DCOM functions? Does it matter if it's broken?

  • Thread starter Thread starter KenV
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K

KenV

DCOM is broken. Does it matter? What does it do?

I have XP Pro, SP2 fully updated, Intel 2.8c processor, 2 GB RAM, old Lucent
Winmodem, Audigy sound card, add-on USB cards, built-in Marvell network card
in an ASUS P4P800-E motherboard.

After major problems with Windows updates, etc., and using Live OneCare now
and no other anti-viral or anti-spyware software, everything has been solved
except one thing: The DCOM service is broken. All the other services seem to
be working now.

When I run dcomcnfg, then right click on the properties of My Computer under
Component Services, Computers, the dropdown DCOM boxes are not populated.
None of the usual choices--nothing to choose from. All blank.

Despite the fact that the computer seems to be running OK now, otherwise,
the Microsoft escalated tech support person, a very knowledgeable fellow, it
seems to me, says this alone is evidence of a very corrupted operating
system, and that I should reformat my drive and reinstall Windows from
scratch. No, this is not an outsourced, programmed support person reading
from a script.

In fact, the tech support guy says that from his research on the matter,
"Microsoft has /never/ seen this problem before," in which the drop down
boxes under DCOM Default Properties are not populated at all--are just
blank.

We have tried all sorts of recovery measures, chkdsk/fix, resetting all the
permission to their default states, registry deletions, WBEM folder
deletions, running the WMI Diag tool, etc., etc., etc. There is nothing
obvious that has not been tried.

I am just taking a flyer to see if anyone here has ever seen this before, or
can figure out a workaround, short of reinstallation.

And I also wonder whether it is dangerous or a threat to security if I
simply leave things the way they are, so long as everything else seems to be
working OK. or is XP going to crash and die someday when I least expect it.

Ken
 
Pop,

That is amazing. DCOM has no purpose for the average individual user (as
opposed to corporate networks, etc.) whatsover?!

I ran the diagnostic program, and got "Stealth" as the reading, which means
no one from the outside can get in through DCOM to my system. Of course, I
can't either. So it isn't a security leak, maybe it's even a security
protection to have it broken.

I'm not sure why the guy at Microsoft is so concerned about the apparent
"corruption" of DCOM in my system--maybe he thinks there is something else
wrong and that it will spread to other areas. So far, at least, we seemed to
have fixed almost everything else that was wrong in the WMI services, and
the system is working well, except for the dialup, which may be unrelated, I
don't know. I'm sending the MS support guy this link, as well.

Thanks very much for your input and help.

Ken
 
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