Fixing a DCOM error on Windows Server 2003 - Neil's IW Space http://grounding.co.za/blogs/neil/archive/2008/09/12/fixing-a-dcom-error...

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Information Worker Blog's by Neil van Wyngaard
Fixing a DCOM error on Windows Server 2003
One of the most annoying things is seeing all those red icons in event manager on Windows Server 2003 and then on closer inspection you find that they are related to DCOM. At this
point most system administrators give up and start phoning the developers about their applications that are breaking the server, but these errors are quite often security related and are
easily fixable.

Sharepoint is also not immune to this problem as it relies heavily on IIS 6.0 that does uses DCOM components.

Before I start explaining the various steps involved, I am going to create a quick list of the sequence of events:

Get the error Info from "Event Viewer"

Trace the error info in the registry.
Resolve the security error using "COM Manager"

Event Viewer:

The first step would be to open up "Event Viewer" that can be found under administration tools on server 2003.

Navigate to the errors that are marked with the red icon and double-click on one to get all the error information.

This is the point where most people get frustrated due to the fact that the error information does not include the name of the application or component that is causing the error. Let us
analyse what we do have:

We know the error has to do with security due to the reference of the word "Permission" in the text.
We know what permission is missing - "Local Activation"
We know what account requires permission - "Network Service" in this case.
We have the Class ID for the assembly causing the problem.

All we need to do now is convert the CLSID into a logical application name. To do this we need to access the registry by executing the command "regedit" from the command line.

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Fixing a DCOM error on Windows Server 2003 - Neil's IW Space http://grounding.co.za/blogs/neil/archive/2008/09/12/fixing-a-dcom-error...

Copy the CLSID from the error and do a find using the "Registry Editing" tool. Once you find a match to the CLSID, you will be given a PROGID (Program Identifier). This is the
name of the application causing the error, in this case "IIS WAMREG admin Service".

The next step is to find this application using "COM Manager" that can be found under administrative tools in "Control Panel".

Collapse out the tree in component manager until you get to the "DCOM Config" section. Under this section you will find the application in question listed. Edit the properties of this
application to fix the problem.

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Fixing a DCOM error on Windows Server 2003 - Neil's IW Space http://grounding.co.za/blogs/neil/archive/2008/09/12/fixing-a-dcom-error...

The error specified that the problem was related to "Security" and "Local Activation". Therefore we navigate to the "Security" tab and select the edit button under the "Launch and
Activation" section.

Select the "Add User" button and add the "Network Service" to this ACL (Access Control List).

Problem Solved.

Related Blogs:

Resolving a DCOM Error 10016 (Local Activation) on Sharepoint

ASP.NET error registering with IIS

Published Sep 12 2008, 06:13 AM by Neil

Filed under: Windows 2003, DCOM

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Fixing a DCOM error on Windows Server 2003 - Neil's IW Space http://grounding.co.za/blogs/neil/archive/2008/09/12/fixing-a-dcom-error...

Comments

Trevor said:

Actually, Neil, most system administrators do the same thing most developers do: they do a quick search on Google! Unlike most developers, however, they don't
simply copy and paste someone elses code they follow the instructions.

September 14, 2008 2:54 AM

eil's IW Space said:

This is more an IIS related error than an SharePoint error, but due to the fact that I received this

August 12, 2009 7:56 AM

How-to Remove DCOM Errors from System Event Log | Kevin Bumber said:

Pingback from How-to Remove DCOM Errors from System Event Log | Kevin Bumber

January 13, 2012 11:16 PM

About eil
Neil van Wyngaard is a MCSE, MCSD, MCDBA, MCT, MCTS, MCITP, MCBMSS. Neil's core industry focus is CRM, ERP, EPM and ECM implementations in the enterprise
environment. Core technology focus is based on SQL Server, Visual Studio, WSS, MOSS and OCS
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