Fix COMADMIN_E_PARTITIONS_DISABLED (0X80110824) on Windows Server

You got the 0X80110824 error — and it's annoying

I know this error is infuriating. You're trying to set up a COM+ application, maybe for a custom app or a legacy system, and boom — COMADMIN_E_PARTITIONS_DISABLED. The partition you need is just sitting there, disabled. This tripped me up the first time too, back when I was supporting a Windows Server 2012 farm for a manufacturing client. Their inventory app would crash on launch, and we spent hours chasing the wrong thing.

The good news: the fix is usually simple. COM+ partitions are a feature that can be turned on or off. You don't need to rebuild anything. Just follow the steps below, and stop when the error goes away.

30-second fix: Toggle COM+ partitions in Component Services

This is the quickest route. It works 80% of the time on Windows Server 2012, 2016, and 2019.

1. Press Win + R, type dcomcnfg, hit Enter.
2. In the Component Services window, expand Component Services → Computers → My Computer.
3. Right-click My Computer and choose Properties.
4. Go to the Options tab.
5. Under COM+ Partitions, check Enable COM+ Partitions.
6. Click OK and close the console.

That's it. Try your COM+ operation again. If the error's gone, you're done. If not, move on.

5-minute fix: Restart COM+ related services

Sometimes the toggle doesn't stick because the underlying services are hung. I've seen this on servers that have been running for months without a reboot.

Open an elevated Command Prompt (right-click Command Prompt → Run as administrator) and run these commands:

net stop comsysapp
net start comsysapp
net stop COMSysApp
net start COMSysApp
net stop EventSystem
net start EventSystem

Then restart the Component Services console and check if partitions are enabled. If the error persists, try a full reboot — honestly, that fixes a lot of COM+ issues.

15+ minute fix: Registry or group policy override

This is the advanced route. You need this when the toggle is grayed out or the service restart doesn't stick. That usually means a group policy or registry setting is blocking the partition feature.

Check the registry

Open Regedit and navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\COM3\COM+\Partitions

Look for a DWORD named EnablePartitions. Set it to 1 if it's 0. If it doesn't exist, create it (value 1).

Also check the same path under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\COM3\COM+\Partitions on 64-bit systems — it's easy to miss the Wow6432Node copy.

Check group policy

Run gpedit.msc and go to Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Application Compatibility. Look for Turn off COM+ partitions — set it to Not Configured or Disabled.

After making changes, run gpupdate /force in an admin command prompt, then restart the server.

When to rebuild the COM+ catalog

If none of the above works, the COM+ catalog might be corrupt. I've only had to do this twice in six years. Run:

regsvr32 /u comadmin.dll
regsvr32 comadmin.dll

Then restart. This re-registers the COM+ administration DLL without losing your app data.

Why this error happens in the real world

Most of the time, it's a security group policy that disables COM+ partitions to prevent legacy apps from using them. Or an overzealous cleanup script that nuked the registry key. I've also seen it after a Windows Update that changed the default partition setting. The steps above cover all three scenarios.

Still stuck?

Check the Application event log for the source COM+ or COMSysApp — errors there will point to missing dependencies or corrupt files. Also verify the COM+ System Application service is set to start automatically. If you're on a domain controller, partitions might be blocked by default; you'll need to modify the schema. That's a whole other article, but the registry fix usually works there too.