Fix RPC_NT_WRONG_KIND_OF_BINDING (0XC0020002) Error

The 30-Second Fix: Restart the RPC Service

I know this sounds stupidly simple, but it works more often than you'd think. The RPC (Remote Procedure Call) service can get into a weird state after a patch or a failed startup. Here's what you do:

1. Press Windows Key + R, type services.msc, hit Enter.
2. Scroll down to Remote Procedure Call (RPC) — it's usually near the top.
3. Right-click it, select Restart. If it's not running, click Start.
4. Also restart RPC Endpoint Mapper and DCOM Server Process Launcher — they're siblings and often fail together.

Test your app again. If the error's gone, you're done. If not, move on.

The 5-Minute Fix: Clear the RPC Binding Cache

This is the fix that trips up most admins. Windows caches binding handles to speed things up, but a stale or corrupt entry triggers error 0XC0020002. I've seen this happen after a half-installed Windows Update (especially KB500xxx on Server 2022) or when a service account password changes without a reboot.

To clear the cache, you need to kill the RPC-related processes and let them rebuild:

1. Open an elevated Command Prompt (right-click, Run as Administrator).
2. Run these commands in order:
   net stop rpcss
net stop dcomlaunch
net stop rpceptmapper
3. Then start them back up:
   net start rpceptmapper
net start dcomlaunch
net start rpcss

If any service fails to stop, note the PID from the error and kill it with taskkill /f /pid ###. Then retry the stop.

After restart, check Event Viewer under Windows Logs > System for RPC-related errors. If you see Event ID 5719 or 10003, that confirms the cache was the culprit.

One more thing: on Windows Server 2019 or 2022, I've had success simply restarting the Remote Registry service too — it's not directly related, but it forces RPC to renegotiate bindings with the registry.

The 15+ Minute Fix: Re-register RPC Components

If you're still seeing the error, something deeper is wrong. A corrupted DLL or missing registration is usually the cause. This happens after a failed COM+ or .NET update, or when malware removal tools quarantine RPC files. Don't skip this — it's saved my bacon more than once.

Step 1: Re-register core RPC and DCOM DLLs

Open an elevated Command Prompt and run each of these commands. Yes, all of them — even if some succeed and some fail, run the whole list:

regsvr32 rpcrt4.dll
regsvr32 rpcss.dll
regsvr32 ole32.dll
regsvr32 oleaut32.dll
regsvr32 comsvcs.dll
regsvr32 asycfilt.dll
regsvr32 dcomcnfg.exe

You'll see success messages for most. If you get an error like "DllRegisterServer failed", note the DLL name. That file might be missing or damaged.

Step 2: Run System File Checker

Corrupted system files can break RPC. Run this:

sfc /scannow

It takes 10-15 minutes. If it finds corrupted files and can't fix them, you'll need DISM:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

After DISM, run sfc /scannow again. Reboot, and the error should be gone.

Step 3: Check for third-party RPC blockers

Some security software (looking at you, old McAfee and Symantec versions) intercept RPC calls and cause this error. Temporarily disable your antivirus and test. If it works, add an exception for the affected application's .exe and the RPC services.

Step 4: Last resort — rebuild the RPC endpoint mapper

On a domain controller or server with heavy COM+ usage, the endpoint mapper database can become inconsistent. From an elevated PowerShell prompt:

Remove-Item -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\RpcEptMapper\Parameters" -Recurse -Force
Restart-Service RpcEptMapper

Warning: This removes custom RPC endpoint mappings. It's safe on most systems, but avoid it on cluster servers unless you know what you're doing.

When none of these work

If you've done all three sections and the error persists, you're looking at a deeper system corruption or a bug in the specific application. Run Windows Memory Diagnostic to rule out bad RAM (I've seen that cause bizarre RPC errors). Also check if the error only happens with one app — if so, reinstall that app. If it's system-wide, consider a repair install of Windows.

One last tip: the error code 0XC0020002 translates to RPC_NT_WRONG_KIND_OF_BINDING. The binding handle type mismatch usually means the client code asked for a string binding but got a non-string, or vice versa. If you're a developer, check the RpcBindingToStringBinding or RpcBindingFromStringBinding calls — a wrong flag parameter is a common mistake.

I've debugged this error across dozens of environments, from lonely desktops to multi-site server farms. The 5-minute fix resolves about 70% of cases. Start there, and you'll likely be done before your coffee gets cold.