COM Surrogate Has Stopped Working | Know How To Fix dllhost.exe Issues On Windows

While working on Windows, it can produce the error notification of ‘COM Surrogate has stopped working’ from time to time. This can usually occur when users are trying to browse folders having media or video files. A majority of customers has also experienced this error during any printing task.

As far as technical background is concerned, the COM Surrogate is a kind of background host process. It mostly runs in the Windows as dllhost.exe, when you navigate through the files and folders. This is the executable process that enables the users to check the thumbnails before accessing the files.

But, if COM Surrogate stops due to some reason, it can crash the Windows and produce error popups. So, if you want to fix this error and make the dllhost.exe program work again, keep reading this article.

Reasons why your PC is Showing COM Surrogate has Stopped Working Error Message

There can be multiple reasons why COM Surrogate has stopped working on your PC. But, if you really want to remove this error notification from the Windows, you need to know the causes first. So, let’s discuss some of the possible reasons that can stop COM Surrogate from running.

1. Sometimes, having an issue with your video driver can impact the process of COM Surrogate. Hence, if the graphics card is not using updated drivers, it can cause this error.
2. If the registry data for DLLs in Windows has become corrupted somehow, it can make COM Surrogate stop.
3. Installing a problematic Windows Update can also be one of the causes of why COM Surrogate may stop working.
4. Having misconfigured settings for Internet Explorer or WiFi options can also lead to COM Surrogate error. Also, if there is any trouble with the execution of dllhost.exe due to internet issues, COM Surrogate can become unresponsive.

How to Fix COM Surrogate is not Responding or dllhost.exe Stopped Working Problem?

In order to remove COM surrogate has stopped working Windows 10 notification, you can apply the following solutions.

Solution 1 – Switch to Previous Display Adapter

Often, the process of COM surrogate can stop working if you have recently installed a corrupted Video Driver. Hence, you can resolve this error by rolling back to the previous graphics driver version.

To apply this fix, first, hit the ‘Windows logo’ and ‘X’ button altogether on your keyboard. Then, wait for Windows to display the window of the quick access menu. Now, click on the tab for ‘Device Manager’ and view the list of devices installed on your computer.

Next, go to the section of ‘Display Adapters’ and click on it to expand the items. You need to locate the graphics adapter on Windows and select it. Then, choose the option of ‘Properties’ after right-clicking on your graphics adapter.

In the properties window, click on the tab of ‘Driver’ and then select the ‘Roll Back Driver’ button. Finally, launch the executable dllhost.exe file to confirm whether it’s working in Windows 10.

Solution 2 – Include dllhost.exe in DEP Exception

In order to add dllhost.exe to the list of DEP exception, click on the Windows Start button. Then, open the feature of ‘Control Panel’ and go to the tab of ‘System’. After this, select the option of ‘Advanced system settings’ and click on ‘Performance settings’.

Next, you need to hit the tab for ‘Data Execution Prevention’ and choose ‘Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select:’. Then, click on the ‘Add’ button and go to the location of ‘C:\Windows\System32\dllhost.exe’.

The above link is the navigation path for 32-Bit Windows PC but, if you are having a 64-Bit machine navigate to ‘C:\Windows\SysWOW64\dllhost.exe’. Once, dllhost.exe is included to the DEP’s exception list, you need to hit the tabs of ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’.

Solution 3 – Re-register DLLs in the Windows

If the issue of COM Surrogate has stopped working still persists, you can use command prompt to resolve it. Users basically can reinitiate the registration for DLLs to fix COM Surrogate process.

So, open Start menu on your Windows device and enter ‘cmd’ after accessing the Search box. Then, as the feature of Command Prompt shows up, choose ‘Run as Administrator’ on right-clicking it.

You will have to write the following commands in the Command Prompt window and hit the ‘Enter’ button. So, the commands are regsvr32 vbscript.dll and regsvr32 jscript.dll.

After Windows executes them, it will display the success message regarding DllRegisterServer registration in jscript.dll. You can now try to run the COM Surrogate process to know the status of the previous error message.

Solution 4 – Search Error Using Check Disk

Checking your entire PC including the disk drives can troubleshoot this error and start COM Surrogate in Windows 10. Hence, you should run the check disk program to identify issues in specific drives.

