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Fix COM Surrogate has stopped working in


Windows 7
A client of mine started having a strange problem when browsing pictures and videos on
his Windows 7 PC: it would popup with the following error message:

COMSurrogatehasstoppedworking
The odd thing was that the error only came up when browsing video or picture files, not
any other type of file. After doing some research, we managed to fix the problem, but had
to try a couple of different things before it finally worked. In this post, Ill write out the
different possible solutions and hopefully one of them will work for you.

Method 1 Update Codecs


Obviously since it was a video/picture problem, we thought it could be something with the
current set of codecs installed. This client in particular liked to copy and rip stuff, so he
had ffdshow installed plus some other codecs. We manually updated all the codecs to their
latest versions including ffdshow, Windows 7 Codec Pack and others. You can download
the latest version of Windows 7 Codec Pack here.

If you have DivX or Nero installed on your computer, go ahead and update those to the
latest versions too. In some cases, you may have to uninstall a program and then reinstall
it later on.

Method 2 Kaspersky Antivirus


There has been a known issue with Kaspersky antivirus that cases this problem to occur. If
youre using Kaspersky, you need to make sure you update the actual Kaspersky software,
not just the antivirus definitions. You can also test to see if this is really causing the issue
by disabling the program altogether and seeing if the issue goes away.

Method 3 Commands
There are a few commands you can try to run in Windows to see if it fixes the problem.
You have to run these in the command prompt. Click on Start, type cmd and then right-
click and choose Run as Administrator. Now type in the following commands, pressing
enter after each one:
regsvr32vbscript.dll
regsvr32jscript.dll

That will re-register a few dlls with Windows and possibly fix the COM surrogate error. If
not, keep reading!

Method 4 Check Disk for Errors


If youre seeing this problem only on a particular drive like an external USB device, then it
could be that there are some bad sectors on the hard drive. Its a good idea to run a
chkdsk to make sure the drive is functioning properly. You can read my previous post on
how to use the chkdsk utility.

Method 5 Disable DEP for dllhost.exe


Another fix that has been mentioned numerous times is adding dllhost.exe to the
exclusion list for DEP (Data Execution Protection). You can read my previous post on how
to turn off DEP in Windows. On the last step in that article, click Add and then add the
following exe file in Windows 7 32-bit:

C:\Windows\System32\dllhost.exe

For Windows 7 64-bit, you have to exclude the dllhost.exe file in this path:

C:\Windows\SysWOW64\dllhost.exe
Method 6 Display/Printer Driver
This can be a little tricky, but if you recently updated a driver for your display or even
some other hardware on your computer, try to roll back the driver to the previous version.
Its usually more so with the display driver than anything else. In some cases, updating to
the most recent version of the display driver can also fix the issue, so youll have to play
around with either upgrading the driver or rolling back the driver.

To rollback the display driver, go to Device Manager, expand Display Adapters and then
right-click on the display device and choose Uninstall. Youll see a pop up window where
you need to check the Delete the driver software for this device box.
In the same light, you should also check out your printer drivers and update all of them, if
updates are available.

Hopefully, one of these methods will fix the COM Surrogate error in Windows 7. If not,
post a comment here and let us know your specs and what youve tried and well try to
help. Enjoy!

July 3rd, 2012 by Aseem Kishore File in: Help Desk


There are 21 comments, care to add yours?

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Comments [21]
JJMyerssays: 4yearsago

Iwashavingthiserrorcomeup,butitwasforANYfiletypethatWindowswasgeneratingsomeformoficon/bitmapfor.I
trulybelievemyproblemwascompletelyunrelatedtoNero,codecs,oranyoftheproblemsthatIhaveseensuggestedon
thistopicfromawebsearch.AttimeswhenIwouldbrowsetoafolder,ALLfileswouldberepresentedbyagenericfile
folder(asiftheydidnothaveanapplicationassociation)andthesystemwouldhaltuntil:

A)theCOMSurrogateErrorappeared

B)theCOMSurrogateexecutablehadfinallyfinishedgeneratingtheicons

C)IstoppedtheserviceviaCTLALTDELETE(afterdoingso,theservicewouldrestartandIwouldseeiconsasIwould
expect)

ThisallstartedhappeningwhenIdidarecentWindowsUpdate,soIpeakedaroundinmsconfigtoseewhatmaybenew.
InoticedintheSartuptabinmsconfig,thatanewitemlabeledMicrosoftWindowsOperatingSystemwaschecked.I
hadneverseenthatbeforeandIamALWAYSgoingintotheStartupandServicestabofmsconfig.Iwasalittleleeryto
uncheckit,butIdidandIhavenotcomeacrosstheCOMSurrogateproblemsince.

