10016) occurring around the same time
4. Use PowerShell to correlate events:

Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='System'; Id=10024,10016,10028; StartTime=(Get-Date).AddHours(-24)} | Sort-Object TimeCreated | Format-Table TimeCreated, Id, LevelDisplayName, Message -Wrap

Examine the event details for process IDs, exit codes, and CLSID information. Cross-reference any CLSIDs with installed applications using:

Get-ChildItem 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID' | Where-Object {$_.Name -like '*YOUR-CLSID-HERE*'} | Get-ItemProperty

Reset the DCOM infrastructure to resolve temporary service corruption:

1. Open an elevated PowerShell session
2. Stop dependent services first:

Stop-Service -Name 'BITS','Themes','ShellHWDetection' -Force -PassThru

3. Restart the core DCOM services:

Restart-Service -Name 'DcomLaunch' -Force
Restart-Service -Name 'RpcSs' -Force

4. Start the dependent services:

Start-Service -Name 'BITS','Themes','ShellHWDetection'

5. Verify service status and dependencies:

Get-Service -Name 'DcomLaunch' | Select-Object Name, Status, StartType, DependentServices

Investigate DCOM security configuration that may be causing authentication failures:

1. Launch Component Services (dcomcnfg.exe) as administrator
2. Navigate to Component Services → Computers → My Computer → DCOM Config
3. Look for applications with red X marks indicating configuration issues
4. For problematic applications, right-click → Properties → Security tab
5. Check authentication settings using PowerShell:

Get-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Ole' -Name 'EnableDCOMHTTPS' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Get-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Ole' -Name 'CallFailureLoggingLevel' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

6. Review DCOM hardening settings introduced in 2026:

Get-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Ole' -Name 'MachineAccessRestriction' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

7. Check for recent Group Policy changes affecting DCOM:

gpresult /h dcom_policy.html

Use advanced diagnostics to pinpoint the specific application causing DCOM failures:

1. Enable DCOM logging for detailed troubleshooting:

New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Ole' -Name 'CallFailureLoggingLevel' -Value 1 -PropertyType DWORD -Force

2. Monitor DCOM activity in real-time using Process Monitor:

Download ProcMon from Microsoft Sysinternals and filter for:

• Process Name contains: svchost.exe, dllhost.exe
• Path contains: DCOM, Ole

3. Use WMI to identify active DCOM applications:

Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_DCOMApplication | Where-Object {$_.Name -ne $null} | Select-Object Name, AppID, LocalService | Sort-Object Name

4. Check for memory leaks in DCOM processes:

Get-Process -Name 'dllhost','svchost' | Where-Object {$_.WorkingSet -gt 100MB} | Select-Object ProcessName, Id, WorkingSet, StartTime

5. Analyze crash dumps if available:

Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\Windows\Minidump' -Filter '*.dmp' | Where-Object {$_.LastWriteTime -gt (Get-Date).AddDays(-1)}

Perform comprehensive system repair when DCOM configuration corruption is suspected:

1. Run System File Checker to repair corrupted DCOM components:

sfc /scannow

2. Use DISM to repair the Windows image:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

3. Rebuild DCOM registry entries (advanced users only):

# Backup current DCOM configuration
reg export "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\AppID" "C:\Temp\DCOM_AppID_Backup.reg"
reg export "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Ole" "C:\Temp\DCOM_Ole_Backup.reg"

4. Re-register core DCOM components:

regsvr32 /s ole32.dll
regsvr32 /s oleaut32.dll
regsvr32 /s rpcrt4.dll

5. Reset DCOM permissions to defaults:

dcomcnfg.exe

In Component Services, right-click My Computer → Properties → Default Protocols → Select Connection-oriented TCP/IP → Properties → Add dynamic endpoint range.

6. Verify repair success:

Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='System'; Id=10024; StartTime=(Get-Date)} -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue