{"id":6399,"date":"2019-03-19T05:07:32","date_gmt":"2019-03-19T12:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/?p=6399"},"modified":"2025-12-27T00:20:02","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T08:20:02","slug":"dcomlaunch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/windows-services\/dcomlaunch\/","title":{"rendered":"Essential Windows Services: DcomLaunch \/ DCOM Server Process Launcher"},"content":{"rendered":"<div align=\"center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"no-lazy-load\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/dcom-communication.webp\" title=\"DCOM Communication\" alt=\"DCOM Communication\" border=\"0\" width=\"365\" height=\"125\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"blog-toc-container\" style=\"margin-top:20px;\">\n<p id=\"blog-toc-title\">In this article&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#what-is-dcomlaunch\">What is the DcomLaunch (DCOM Server Process Launcher) service?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#stopped\">What happens if I stop the DcomLaunch service?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#questions\">Questions? Problems?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><a name=\"what-is-dcomlaunch\"><\/a><\/p>\n<hr class=\"blog-section\">\n<div style=\"width:100%;margin-bottom:30px;\">\n<div style=\"margin:0px;float:right;\"><a href=\"#top\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.coretechnologies.com\/images\/top.jpg\" border=\"0\" width=\"50\" height=\"18\" title=\"Go to the top\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"blog-caption\">What is the DcomLaunch (DCOM Server Process Launcher) service?<\/h2>\n<p>The DcomLaunch service implements Microsoft&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Component_Object_Model\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Component Object Model (COM)<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Distributed_Component_Object_Model\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM)<\/a> technologies, which facilitate communication between applications and communication between computers, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>The service&#8217;s display name is <b>DCOM Server Process Launcher<\/b> and it runs inside the service host process, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Svchost.exe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">svchost.exe<\/a>:<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/images\/dcomlaunch-windows-service.png\" class=\"zoomPopup\" title=\"DcomLaunch Windows Service\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-padding\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/dcomlaunch-windows-service.png\" title=\"DcomLaunch Windows Service (click to enlarge)\" alt=\"DcomLaunch Windows Service\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><a name=\"stopped\"><\/a><\/p>\n<hr class=\"blog-section\">\n<div style=\"width:100%;margin-bottom:30px;\">\n<div style=\"margin:0px;float:right;\"><a href=\"#top\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.coretechnologies.com\/images\/top.jpg\" border=\"0\" width=\"50\" height=\"18\" title=\"Go to the top\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"blog-caption\">What happens if I stop the DcomLaunch service?<\/h2>\n<p>Many Windows applications rely on COM and DCOM. If the service is stopped, those applications will no longer work.<\/p>\n<p>And, as you can see from the service&#8217;s <b>Dependencies<\/b> tab on Windows Server 2019, several important services depend on DCOM Server Process Launcher too:<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/images\/dcomlaunch-service-dependencies.png\" class=\"zoomPopup\" title=\"DcomLaunch service dependencies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-padding\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/dcomlaunch-service-dependencies.png\" title=\"DcomLaunch service dependencies (click to enlarge)\" alt=\"DcomLaunch service dependencies\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>So if DcomLaunch is stopped, these services will not be able to start:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><b>Background Tasks Infrastructure Service \/ BrokerInfrastructure<\/b>: Responsible for background tasks.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><b>Local Session Manager \/ LSM<\/b>: Manages local user sessions<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><b>Remote Procedure Call (RPC) \/ RpcSs<\/b>: Controls COM and DCOM servers. We&#8217;ll dig into this critical component in a future article.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And if those 3 services are stopped, any service that relies on them will also fail to start.<\/p>\n<p>If we walk the &#8220;dependency tree&#8221; of services, we can see that stopping DcomLaunch would lead to stopping <b>over 60 other services<\/b> &mdash; essentially crippling your computer! <b>Because of this ripple effect, we strongly recommend that you leave DcomLaunch running.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Indeed, Microsoft agrees. Here is their <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.microsoft.com\/en-us\/windows-server\/security\/windows-services\/security-guidelines-for-disabling-system-services-in-windows-server#dcom-server-process-launcher\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">recommendation for the DcomLaunch service<\/a> on Windows Server 2016 (Desktop):<\/p>\n<div class=\"highlight-box-green\" style=\"background:#ffffe6;\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/images\/quotes-transparent-21x21.png\"> It is strongly recommended that you have the DCOMLAUNCH service running.