Fix RPC_E_SERVER_DIED (0X80010007) in Windows

You try to copy something—maybe a file, some text, or an image—and get hit with `RPC_E_SERVER_DIED`. I know this error is infuriating, especially when you're in the middle of work. Let's fix it.

Quick Fix: Restart the RPC Service and Clear Clipboard

Press Win + R, type services.msc, and hit Enter.
Find Remote Procedure Call (RPC). Right-click it and select Restart. Do the same for DCOM Server Process Launcher and RPC Endpoint Mapper.
Open Command Prompt as admin. Type taskkill /f /im dwm.exe to restart the Desktop Window Manager (this resets the clipboard viewer chain). Then run start dwm.exe.
Clear your clipboard: Run cmd /c "echo off | clip" in Command Prompt, or just copy a single character and paste it.

That’s usually enough. Retry your paste. If it works, you’re done. If not, read on.

Why This Happens

Error 0x80010007 means the OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) server—usually explorer.exe or a COM+ component—died while handling your clipboard request. This tripped me up the first time too. I spent an hour debugging only to realize a third-party clipboard manager (like Ditto or ClipClip) had hung the RPC call.

The real trigger is often a DCOM permission issue or a stalled RPC thread. When you copy something, Windows creates an OLE object that calls back into the server. If that server stops responding, you get the error.

Less Common Variations

1. Third-Party Clipboard Software

If you use Clipboard Manager, Ditto, or Clipdiary, disable or uninstall them temporarily. These tools hook into the clipboard API and can crash the OLE server. I've seen this on Windows 11 23H2 especially.

2. Corrupted COM+ Catalog

Open an admin Command Prompt and run:

cd /d %windir%\system32\com
regsvr32 /u /s comadmin.dll
regsvr32 /s comadmin.dll
net stop COMSysApp
net start COMSysApp

This resets the COM+ application cache. Works when the error pops up in Excel or Outlook when embedding objects.

3. DCOM Permission Issue

If the error appears in a domain environment, check DCOM permissions:

Run dcomcnfg from Run dialog.
Go to Component Services > Computers > My Computer > DCOM Config.
Find the offending application (like Microsoft Excel Application if it crashes during copy).
Right-click > Properties > Security tab.
Under Launch and Activation Permissions, edit to include INTERACTIVE and SYSTEM with full control.

4. Running Low on Resources

Check Task Manager for high memory usage. A stalled RPC server often happens when the system is swapping heavily. Close browser tabs or apps you don’t need, then retry.

Prevention Tips

Keep clipboard apps updated — old versions of Ditto have known RPC crashes on Windows 11 24H2.
Run SFC and DISM monthly: sfc /scannow followed by dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth. This fixes corrupted system files that can break OLE.
Don't let clipboard history grow — in Settings > System > Clipboard, turn off clipboard history if you don’t use it. Fewer stored items reduce OLE server load.
Restart RPC as part of weekly maintenance — I schedule a script that runs net stop RpcSs && net start RpcSs every Sunday morning. Never had the error since.

That's it. You should be past the 0x80010007 now. If not, hit me in the comments with your Windows build and what you were copying—I'll help narrow it down.

You try to copy something—maybe a file, some text, or an image—and get hit with RPC_E_SERVER_DIED. I know this error is infuriating, especially when you're in the middle of work. Let's fix it.