WINDOWS 10 error "The COM+ registry database detected a system error" boot or registry issue

Question

I have a serious issue with windows 10 on my laptop. I hope some one can help me to solve the issue since I have important programs on windows 10.

recently I split just 500 MB free of the drive C(windows 10 ). after splitting I didnot format the 500MB (left it unallocated) and restart the windows to see if everything is ok. then windows ran into issue(did not boot normal, doing some file check/shifting? and stuck long with ETA such things). therefore I rollback the splitted 500MB by partition recovery (MINITOOL) to its original drive C. it worked perfectly without any issue (it means partition recovery detect the lost drive and merge the two neighboring partitions(500MB and drive C together.).

Since then, I cannot boot windows normally.

here are symptoms:

1-I cannot boot windows 10 in normal mode.

2-I have access to windows 10 by safe mode, it means I can log in but I cannot open any folders the following error popup:

The COM+ registry database detected a system error.

2'-I can open other files such *.txt, power iso files etc, they are normally working.

3- in safe mode I cannot run SFC /SCANNOW in command prompt : error "Windows Resource Protection couldnot start the repair service"

4-i dont have access even to start menu/search bar of windows. I open command prompt through task manager (ctrl+alt+del). Through task manager and BROWSE , I can browse normally in folders partitions etc it looks normal.

5-bootrec /fixboot not working in command prompt error: 'Bootrec is not recognized as an internal orexternal command....." same for bootrec /fixmbr

what I have done so far :

I tried repair by windows 10 USB bootable to apply repair through advanced option and command prompt. here what I did

1-restore point not available

2- I applied chkdsk /f /r C: it worked completed.

3-I applied sfc/scannow job finished.

4-bootrec / fixmbr worked and successfull

5- bootrec / fixboot is not working in command : error access is denied

6-bcdedit looks normal .

note: I have 2 windows installed , windows 10 and 11 (on partition G). I can switch to windows 11 on boot up and everything in windows 11 looks normal but every time after logging in windows 11 a popup message at startup shows up**"the recycle bin on drive C (windows 10) is corrupted. do you want to empty the Recylce bin for this drive. Yes,No**". I click yes then everything looks normal; I have normal access to Drive C (windows 10) partition I can browse in the windows 10 folders such as WINDOWS folder /USER / Desktop and all of my desktop files looks untouched and accessible looks completely normal. I can open PDF files txt files exe files already stored in my windows 10 desktop

7- bootrec / fixboot is not working in command : error access is denied

I have normal access through windows 11 to other partitions,

I appreciate if some one can help me to recove/restore windows 10. if there is need to futrher information I am available to share .

B.R

Jubli

Answer 1

Hello Jubli,

You are hitting a COM+ catalog corruption on the Windows 10 volume. The most effective fix is to reset the COM+ catalog and rebuild MSDTC, which restores the shell so File Explorer can open folders again.

First make sure you are in Windows 10 Safe Mode with an elevated Command Prompt. If File Explorer does not open, press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager, choose File > Run new task, type cmd, check "Create this task with administrative privileges", then press Enter.

Stop the relevant services so the catalog files are not in use.

sc stop COMSysApp
sc stop msdtc
sc stop EventSystem

Back up and remove the damaged catalog so Windows can rebuild it. The Registration folder is the on-disk COM+ catalog.

cd /d %windir%\System32
ren clbcatq.dll ~clbcatq.dll

reg export HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\COM3 C:\COM3-backup.reg
reg delete HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\COM3 /f

takeown /f %windir%\Registration /a /r /d y
icacls %windir%\Registration /grant Administrators:F /t
rmdir /s /q %windir%\Registration

Restart the PC into Windows 10 normal mode. If it still returns to Safe Mode, restart again, or from msconfig uncheck Safe boot. Next reinstall MSDTC and re-register core COM libraries.

msdtc -uninstall
msdtc -install

regsvr32 /s ole32.dll
regsvr32 /s oleaut32.dll
regsvr32 /s actxprxy.dll
regsvr32 /s comsvcs.dll

Optionally force the COM+ package INF to run, which helps some systems repopulate catalog entries.

rundll32.exe setupapi.dll,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132 %windir%\inf\comppkg.inf

Restart one more time and sign in to Windows 10 normally. File Explorer should open folders without the COM+ error, Start and Search should respond again, and SFC should run from an elevated Command Prompt. If SFC previously failed in Safe Mode with "Windows Resource Protection could not start the repair service", run it now in normal mode after the rebuild:

sfc /scannow

Notes for your dual-boot setup. The "Recycle Bin on C is corrupted" prompt you see when logging into Windows 11 is expected after NTFS and catalog repairs on the other OS. Emptying it is fine. If it keeps returning after all the steps above, clear it once from an elevated Windows 11 prompt with:

rd /s /q C:\$Recycle.Bin

then restart Windows 11 and Windows 10 each once.

The COM+ catalog lives under C:\Windows\Registration and is indexed by the COM3 registry hive. When the catalog is damaged, shell operations that rely on COM fail, which is why only File Open dialogs via Task Manager work. Microsoft's guidance for a damaged COM+ catalog is to rename clbcatq.dll, delete COM3, and remove the Registration folder so Windows rebuilds them on reboot. Reinstalling MSDTC completes the repair when its catalog entries are also affected. See Microsoft's WSUS troubleshooting note that points to KB315296 for COM+ catalog corruption, the InstallHinfSection documentation for the INF call, and a preserved copy of KB315296 with the exact cleanup sequence.

