STATDATA 0X80040067 – Simple Fix That Usually Works

You Got the Error. Here's the Fix

That 0X80040067 error is annoying but rarely serious. The culprit here is almost always a corrupted or stale OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) data object stuck in memory. It usually shows up when you're copying data between Office apps, dragging files, or using an old COM component in a custom app. Don't bother with a full reinstall — try this first.

Step 1: Clear the Clipboard

Open a command prompt as admin and run:

echo off | clip

That clears the Windows clipboard. If you're on Windows 10/11 with clipboard history, also hit Win+V and click "Clear all". This flushes any stale data objects that OLE might be holding onto.

Step 2: Restart the RPC Service

OLE relies on the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) service. Sometimes it just needs a kick. Run this in the same admin prompt:

net stop rpcss && net start rpcss

Wait a few seconds. Then try your original operation again. 9 times out of 10, the error's gone.

Step 3: Kill Stuck COM Surrogate Processes

If it's still there, open Task Manager and look for dllhost.exe or COM Surrogate processes consuming CPU. Right-click and end them. They'll restart automatically. This forces any hung OLE objects to release.

Why This Works

The 0X80040067 translates to STATDATA — the OLE data advisory connection failed. That happens when Windows can't validate a data object's structure because it's half-corrupted or the source app already closed. Clearing the clipboard removes the bad object. Restarting RPC resets the COM infrastructure. It's like turning a modem off and on.

Less Common Variations

App-Specific Causes

• Excel DDE links: Disable DDE in Excel Options > Advanced > General > "Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)". Check that box.
• Word mail merge: The error can pop up when an Outlook data source is stale. Recreate the data connection in Word.
• Custom VB6 or VBA apps: Old code using DoEvents without proper cleanup. Add Set obj = Nothing after your OLE calls.

Registry Cleanup (Advanced)

I've seen this error linger because of orphaned COM entries in the registry. If you're comfortable, navigate to:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{00000303-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}

That's the OLE1.0 class ID. If the key's there and has no valid subkeys, delete it. But seriously — only do this if you're confident, and back up first.

Prevention

• Don't keep Office apps open with huge OLE objects embedded. Copy/paste large Excel tables into Word? Close Excel after pasting.
• Update your graphics drivers. COM surrogate crashes sometimes trace back to GPU drivers mishandling DWM (Desktop Window Manager) calls. Use DDU to clean-install fresh drivers.
• Disable clipboard history if you see this error regularly. Settings > System > Clipboard > toggle off Clipboard history. It's a known conflict with older COM apps.
• Run SFC and DISM once a month. Corrupt system files break OLE too. Run:

sfc /scannow
dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

That's it. You'll probably never see 0X80040067 again after the clipboard+RPC step. If you do, you're dealing with a specific broken COM registration — but that's rare.