To try this solution, open the Windows Explorer (Win+E) and select ‘This PC’ from the left window pane. Now, choose the hard disk drive which you desire to check for errors and click on its ‘Properties’.

As the window of OS Properties appears on your screen, hit the tab of ‘Tools’. Then, select the ‘Check now’ button below the section of ‘Error-checking’. So, ensure that you make use of this checking feature for both the options and begin the process by clicking on the ‘Start’ button.

You will have to reboot your PC and begin the process of COM Surrogate to check if it’s working.

Solution 5 – Install Latest Windows Codec Pack

Many Windows-based machines can show COM Surrogate error due to the installation of some third-party programs. Basically, this can occur if any such software or apps are not up to date on your system.

So, one of the simple methods to address this problem is by applying the recent update for these Codecs pack in Windows. Otherwise, uninstalling the programs and reinstalling can also resolve issues regarding running COM Surrogate.

Solution 6 – Restore Internet Explorer Settings

On some Windows 10 devices, users can experience this error because of corrupted cached files. Hence, you can reset the default settings of Internet Explorer in order to start the COM Surrogate process.

For applying this fix, open the Run dialog box (Win+R) and click on the text field to enter ‘inetcpl.cpl’. As you hit the ‘OK’ button, the ‘Internet Properties’ window will appear on your PC’s screen.

Now, click on the ‘Advanced’ section and tick the checkbox for ‘Delete personal settings’ by scrolling through the list. Also, hit the ‘Reset’ button so that Internet Explorer settings can go back to its initial configuration. Hopefully, this can make the COM Surrogate work on your Windows 10 device.

Solution 7 – Remove Latest Installed Drivers

Often, users can come across the issue of COM Surrogate has stopped working Windows 10 after installing specific drivers. Hence, to make the process of COM Surrogate start again, you need to uninstall them first.

So, click on the Windows Start button and go to ‘Device Manager’. Otherwise, simply hit the tabs for ‘Windows logo’ and ‘S’ altogether and write ‘Device Manager’ in the search box.

After this, check the details of drivers recently installed on your Windows 10 system and right-click on them. Then, select the option of ‘Uninstall device’ for each of these drivers and restart your PC after that. Now, if you see COM Surrogate is not responding, go through the remaining solutions to make it respond.

Solution 8 – Turn off the Thumbnails Feature

If you can’t troubleshoot the error with COM Surrogate, try to disable the thumbnails on Windows 10. To apply this fix, open the Search box and write ‘File Explorer Options’ in it. Otherwise, you can also click on the ‘Control Panel’  on Windows and select ‘File Explorer Options’ from ‘All Control Panel Items’.

Now after opening the ‘Folder Options’ window, click on the ‘View’ tab and tick the checkbox for ‘Always show icons, never thumbnails’. After selecting this option, save these settings by clicking on ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’ buttons.

Next, hit the tabs of both Windows logo and ‘S’ and write ‘Disk cleanup’ in the Search box. Then, select the option of the hard drive from the list of items and press the ‘OK’ button. If somehow, you can’t disable the thumbnails on your system, you can add them to ‘Files to delete’.

Finally, confirm the deletion task by hitting the ‘OK’ button and it will erase the thumbnails from Windows. Hopefully, the message regarding COM Surrogate has stopped working won’t appear on the Windows anymore.

Solution 9 – Run Task Manager to Exit COM Surrogate

Somehow, if none of these solutions work and COM Surrogate is not responding at all, it’s time to close the Windows process. However, in order to ensure that you are closing it properly, you can utilize Task Manager.

On your keyboard, hit the ‘Ctrl, ‘Shift’ and ‘Esc’ buttons altogether and wait for ‘Task Manager’ window. Then, click on the ‘Processes’ tab and find the ‘COM Surrogate’ process.

Next, right-click on this Windows process and choose the option of ‘End task’. In case your system doesn’t show the process of COM Surrogate, locate the file of ‘dllhost.exe’ from the ‘Details’ tab.

Finally, right-click on dllhost.exe and select the option of ‘End task’ to make the process stop. This will prevent the notification of COM Surrogate has stopped working from appearing on your device’s screen.