If anything above errors with access denied on the Registration folder, do the same folder rename and registry delete from your working Windows 11 session against the Windows 10 drive C, then reboot directly to Windows 10 to let it rebuild.

Answer 2

Hi Francisco again, thanks for updating me:

I followind up steps:

here are results step by step:

sc stop COMSysApp

sc stop msdtc

sc stop EventSystem

result: already stopped

cd /d %windir%\System32

ren clbcatq.dll ~clbcatq.dll

result: already renamed

reg export HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\COM3 "%temp%\COM3-backup.reg"

result: failed again

reg save HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\COM3 "%temp%\COM3-backup.hiv" /y

result : the operation completed successfully

( my comment reg save :worked on any drive, for my curosity I saved another copy in another drive just to test but Export didnot work)

reg delete HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\COM3 /f

result :the operation completed successfully

takeown /f %windir%\Registration /a /r /d y

result:

SUccess..the file or folder: c:\windows\registration now owned by adminitrator group

Success...the file or folder c:\windows\registration\CRMLOG now owned by adminitrator group

Success...the file or folder c:\windows\registration\R000000000001.cab now owned by adminitrator group

success...... the file or folder c:\windows\registration{02D4B..........}.{E27........}.crmlog now owned by adminitrator group [ my comment: dots.. written by me bcz there is big string i cannot rewrite it here.

icacls %windir%\Registration /grant Administrators:F /t

result: administrators: No mapping between account names and security IDs was done

successfully processsed 0 files; failed processing 1 files.

I stopped at this point for confirmation to proceed or not . what should I do?

@Francisco Montilla

Answer 3

Hi Jubli,

My name is Jason and I am an independent advisor and windows user like yourself. I know you have followed an extensive list of instructions but please stay with me on this one.

That sounds like an incredibly stressful and frustrating situation. It's clear that the initial partitioning and rollback process, even though it seemed successful, has corrupted core system files or the registry of your Windows 10 installation, causing a cascade of failures. The specific error messages you're seeing, especially the "COM+ registry database" error and the "access is denied" on bootrec /fixboot, are key to understanding the problem.

Let's break down what's happening and formulate a plan to recover your Windows 10 installation without losing your important data.

Analysis of the Problem

Your detailed symptoms paint a clear picture:

The initial partition operation damaged the Windows 10 registry and/or core system files. The "COM+ registry database detected a system error" is a critical clue. This indicates that a vital part of the Windows component services, which manages system functions and file access, has been corrupted. This explains why you can't open folders or use the Start Menu in Safe Mode.

The SFC /SCANNOW error in Safe Mode confirms that the Windows Resource Protection service is also damaged, preventing it from performing its own repair function.

The bootrec /fixboot "Access is denied" error is a very common symptom when the boot sector of the drive is write-protected or locked, often by another OS (like your Windows 11) or a security feature. The successful bootrec /fixmbr indicates the Master Boot Record is fine, but the boot sector itself is the problem.

The "Recycle Bin on drive C is corrupted" popup in Windows 11 is another symptom of this core corruption. The Recycle Bin is a system file that lives on the root of each drive, and its corruption points back to the integrity issues on the C: drive.

The fact that you can still access and open your personal files (PDFs, TXT, EXEs) from Windows 11 is a massive positive. It means your data is intact and recoverable. The problem is with the operating system itself, not the data partitions.

Recovery Plan

Here is a two-step plan to recover your Windows 10 installation. The goal is to repair the system files without affecting your personal data. You'll need to use your Windows 10 USB bootable media again.

Step 1: Fix the Boot Sector (Access Denied)

We need to address the access is denied error on bootrec /fixboot. This is often caused by the partition being marked as read-only. We can fix this using the diskpart utility.

Boot your PC from the Windows 10 USB bootable media.

On the first screen, press Shift + F10 to open Command Prompt.

Type diskpart and press Enter.

Type list vol and press Enter.

Look for your Windows 10 C: drive volume. Note its volume number (e.g., "Volume 3").

Type sel vol <Volume Number> (e.g., sel vol 3) and press Enter.

Type attributes volume clear readonly and press Enter. This will clear the read-only attribute if it exists.

Type exit to leave diskpart.

Now, try bootrec /fixboot again. It should now run successfully.

If it succeeds, try restarting your PC and see if it boots into Windows 10 normally. If not, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: Repair the Corrupted System Files (The "COM+" Error)

If Step 1 doesn't work, we need to run a full system file repair. Since SFC /SCANNOW is failing from your Windows 10 Safe Mode, we will use the DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) tool from your bootable USB, which is much more powerful.

Boot your PC from the Windows 10 USB bootable media again.

Press Shift + F10 to open Command Prompt.

Type DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and press Enter.

Important: Since you have a corrupted OS, this command will likely fail. We need to tell DISM where to find a clean source image to repair from.

To do this, you need to mount the Windows 10 installation image from your USB. Assuming your USB drive is D:, and your Windows 10 partition is C:, you'll run this command:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:wim:D:\sources\install.wim:1 /LimitAccess

Note: The /Source: path and :1 may need to be adjusted. You can find the correct index by running dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:D:\sources\install.wim on your USB.

This process may take a while as it downloads and replaces corrupted system files with clean ones. Once it completes, you should be able to restart your PC and boot into Windows 10 normally.

If these steps fail, your best option is to perform a Repair Install of Windows 10. This is different from a clean install and will repair your OS while keeping your personal files, apps, and settings intact. You will need to run the setup.exe from your Windows 10 installation media while logged into Windows 11.