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Windows XP SP3: RPC Server unavailable - services not running

Anonymous
2009-12-26T00:34:38+00:00

My Vaio laptop suffered a sudden unexplained software problem. On reboot, the whole appearance of the system is wrong. An error message appears saying RPC server unavailable. No normal file handling functions work, no audio, some system buttons don't work etc. MSCONFIG shows many services are stopped. Task Manager shows only 33 of the normal 70+ tasks running. System Restore is not available. Cannot repair operating system in safe mode as I don't have an administrator password. Cannot load another operating system to allow file removal as there is not enough disk space left.

How can I get the system running again so that I can copy files I need? Is there a way to manually restart the services that are shown as "stopped" in MSCONFIG?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Performance and system failures

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-02-19T09:09:39+00:00

    I am glad you are on top of this 3+ year old post!

    The OP describes symptoms consistent with a boot in Safe Mode and the RPC Service will not start in Safe Mode, will it?  That means that any Services that depend on the RPC Service will also not be running, right?  You cannot start the RPC Service in Safe mode either, right?

    But you have a reply with links to KB articles...

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-02-19T06:17:24+00:00

    Hi Gav,

    Thank you for choosing Microsoft Community to post your question!

    Based on your issue the description, I understand that you are receiving error: RPC Server unavailable, services not running. I can imagine the inconvenience you have experienced.

    I would appreciate if you could answer the following questions:

    1.    What is the make and model of your computer?

    2.    What happens when you try to perform system restore from your user account?

    Let’s follow these methods and check if it fixes the issue.

    Method 1: Login to your user account and start the RPC (Remote Procedure Call).

    a.       Press Windows key+ R, type services.msc in the run prompt and press Enter.

    b.      In the Services window, find Remote Procedure Call and right click on it to select Properties.

    c.       Under the General tab make sure the Startup type is Automatic and the Service status says Started.

    Method 2: Try to create a new user account from your current user account.

    How to create and configure user accounts in Windows XP

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/279783

    Method 3: If the issue still persists, refer to the “Method 2: Repair install of Windows XP by starting your computer from the Windows XP CD” from the following article.

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978788

    Hope this helps. If the issue persists or if you have any Windows related queries please get back to us. We are happy to help you.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2014-05-11T07:33:43+00:00

    Watch this video to get a solution

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcVz9zf2zdM

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