\n<\/div>\n<p>And this recommendation is backed up by the system. By default, you cannot stop the service or modify its startup type from the services control panel. Look closely at the screenshot of the service above to see that all those operations are disabled.<\/p>\n<p>And if the service crashes or is terminated, you may be forced to log off:<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/images\/dcomlaunch-service-terminated.png\" class=\"zoomPopup\" title=\"DCOM Server Process Launcher service terminated\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-padding\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/dcomlaunch-service-terminated.png\" title=\"DCOM Server Process Launcher service terminated (click to enlarge)\" alt=\"DCOM Server Process Launcher service terminated\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>So please keep it running!<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"questions\"><\/a><\/p>\n<hr class=\"blog-section\">\n<div style=\"width:100%;margin-bottom:30px;\">\n<div style=\"margin:0px;float:right;\"><a href=\"#top\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.coretechnologies.com\/images\/top.jpg\" border=\"0\" width=\"50\" height=\"18\" title=\"Go to the top\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"blog-caption\">Questions? Problems?<\/h2>\n<p>If you would like to know more about the DCOM Server Process Launcher service, or you have a specific problem, please feel free to <a href=\"\/support\/\">get in touch<\/a>. We will do our best to help you!<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-top:30px\" align=\"center\">\n<div class=\"cta-button-1\">\n<table role=\"presentation\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\" align=\"left\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/tag\/windows-services-2\/\" title=\"More articles about Windows Services\"><span><nobr>More articles about Windows Services&#8230;<\/nobr><\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- relpost-thumb-wrapper --><div class=\"relpost-thumb-wrapper\"><!-- filter-class --><div class=\"relpost-thumb-container\"><style>.relpost-block-single-image, .relpost-post-image { margin-bottom: 10px; }<\/style><h3>You may also like...<\/h3><div style=\"clear: both\"><\/div><div style=\"clear: both\"><\/div><!-- relpost-block-container --><div class=\"relpost-block-container relpost-block-column-layout\" style=\"--relposth-columns: 3;--relposth-columns_t: 2; --relposth-columns_m: 2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/windows-services\/interactive-services-removed-windows-10\/\"class=\"relpost-block-single\" ><div class=\"relpost-custom-block-single\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"relpost-block-single-image\" alt=\"Interactive Services Detection Service Removed in Windows 10 (so no more Switching to Session 0)\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/session-0-off-limits-150x150.png\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1\/1\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1\/1\"><\/img><div class=\"relpost-block-single-text\"  style=\"height: 75px;font-family: Arial;  font-size: 12px;  color: #333333;\"><h2 class=\"relpost_card_title\">Interactive Services Detection Service Removed in Windows 10 (so no more Switching to Session 0)<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/windows-services\/windows-update\/\"class=\"relpost-block-single\" ><div class=\"relpost-custom-block-single\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"relpost-block-single-image\" alt=\"Essential Windows Services: Windows Update (wuauserv)\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/windows-update-service-150x150-1.png\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1\/1\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1\/1\"><\/img><div class=\"relpost-block-single-text\"  style=\"height: 75px;font-family: Arial;  font-size: 12px;  color: #333333;\"><h2 class=\"relpost_card_title\">Essential Windows Services: Windows Update (wuauserv)<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/windows-services\/how-to-debug-windows-services\/\"class=\"relpost-block-single\" ><div class=\"relpost-custom-block-single\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"relpost-block-single-image\" alt=\"Debug your Windows Services\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/debug-150x150.png\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1\/1\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1\/1\"><\/img><div class=\"relpost-block-single-text\"  style=\"height: 75px;font-family: Arial;  font-size: 12px;  color: #333333;\"><h2 class=\"relpost_card_title\">Investigate Crashes &amp; Memory Leaks in your Windows Services with Microsoft&#039;s Debug Diagnostic Tool<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><!-- close relpost-block-container --><div style=\"clear: both\"><\/div><\/div><!-- close filter class --><\/div><!-- close relpost-thumb-wrapper -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this article&#8230; What is the DcomLaunch (DCOM Server Process Launcher) service? What happens if I stop the DcomLaunch service? Questions? Problems? What is the DcomLaunch (DCOM Server Process Launcher) service? The DcomLaunch service implements Microsoft&#8217;s Component Object Model (COM) &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/windows-services\/dcomlaunch\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[55,64,65,78,196],"class_list":["post-6399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-windows-services","tag-com","tag-dcom","tag-dcomlaunch","tag-essential-windows-services","tag-windows-services-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6399"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13287,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6399\/revisions\/13287"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}