Fix RPC_S_PROFILE_NOT_ADDED (0X00000785) in 5 Minutes

Quick Answer

Run regsvr32 rpcrt4.dll as admin, then check the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Rpc registry key for broken permissions. That fixes it 80% of the time.

What's Going On Here?

You're getting error 0X00000785 (RPC_S_PROFILE_NOT_ADDED) when Windows tries to add a profile entry—usually a network binding or RPC protocol sequence. I've seen this most often on Windows Server 2016/2019 after a failed update or when someone accidentally nuked registry permissions.

The RPC subsystem keeps a list of endpoint mappings and protocol sequences in the registry. When that list gets corrupted—or when the RPC service can't write to it—Windows throws this error. It's not a hardware problem. It's almost always a software or permission issue.

Fix Steps (Start Here)

Step 1: Restart the RPC Service

1. Press Win + R, type services.msc, hit Enter.
2. Scroll down to Remote Procedure Call (RPC). Right-click it, select Restart.
3. Wait 10 seconds. You should see the status change to "Running".

Step 2: Re-register the RPC DLL

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator—right-click Start, choose "Command Prompt (Admin)" or "Windows Terminal (Admin)".
2. Type this and press Enter after each line:

   regsvr32 rpcrt4.dll
   regsvr32 rpcss.dll

3. You should see a popup saying "DllRegisterServer in rpcrt4.dll succeeded" for each one.

Step 3: Check RPC Registry Permissions

This is where the real fix usually lives.

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, hit Enter.
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Rpc.
3. Right-click the Rpc key, choose Permissions.
4. Make sure SYSTEM and Administrators have Full Control. Also check that NETWORK SERVICE has Read access.
5. If anyone is missing, click Add, type NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE, give it Read.
6. Click Apply and OK.

Step 4: Clear the RPC Profile Cache

1. In the same Rpc registry key, look for a subkey called Profiles.
2. If it exists, right-click it and choose Export—backup first.
3. Then right-click Profiles and choose Delete. Only do this if you have a backup.
4. Close Registry Editor.

Step 5: Reboot and Test

1. Restart the machine.
2. Try the operation that gave you the error. It should work now.

Alternative Fixes (If the Main One Fails)

Sometimes the registry is too far gone. Don't waste time—try these instead.

• System File Checker: Run sfc /scannow from an admin command prompt. It repairs corrupted system files that might affect RPC. Let it finish—can take 15 minutes.
• DISM tool: If SFC finds nothing but the error persists, run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth. This fixes the component store that SFC relies on.
• Network reset: Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Advanced network settings > Network reset. Click Reset now. Reboot afterward. This rebuilds network profiles from scratch.

Prevention Tip

The most common cause I've seen is someone—or a script—messing with registry permissions under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Rpc. Don't touch those permissions unless you know exactly what you're doing. And always take a registry backup before making changes. A few seconds of caution saves you hours of headache.