SBS 2011: DistrubutedCOM Error 10016

Pay no attention to the DCOM behind the curtain!
On your SBS 2011 server, do you find a lot of DCOM errors in your System Event Log? These are relatively common on SBS boxes. Microsoft’s guidance is that these can be safely ignored. However, when an error is reported, I expect it to be something that should be investigated. If it can be ignored, it shouldn’t be reporting it as an error. Fortunately, there is a fix for these.

Each event listed below is has the same alert level of “Error” and the same Event ID “10016”. The fixes are all mostly the same with a few differences. Below, I outline each specific error I saw on a specific SBS 2011 box and highlight the differences in fixing each different error. The key differences are the different user account account missing the rights and the different CLSID and APPID. If you find other DCOM errors that this fix works on, let me know and I’ll add it to the list.
Event Information:

Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-DistributedCOM
Event ID: 10016
Level: Error
User: NETWORK SERVICE

CLSID 90DCAB7F-347C-4BFC-B543-540326305FBE

Description: The machine-default permission settings do not grant Local Activation permission for the COM Server application with CLSID {90DCAB7F-347C-4BFC-B543-540326305FBE} and APPID {FA3FC5CF-0304-4CAC-99F0-032AC2B15D1E} to the user NT AUTHORITYNETWORK SERVICE SID (S-1-5-20) from address LocalHost (Using LRPC). This security permission can be modified using the Component Services administrative tool.

To Fix This Error:

  1. Open regedit and select “HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT”
  2. Go the Edit menu and select “Find…” (Ctrl+F)
  3. Enter the APPID in the search dialog and press find: FA3FC5CF-0304-4CAC-99F0-032AC2B15D1E
  4. Right click on the key and select permissions
  5. Click the Advanced Button and select the Owner tab
  6. Take ownership of the object, check the “Replace Owner on Subcontainers” and Objects check-box, and press OK
  7. Grant “Administrators” Full Control and press OK
  8. Note the default value of the found registry key. Should be: “File Server Resource Management Service”. Close the registry editor.
  9. Launch the Component Services MMC: Start → Run → comexp.msc (make sure to run as administrator if using UAC)
  10. Expand: Component Services → Computers → My Computer → DCOM Config
  11. Find “File Server Resource Management Service”, right click it and select properties
  12. Select the Security Tab and press the “Edit…” button in the “Launch and Activation Permissions” group box
  13. Select the “Network Service” account, check the “Local Activation” right and press OK.
  14. Click OK and close the Windows. The DCOM error should be resolved.

CLSID 61738644-F196-11D0-9953-00C04FD919C1


Description: The application-specific permission settings do not grant Local Activation permission for the COM Server application with CLSID {61738644-F196-11D0-9953-00C04FD919C1} and APPID {61738644-F196-11D0-9953-00C04FD919C1} to the user DOMAINNAMEspfarm SID (S-1-5-21-123456789-123456789-123456789-1157) from address LocalHost (Using LRPC). This security permission can be modified using the Component Services administrative tool.

To Fix This Error:
Follow the same steps as shown above except:

  • Step 3: 61738644-F196-11D0-9953-00C04FD919C1
  • Step 8 and 11: IIS WAMREG admin Service
  • Step 13: SharePoint Farm Account

CLSID 000C101C-0000-0000-C000-000000000046


Description: The machine-default permission settings do not grant Local Activation permission for the COM Server application with CLSID {000C101C-0000-0000-C000-000000000046} and APPID {000C101C-0000-0000-C000-000000000046} to the user DOMAINNAMEspfarm SID (S-1-5-21-123456789-123456789-123456789-1157) from address LocalHost (Using LRPC). This security permission can be modified using the Component Services administrative tool.

To Fix This Error:
Follow the same steps as shown above except:

  • Step 3: 000C101C-0000-0000-C000-000000000046
  • Step 4: Instead of searching, navigate to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTWow6432NodeAppID{000C101C-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
  • Step 8: (Value Not Set)
  • Step 11: The DCOM Application ID will be named by its CLSID/APPID instead of short name: {000C101C-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
  • Step 13: If “SharePoint Farm Account” is not listed, add DOMAINNAMEspfarm and then add the rights.