Question Windows 10 is freezing and crashing - - - - DistributedCOM Event ID 10016 error ?

tsomek

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Aug 15, 2015
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Hi

I've had my computer (the Threadripper as per signature below) in the same configuration for years now - and surprisingly it has started crashing since coming back from my summer holidays a couple of days ago.

In particular, I've noticed it happens when I run autoCAD or Brave browser - though that might be a coincidence.

The program I'm working on will stop responding (greying out) - the start menu will still come up when I push the window key, but I can't even get the task manager (ctrl-alt-del or through the taskbar). I have to hard reset.

I have already
- updated my graphics card drivers
- cleaned temporary files with Ccleaner
- ran Malwarebytes and Spybot (no issues)
- ran MemTest86 Free (pass)
- opened Event Viewer - though can't quite pinpoint what

I think the only thing I did when returning, is to update some of the minor, day-to-day software that had been out of date - as usual!


Can someone please help me find and fix the culprit?


Many thanks!
 

boju

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Cpu temp? What cooler have you got?

Try sfc/scannow command in cmd (type cmd in search bar, right click the program) ran as administrator.

If that doesn't fix it and temps are good, can you afford trying a clean install of Windows? My intent is to rule out software first, if cmd doesn't help then id try reinstalling Windows or reset at least before looking at hardware, possibly storage drive the OS is on.
 

tsomek

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Cpu temp? What cooler have you got?

Try sfc/scannow command in cmd (type cmd in search bar, right click the program) ran as administrator.

If that doesn't fix it and temps are good, can you afford trying a clean install of Windows? My intent is to rule out software first, if cmd doesn't help then id try reinstalling Windows or reset at least before looking at hardware, possibly storage drive the OS is on.
Thanks for the input (y)

- Rather sure temps are fine - around 40-50+

- My cpufan is a "be quiet! Dark Rock Pro TR4"

- I did do the sfc/ scannow - forgot to mention that. No integrity violations.

- In terms of reinstall - of course I can, but I would love to avoid it - this is my work PC..

Perhaps I can install it on a different drive first.. what do you think?
 
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Jun 27, 2024
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That "error" message isn't really an error and is very common to see in event logs: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/t...gement/event-10016-logged-when-accessing-dcom

That video doesn't actually fix anything but rather just suppresses the error from being logged, something which Microsoft recommends that you don't do:

You can also work around this issue by modifying the permissions on DCOM components to prevent this error from being logged. However, we don't recommend this method because:

  • These errors don't adversely affect functionality
  • Modifying the permissions can have unintended side effects.
 
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ubuysa

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I agree wit the above, that DCOM error occurs in almost everybody's logs.

Let's get some comprehensive troubleshooting data to see whether we can identify the cause. Please download the SysnativeBSODCollectionApp and save it to the Desktop. Then run it and upload the resulting zip file to a cloud service with a link to it here. The SysnativeBSODCollectionApp collects all the troubleshooting data we're likely to need. It DOES NOT collect any personally identifying data. It's used by several highly respected Windows help forums (including this one). I'm a senior BSOD analyst on the Sysnative forum where this tool came from, so I know it to be safe.

You can of course look at what's in the zip file before you upload it, most of the files are txt files. Please don't change or delete anything though. If you want a description of what each file contains you'll find that here.
 
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ubuysa

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Unfortunately there are indications in that upload that you may be running unlicensed software. Adobe is one but there are others. Although your problem does not appear to be related to the apparently unlicensed software I'm not comfortable assisting further.
 

tsomek

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Oh ok.
These are all old entries - it's an old win10 installation - I actually have everything legit now.
I understand if this doesn't change anything for you.
Either way, many thanks for your support until now.
 

ubuysa

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In your logs I can see that since 26th July 2023 up to the present there have been 14 BSODs - and yet no dumps were uploaded, which is a great pity. I rather suspect that your unwise use of Ccleaner has deleted the dumps. BTW I would strongly advise that you uninstall Ccleaner. It was good app until Avast acquired it in 2017. Since then it's been hacked twice, in 2017 and again in 2019. I wouldn't have it anywhere near my PC.

If you must run Ccleaner, or any drive cleaner, then be sure to exclude dump files from cleaning!

It would seem from these log entries that your problem may have existed for a lot longer than you think? Most months you have two BSODs, some months as many as three and other months just the one.

Without those dumps any advice is going to be of a general nature. I can see from the logs that they were all one of two bugchecks 0x7E (SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED) and 0x50 (PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA). The 0x7E bugchecks all fail with the same exception code; 0xC0000005, a memory access violation. This could indicate a RAM problem, but you've run Memtest86 I see. The other possibilities are a driver problem or a problem with a hardware device.

I suggest that the first place to start is to enable Driver Verifier to see whether that traps a rogue driver or two. Driver Verifier subjects selected drivers (typically all third-party drivers) to extra tests and checks every time they are called. These extra checks are designed to uncover drivers that are misbehaving. If any selected driver fails any of the Driver Verifier tests/checks then Driver Verifier will BSOD. The resulting minidump should contain enough information for us to identify the flaky driver. It's thus essential to keep all minidumps created whilst Driver Verifier is enabled.

To enable Driver Verifier do the following:

1. Take a System Restore point and/or take a disk image of your system drive (with Acronis, Macrium Reflect, or similar). It is possible that Driver Verifier may BSOD a driver during the boot process (some drivers are loaded during boot). If that happens you'll be stuck in a boot-BSOD loop.

