How to fix “COM Surrogate has stopped working” Error ?

In this guide, you will learn how to fix COM Surrogate has stopped working(dllhost.exe has stopped working). Before coming to the steps to fix the issue let’s discuss what COM surrogate means? Keep reading.

What does COM Surrogate mean?

COM Surrogate stands for Component Object Model Surrogate. The COM Surrogate is also known as dllhost.exe. Microsoft launched a COM interface in the year 1993 which allowed the developers to create COM objects using any programming language. Since then, the feature is being used in all Windows operating systems to process the tasks smoothly.

The main purpose of the COM object is to help other programs to open smoothly. The COM object also helps the system to create thumbnails for multimedia files such as images, videos, and other graphics.

When the thumbnail creation extensions failed to work properly or get crashed, it shows you an error on the screen like COM Surrogate has stopped working or dllhost.exe has stopped working.

COM Surrogate has stopped working.

A problem caused the program to stop working properly. Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available.

What is dllhost.exe?

As we mentioned above, COM Surrogate & dllhost.exe both are the same things. But you need to cross-check whether the file is a real one or a fake one.

The hackers used to shoot some viruses to your system by showing a fake dllhost file. If you see the dllhost file is kept inside C:\Windows\System32 folder, it means it’s the real file else if you found the dllhost.exe is kept somewhere means it’s a virus. 

Must Read: How to Fix binkw32.dll is Missing Error?

How to Fix COM Surrogate has stopped working error?

To overcome this error, Microsoft created a program namely COM Surrogate. Let’s dig in to know the process of Fixing COM Surrogate has stopped working.

Scan Your ‘C’ Drive with an updated antivirus

To remove the fake dllhost file injected by the hackers, you need to scan your system. Mostly, the C drive where you install the operating systems, get affected by the virus. So, either you can scan the C drive only or can put your whole system on the scan.

It will take around 3 hours to complete the full system scan provided that it is loaded with too much data. Else it’s a quick process.

Rollback your Video Driver

A wrong video driver may be causing the problem dllhost.exe has stopped working. To fix the issue you have to rollback the video driver.

• Open Run box by pressing Windows + R key simultaneously.

• Type devmgmt.msc and press Enter.

• Go to the Display Adaptor section and expand it.

• Right-click on your display adaptor driver and select properties.

• Now go to the Driver Tab and Click on the Rollback Driver option.

If the Rollback driver icon greyed out then you can easily roll back and download the previous version driver of the video card.

Disable DEP (Data Execution Prevention) for “dllhost” file

• Right-click on My Computer and go to Properties.

• Next, click on Advanced system settings given at the left-sidebar. A pop-up window will open. Now click on setting given under the Performance section.

• Now go to Data Execution Prevention Tab click the radio button given beside the second option i.e. “Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select:” and then click on Add.

• In the opened pop-up window, choose the dllhost file and click on Open. That’s all. The process will disable the DEP for the dllhost.

DLL Files need to register again

DLL stands for Dynamic Link Library. Sometimes, COM Surrogate use the .dll files to run your system without any hassles. But due to some reasons, your DLL files do not support well to the COM Surrogate. So, you need to re-register the Dynamic Link Library (DLL) file for fixing COM Surrogate or dllhost error.

• Open cmd in administrator mode by pressing Win+X+A together.

• Type “regsvr32 vbscript.dll” in the opened Command Prompt window and press enter key.

• It will show you a popup window of succeeding in the task.

• Now on the same window, type “regsvr32 jscript.dll” and press enter key.

• It will show you a message about the successful completion of the task. Now, it’s all done. You have successfully re-registered the DLL file.

Manually Close the COM Surrogate File

Sometimes your system goes on deadlock condition. There is no other way rather closing the surrogate file and restarting the system for performing your tasks. Follow the steps given below to fix it easily.

• Right-click on Taskbar and then choose Task Manager.

• Now click on the Processes tab and scroll down until you find the COM Surrogate file. Right-click on it and then close the task by tapping on “End Task”.

• If you have more than one COM Surrogate file inside the Task Manager, you need to follow the above process to end those all.

Check System Files using the command prompt

• Open the Command Prompt window by pressing Win+X+A.

• Now type the command “sfc/scannow” and press enter to execute it. The system will take some time to complete the scanning process.

• After completing the verification process, you need to restart your system. It will resolve your COM Surrogate issue.

