A large number of Windows users have confronted the error which says “The Remote Procedure call failed” on their computers. Generally, this error has been reported while trying to open documents, photos, and as well as Windows applications. This error is related to the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) which is a protocol to request service from another program that is present on some other system in the network. Therefore, it is important that RPC is always running on your PC.
Are you one such user who is affected by this RPC call failed error on your Windows PC? Then, you are reading the right article. In this post, we have curated some solutions that can help you fix this problem on your computer.
Fix 1 – Change the Default Program
A default program that has been set to open certain files or photos is either wrong or corrupted. In such cases, you see the remote procedure call failed error. In order to resolve this, you need to set the default program for the particular file type or application.
1. Hit the Windows key on your keyboard and type default apps in the Windows search bar.
In the result list, click on Default Apps to open the Settings page for Default apps on your PC.
2. On the default apps page, you can either set the defaults based on the application or set the default for a file type.
3. To set defaults based on application, type the name of the application in the text box below Set defaults for applications.
For example, we are having an issue with Windows Photo Viewer so we type Photo Viewer in the text box.
Click on the application (Windows Photo Viewer in our case).
You will be directed to the page listing the file types and the app selected as default for it.
If the default is not set right, then click on any file type here in the list.
You will see a window with a list of apps that you can set as the default for this file type.
Look for Windows Photo Viewer in the list. Select the app and click on OK to set it as the default program for that file type.
4. To set the default for a particular file type, click on the box labeled Choose defaults by file type at the bottom of the Defaults apps page.
In the text box below Set defaults for file types, enter the file type (in our case, we have an issue with opening Text files so we type txt).
Here, you see the text file is set to open with Notepad as the default program.
You can click on it to change the default app for this file type.
In the window that opens, choose the option Wordpad if you want to open a text file with Wordpad from now on.
Then, click on OK.
5. Now, try performing the action that was raising the RPC failed error.
Check if the problem is fixed.
If there are issues with setting up the default apps, read more on how to change default programs in Windows 11.
Fix 2 – Change the Startup Type for the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator Service
1. Just press the Windows and R key combination to open the Run dialog.
Type services.msc and hit Enter to go to the Windows Services page.
2. In the Services window, scroll down and locate the service named Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator in the list.
Right-click on the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator service and choose the option Properties.
3. In the Properties window of the service, click on the Stop button to stop the service at the bottom in the Service Status section.
Then, click on the dropdown box next to Startup type and select the option Automatic in the list of items displayed.
After changing the Startup type, click on the Start button in the Service Status section to get the service into a running state.
Click on Apply and then OK to save the changes made to the service properties.
4. Check if the error associated with Remote Procedure Call failing is resolved or not.
Fix 3 – Execute Commands in the Command Prompt
1. Press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard to open the Run box.
In the Run box, type cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter key combination to open the Command Prompt with Administrator privileges.
Click on Yes when prompted by the User Account Control for permissions.
2. Type and execute the commands given below in the same sequence one after the other.
net start rpcss net stop wuauserv net stop cryptSvc net stop bits net stop msiserver ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 catroot2.old net start wuauserv net start cryptSvc net start bits net start msiserver
3. After all the commands complete execution, restart your computer.
Check if the error is fixed after the system startup.
Fix 4 – Use the Windows Troubleshooter
1. Press the Windows + I keys together to open the System Settings page on your PC.
Here, scroll down and find a box labeled Troubleshoot.
Click on Troubleshoot to open the Troubleshoot Settings page.
2. On the Troubleshoot Settings page, click on Other troubleshooters.
You will see the Other troubleshooters page, with a list of all the troubleshooters that are available.
On this page, find the Windows Store Apps in the list.
Click on the Run button associated with Windows Store Apps at the right end.
3. Wait for the troubleshooter to run and detect any problems and fix them.
After the troubleshooting process completes, go back and check if you are still seeing the same message.
That’s it!!
Thanks for reading.
Did you find this article interesting and informative enough in resolving the Remote Procedure Call Failed error on your Windows PC? Please let us know your thoughts and opinions on this article in the comments section below.