JJMyerssays: 4yearsago

Ineedtoappendmyreply.Removingtheaforementionedservicefromthemsconfigstartuplistdidnotcorrectthe
problem.Wearestillhavingtheissue

eeshsays: 4yearsago

comsurrogateisnotworking.

dell
1tbhd
8gbram
windows7homepremium
corei5

Kenjirusays: 4yearsago

Noneofaboveworkedforme.WhatIdid:

1.IdownloadMinidump.
2.IreproducecrashandwithoutclosingerrormessageiopenMinidumpandcreateadumpfile.
3.DownloadWinDbg(setsymbolspathtomicrosoft)andanalyzedump.
4.AfterdebuggingfinishsearchforfaultingIP>willpointtodllorexethatcrashdllhost.exe
5.Uninstallorreinstalltothelastupdatewhatcausecrash.

InmycasewasIntelgraphics.

Adityasays: 4yearsago

Ihavethesameerrorwhileviewingpictures.Pleasehelpmewithasolution:

COMSurrogatehasstoppedworking

Thankyou.
Mikesays: 4yearsago

Itriedalmosteverythingyoumentioned.WhenIgottothedisplaystep,IrealizedthatIhadinstalledaNeatscanner.
Well,earlierthisweek,mywifewenttobootthecomputerandgotabluescreen.Ihadherturnoffthecomputer,
disconnectthescanner,andrebootagain.Computersseemedfine.NowIgotoprintapictureandgettheerrorabove.
So,thinkingtheproblemwasmyscanner,Iuninstalledit.Stillgettheproblem.Ididnotcreateabackupbeforeinstalling
thescanner,soIcannotgobacktobeforetheinstallation.Imstumped.IamrunningWindows7homeversiononaDell
Inspiron580.

Jari(finnish)says: 4yearsago

COMSurrogatehasstoppedworkingwin7Ihavefixedmyowncomputer.Thereweretwovideocards:nvidiaand
intelgraphics.Iupdatedbothdriverstothelatestversionsandtheproblemdisappeared.soinmycase,itwasa
graphicscardproblem.

andreeansdsays: 4yearsago

Thankyou!Method5forme.:)

vevasays: 4yearsago

Method3CommandsWORKEDFORME!!!THANKYOU

arashsays: 4yearsago

Hi,IdidallwhatyousaidbutstillhavetheCOMsurrogateproblem.WhenIopenmyphotoswithWindowsPhoto
Viewerandchangethemrepeatedlytheerrorpageappears,butifIopenthemwithotherapplicationssuchasMicrosoft
OfficePictureManagerIdonthavetheproblemanymore.WhatshouldIdo?ReinstallWindows?

Robsays: 4yearsago

Tried1,3,4,5therestdidntapply.Asusi7laptop,8gbRAM.Windows764bit.Itsbeendoingthissinceiboughtthe
PC,haveheapsofphotos,butitonlydoesitformyprofessionalphotosthatarelargerinsize????

RAVIROKDEsays: 3yearsago

THANKSTHISWASVERYHELPFUL!

djsays: 3yearsago

Thankyou!Iclicktheproblemdetailsandfoundthis[ApplicationName:DLLHost.exe]IthinkmineisMethod5.Thanks!
Iveencountereditonce.Ireallydontknowwhathappened.Thanksanyway!

Vipinsays: 3yearsago

Hi,

Thisworkedforme.

1.OpenInternetExplorer.

2.ClickInternetoptions.

3.ClickAdvancedtab.
4.PressrestoreadvancedsettingsandResetbuttonwithDeletePersonalSettingschecked.

5.ApplyandrestartyourPC.

Ifunabletoopeninternetoptionsthenrestartsysteminsafemode.

Ihopethiswillbehelpfull.

Thanks

Vipin

SAnasays: 3yearsago

method3workedformethanks

SyLesays: 3yearsago

fewcommandsyoucantrytoruninWindowstoseeifitfixestheproblem.Youhavetoruntheseinthecommand
prompt.ClickonStart,typecmdandthenrightclickandchooseRunasAdministrator.Nowtypeinthefollowing
commands,pressingenteraftereachone:

regsvr32vbscript.dll
regsvr32jscript.dll

WORK!Thanks.

AhmedMunirsays: 3yearsago

Thecommands(regsvr32vbscript.dll,regsvr32jscript.dll)workedformeThankYou

SirJB7says: 3yearsago

Hi,all!

Nice6methods.Butnonewouldworkpermanentlysincetheydontattacktheoriginoftheissue.

Givealookatthis:

http://answers.microsoft.com/enus/windows/forum/windows8_1performance/highcpuusagebycom
surrogate/6c4411e726504ad9a4dd453ebac28b22?rtAction=1391499695288

Regards!

Davesays: 3yearsago

method3fixeditforme.regsvr32jscrip.dllbutitonlysucceededwhenirancmdpromptasadministrator

Duansays: 3yearsago

Ihavejustupdatedcodecsforwindows8.1anditworked:DThanks!

Rexsays: 3yearsago

Ialreadytriedstep1,2,3,4,5&6,butnoneofthemworksforme.ImusinglenovoG470intel(R)core(TM)i52450CPU@
2.50GHzWindows7ultimate32bit
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ASEEM KISHORE
Founder of Help Desk Geek and managing editor. He began blogging in 2007 and quit his job in 2010 to blog full-time.

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Welcome to Help Desk Geek- a blog full of help desk tips for IT Professionals. My name is Aseem Kishore and I work as a
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