Fix Internet Explorer

Rarely, Internet Explorer can also create a COM surrogate error. You can try the below process to fix the issue dllhost or surrogate issues.

• Press Win+R and then type “inetcpl.cpl” to open Internet Explorer and then click on OK.

• Go inside the Advanced tab and click on Reset.

• A new pop up will be opened. Now check on “Delete Personal Settings” and then click on the Reset button.

• Now your Internet Explorer i.e. IE has been successfully set up as default and it won’t cause any surrogate issue in near future.

Create an updated Thumbnail using commands

• Open the command prompt by pressing Win+X+A together.

• Inside the CMD box, type “taskkill /f /im explorer.exe” & hit enter. It will stop the file explorer.

• Now type the following command to delete the existing thumbnail files in the Windows database.

“del/f/s/q/a%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_*.db”

•  Now type “Start explorer.exe” inside the command prompt and hit enter. It will restart the File Explorer in normal mode.

Update your Windows Operating System

Time-to-time, Microsoft publishes some updates for your existing OS. You need to check for available updates regularly to run your system smoothly.

• Right-click on “This PC” given on your desktop and then go to Properties.

• Navigate and click to “Windows Update” given in the extreme bottom of the left sidebar menu.

• If there are any updates released by the developer, it will be automatically updated.

In case, if you see the default update setting is disabled and it’s selected for never update the windows, you need to follow the below steps to enable the settings for Windows automatically update.

• On the same window, you need to click on “Change settings”.

• In the next window, click the drop-down menu given under Important Updates section and then choose “Install updates automatically (recommended)”. Now click on the OK button to save the changes.

• You can cross-check the settings by clicking on “Windows Update” again. It will show you the message, “You’re set to automatically install updates”. It means, now when you will be connected with the internet, your system will check for updates and install it automatically.

Uninstall heavy Graphics Software

If you have installed Nero, Adobe photoshop, Filmora or other software which is related to graphic designing and copying, you need to uninstall it and then restart the computer to work normally.

How to uninstall any software from the control panel?

• Press Win+X and then P respectively to open the Control Panel. You can also open it manually by clicking on the start button and then search for Control Panel. Now click on Uninstall a Program given under the Programs category.

• Choose the program which you want to uninstall and then right-click on it.

• Now click on Uninstall. A pop-up will ask you to confirm the uninstallation process. You need to click on Yes. The process will start and will show you the confirmation message after successfully uninstalled of that software.

Keep your media players updated

Windows Media Player, VLC (VideoLAN Client) or other media players also cause COM Surrogate has stopped working problem.

You should keep your media file players updated to prevent your system from dllhost.exe or COM Surrogate errors.

How to update Windows Media Players?

• Pressing Win key and then search for “Windows Media Player” to open the software.

• Now navigate to the top left side and click on Organize and then select Options.

• In the next window, click on Player and then choose the duration given below the Automatic Updates section and then press Apply to save the changes. Now onwards, it will automatically keep your WMP updated.

How to update VLC Media Players?

Unlike WMP, VLC has too easy navigation to check for updates. Follow the below process to make your VLC media player updated

• Press Win key and search for VLC Media Player to open it.

• Navigate to the Help menu and then click on “Check for Updates”.

• It will show you the details of the available updates. Now you need to click on Yes.

• Just after pressing the Yes, it will start downloading the available updates and will complete in a few minutes, depends on your internet speed.

• After finishing the download process, it will ask to install it now. Click on Install and then press Yes in the next window to give admin approval for installing the updates.

• A VLC welcome window will be opened; you need to click on Next to proceed further.

• Go with the recommended settings and click Next.

• Congratulations! After pressing the Finish button, you have successfully updated your VLC Media Player. Now enjoy the system free from COM Surrogate errors.

You need to uninstall the recently installed software

Hey! Don’t be shocked. If you are facing the surrogate issue just after installing any software then you need to uninstall the recent software.

Match the system configuration before installing the software

If you are using a 32-bit operating system and trying to install a 64-bit compatible software and vice-versa, it will show you COM Surrogate Error Message. 

So, before installing any software in your system, keep in mind to read its compatibility very well and then only install it.

Over to You

We hope, your COM Surrogate/dllhost.exe has stopped working issue has been resolved by following the above solutions. Let us know in the comment section, which solution did work for you. In case, if you have any doubts, get in touch with us through the comments section. You can follow us through Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn to stay tuned with our latest posts and tutorials.