Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is a technology present since the emerging of computers and utilizes the interprocess communication technique. Its primary purpose is to enable a client and a server to communicate with each other over the network. Some users after completing an upgrade to a newer version of Windows 10 might notice that executing any remote command fails with the error message The RPC server is unavailable – prior to the upgrade these remote commands execute successfully. In this post, we will identify the potential causes and then provide the possible solutions that you can try to help remediate this issue.
The error message The RPC Server is unavailable can be triggered by any of the following:
- One or more services required by RPC are disabled.
- Remote assistance is disabled by the Firewall.
- IPV6 or File Printer Sharing is disabled.
- The IP address is crashing the RPC server.
- RPC services are disabled via Registry.
The RPC server is unavailable
If you are faced with this error, you can try the recommended solutions below.
- Check RPC service on your computer
- Enable Remote Desktop/Assistance in Firewall
- Change Startup Selection from Selective startup to Normal startup
- Enable IPV6 and File & Printer Sharing for the connected network
- Flush DNS & Renew
- Force RPC services to start using Registry Editor.
Now, let’s delve into the detailed steps of these solutions.
1] Check RPC service on your computer
This solution implies that conflicts with other third-party applications or changing the system systems might force the RPC service to go from the default (Automatic) value to manual. This means that RPC might not start automatically when needed.
To check RPC service on your computer, do the following:
- Press Windows + R, type services.msc in the dialog box and hit Enter.
- Once in the Services window, search for the following processes:
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
RPC Endpoint Mapper or Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator
DCOM Service Process Launcher
- Right-click on each service one by one and select Properties.
- Once in properties, make sure that the service is Started and the Startup type is set as Automatic.
- Save changes and exit.
Restart your computer and see if the issue is resolved.
2] Enable Remote Desktop/Assistance in Firewall
To allow Remote Assistance in firewall on your computer, do the following:
- Press Windows key + R, type control in the dialog box and hit Enter.
- Once the control panel pops up, type Firewall in the search bar at the top-right side of the window and hit Enter.
- From the results, click on Allow an app through Windows Firewall which is a subcategory underneath Windows Firewall.
- Click on Change settings and make sure that entries enforcing RPC are checked such as Remote Assistance.
Restart your computer and see if the issue is resolved.
3] Change Startup Selection from Selective startup to Normal startup
The selective startup is a booting method which allows your computer to turn on with a minimal number of items loaded. This is usually done when troubleshooting issues with your computer which might involve other third-party applications. However, whenever you boot using selective startup, your computer will also not load all the RPC components onto your computer. In this case, we will select the normal startup and see if this fixes the issue. Here’s how:
- Press Windows key + R, type msconfig in the dialog box and hit Enter.
- Once in the startup configuration, select the tab General and choose the option Normal startup.
- Click Apply > OK to save changes and exit.
You will be prompted for a restart. Restart immediately using the popped up window and check if the error message is resolved.
4] Enable IPV6 and File & Printer Sharing for the connected network
In some cases, you might encounter the Error 1722: The RPC server is unavailable issue in instances where there’s a network connection interruption caused by one or multiple settings. In this case, enabling IPV6 and File & Printer Sharing for the connected network could resolve the issue. Do the following:
- Press Windows key + R and then type ncpa.cpl in the Run dialog box and hit Enter to open up the Network Connections window.
- Inside the Network Connections window, right-click on the network that you’re currently connected to and hit Properties.
- Once you get to the Properties of your network connection, go to the Networking tab and scroll down through the list of items.
- Locate File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks and Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) and make sure that both associated boxes are checked.
- Click Ok to save the changes.
Restart your computer and see if the issue is resolved at the next startup.
5] Flush DNS & Renew
This solution requires you to ensure that the services involved in the RPC connection are running (as outlined in solution 1 above) before you proceed to flush the DNS and renew the connection.
If you’re certain that the required services are running, then follow the instructions below to flush the DNS and renew the connection.
- Launch command prompt in elevated mode.
- Inside the elevated Command prompt, type the following command and hit Enter to flush the current IP Configuration:
ipconfig /flushdns
- Once the command is successfully registered, type the following command and hit Enter to renew the IP Configuration:
ipconfig /renew
Once the IP has been renewed, close the elevated Command Prompt and execute remote commands and see if the issue has been resolved.
6] Force RPC services to start using Registry Editor
To use Registry Editor to force RPC services to start, do the following:
- Launch Registry Editor.
- Inside the Registry Editor, use the left-hand pane to navigate to the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesRpcSs
- With the RpcSs key selected, move down to the right-hand pane and double-click on Start to edit its properties.
- In the properties box, set the Base to Hexadecimal and the Value data to 2.
- Click OK to enable the Remove Procedure Call (RPC).
Next, use the left-hand pane or the navigation bar at the top (paste the registry path and hit Enter) to navigate to this location:
ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesDcomLaunch
- Once you get to that location, double-click on Start from the right-hand pane.
- Then, set the Base to Hexadecimal and the value data to 2.
- Click OK in order to enable the DCOM Server Process Launcher.
Lastly, navigate to the following location by using the navigation bar at the top or by using the left-hand pane:
ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesRpcEptMapper
- Move over to the right-hand pane and double-click on Start.
- Then, set the Base to Hexadecimal and the Value Data to 2.
- Click OK.
Close the Registry Editor, restart your computer and see if the ‘The RPC server is unavailable’ issue has been resolved at the next system startup.