If you should end up in a boot-BSOD loop, boot the Windows installation media and use that to run system restore and restore to the restore point you took, to remove Driver Verifier and get you booting again. Alternatively you can use the Acronis, Macrium Reflect, or similar, boot media to restore the disk image you took.

Please don't skip this step. it's the only way out of a Driver Verifier boot-BSOD loop.

2. Start the Driver Verifier setup dialog by entering the command verifier in either the Run command box or in a command prompt.

3. On that initial dialog, click the radio button for 'Create custom settings (for code developers)' - the second option - and click the Next button.

4. On the second dialog check (click) the checkboxes for the following tests...
  • Special Pool
  • Force IRQL checking
  • Pool Tracking
  • Deadlock Detection
  • Security Checks
  • Miscellaneous Checks
  • Power framework delay fuzzing
  • DDI compliance checking
Then click the Next button.

5. On the next dialog click the radio button for 'Select driver names from a list' - the last option - and click the Next button.

6. On the next dialog click on the 'Provider' heading, this will sort the drivers on this column (it makes it easier to isolate Microsoft drivers).

7. Now check (click) ALL drivers that DO NOT have Microsoft as the provider (ie. check all third-party drivers).

8. Then, on the same dialog, check the following Microsoft drivers (and ONLY these Microsoft drivers)...
  • Wdf01000.sys
  • ndis.sys
  • fltMgr.sys
  • Storport.sys
These are high-level Microsoft drivers that manage lower-level third-party drivers that we otherwise wouldn't be able to trap. That's why they're included.

9. Now click Finish and then reboot. Driver Verifiier will be enabled.

Be aware that Driver Verifier will remain enabled across all reboots and shutdowns. It can only be disabled manually.

Also be aware that we expect BSODs. Indeed, we want BSODs, to be able to identify the flaky driver(s). You MUST keep all minidumps created whilst Driver Verifier is running, so disable any disk cleanup tools you may have.

10. Leave Driver Verifier running for 48 hours, use your PC as normal during this time, but do try and make it BSOD. Use every game or app that you normally use, and especially those where you have seen it BSOD in the past. If Windows doesn't automatically reboot after each BSOD then just reboot as normal and continue testing. The Driver Verifier generated BSODs are these...
  • 0xC1: SPECIAL_POOL_DETECTED_MEMORY_CORRUPTION
  • 0xC4: DRIVER_VERIFIER_DETECTED_VIOLATION
  • 0xC6: DRIVER_CAUGHT_MODIFYING_FREED_POOL
  • 0xC9: DRIVER_VERIFIER_IOMANAGER_VIOLATION
  • 0xD6: DRIVER_PAGE_FAULT_BEYOND_END_OF_ALLOCATION
  • 0xE6: DRIVER_VERIFIER_DMA_VIOLATION
If you see any of these BSOD types then you can disable Driver Verifier early because you'll have caught a misbehaving driver.

Note: Because Driver Verifier is doing extra work each time a third-party driver is loaded you will notice some performance degradation with Driver Verifier enabled. This is a price you'll have to pay in order to locate any flaky drivers. And remember, Driver Verifier can only test drivers that are loaded, so you need to ensure that every third-party driver gets loaded by using all apps, features and devices.

11. To turn Driver Verifier off enter the command verifier /reset in either Run command box or a command prompt and reboot.

Should you wish to check whether Driver Verfier is enabled or not, open a command prompt and enter the command verifier /query. If drivers are listed then it's enabled, if no drivers are listed then it's not.

12. When Driver Verifier has been disabled, navigate to the folder C:\Windows\Minidump and locate all .dmp files in there that are related to the period when Driver Verifier was running (check the timestamps). Zip these files up if you like, or not as you choose. Upload the file(s) to the cloud with a link to it/them here (be sure to make it public).
 
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tsomek

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In your logs I can see that since 26th July 2023 up to the present there have been 14 BSODs - and yet no dumps were uploaded, which is a great pity. I rather suspect that your unwise use of Ccleaner has deleted the dumps. BTW I would strongly advise that you uninstall Ccleaner. It was good app until Avast acquired it in 2017. Since then it's been hacked twice, in 2017 and again in 2019. I wouldn't have it anywhere near my PC.

If you must run Ccleaner, or any drive cleaner, then be sure to exclude dump files from cleaning!

Hi @ubuysa

Thank you so much for taking the time to putting this together for me - really very much appreciated!

Just to let you know that this might take me a little time, as this is my work computer, so I will need to get into the office over the weekend to get all this done - so please bear with me until I get back with this info.

In the meantime, many thanks for everything and I'll be in touch soon!

(y)(y)(y)
 

tsomek

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Ah, I'm not comfortable working on work PCs. Does this PC belong to the company your work for? Does your company have an in-house IT department?
No need to worry - it's mine, we're tiny, just a two-man band - so, I'm the "IT department" :grimacing:

Also, just a thing I wanted to mention, in case it's relevant / ignore if it isn't.

I'm connected via a 1Gb LAN to our two other computers and only my connection seems to be underperforming by 50-60% in terms of transfer speeds.
(I've been able to confirm it's neither the cable, nor the specific adapter (I've tried different ones).)

Many thanks!