COM surrogate

Question

When I enter windows photo gallery a window informs me that "COM surrogate is not working". It appears to have no effect on my use of the gallery, however when I close the window it keeps coming back. What is COM surrogate and how can I address the problem?

I am using Vista home premium and when I search my computer the term is not recognised.

Answer 1

Hi siralex,

I’m guessing there is some kind of program or driver conflict. Let’s do a clean boot to see if we can locate a program or driver that could be causing this message. A clean boot will allow us to start Windows with certain programs and drivers turned off or on based on selection. By doing this through trial and error we can hopefully pinpoint the cause of this. To troubleshoot with a clean boot, do the following:

First Step: Perform a Clean Boot

1.       Log on to your computer with an administrative account.

2.       Click Start.

3.       Type msconfig.exe in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER to start the System Configuration Utility.

4.       If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.

5.       In the General tab, click Selective Startup, and then click to uncheck the Load startup items check box.

6.       On the Services tab, click to select the Hide all Microsoft services check box, and then click Disable all.

*NOTE: Following this step lets Microsoft services continue to run. These services include Networking, Plug and Play, Event Logging, Error Reporting, and other services. If you disable these services, you may permanently delete all restore points. Do not do this if you want to use the System Restore utility together with existing restore points.

7.       Click OK, and then click Restart.

Second Step: Enable Half of the Services

1.       Start the System Configuration Utility. Refer to the steps above if you need to see how to do this.

2.       Click the Services tab, and then click to select the Hide all Microsoft services check box.

3.       Click to select half of the check boxes in the Service list.

4.       Click OK, and then click Restart.

Third Step: Determine whether the problem returns

If the problem still occurs, repeat the First Step and the Second Step. In the Second Step, click to clear half of the check boxes that you originally selected in the Service list.

If the problem does not occur, repeat the First Step and the Second Step. In the Second Step, select only half of the remaining check boxes that are cleared in the Service list. Repeat these steps until you have selected all the check boxes.

If only one service is selected in the Service list, and you still experience the problem, the selected service causes the problem. Go to the Sixth Step. If no service causes this problem, go to the Fourth Step.

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Fourth Step: Enable Half of the Startup Items

1. Perform a clean boot by repeating step 1.
2. Click the Startup tab, and then click to select half of the check boxes in the Startup Item list.
3. Click OK, and then click Restart.

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Fifth Step: Determine Whether the Problem Returns

If the problem still occurs, repeat the First Step and the Fourth Step. In the Fourth Step, click to clear half of the check boxes that you originally selected in the Startup Item list.

If the problem does not occur, repeat the First Step and the Fourth Step. In the Fourth Step, select only half of the remaining check boxes that are cleared in the Startup Item list. Repeat these steps until you have selected all the check boxes.

If only one startup item is selected in the Startup Item list, and you still experience the problem, the startup item that is selected in the list is the service that is causing the problem. Go to the Sixth Step.

If no startup item causes this problem, a Microsoft service most likely causes the problem. To determine which Microsoft service may be causing the problem, repeat the First Step and the Second Step without selecting the Hide all Microsoft services check box in either step.

Sixth Step: Resolve the Problem

After you determine the startup item or the service that causes the problem, contact the program manufacturer to determine whether the problem can be resolved. Or, run the System Configuration Utility, and then click to clear the check box for the problem item.

Seventh Step: Resolve the Problem

After you have finished troubleshooting, follow these steps to reset the computer to start as usual:

1.       Click Start

2.       Type msconfig.exe in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.

3.       If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.

4.       On the General tab, click the Normal Startup option, and then click OK.

5.       When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Restart.

 Here is the KB article these steps came from:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/929135

We look forward to hearing back from you on your results.

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Brian

Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

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