RPCSS Error - Windows Won't Load

I was downloading and installing a software update and the installation of the update failed. When the machine was rebooted, it began loading windows as usual. Midway through, I got a popup saying "RPCSS has caused an error in <unknown> and will now close ". After that, windows did not finish loading. I had to push the power button to shut down. I then tried booting up in "safe mode" and after doing a scandisk (because the machine wasn't shut down properly) windows began to load, but then I got the same error message ( "RPCSS has caused an error in <unknown> and will now close ".) and windows wouldn't finish loading in "safe mode ".

So... I know this isn't good. I can use a Dell Resource Disk to boot into DOS, but that's about it. Is there any way to fix this problem (replace rpcss.exe or something maybe?) or is my only real choice to reinstall the entire O/S?

The previous night I did an anti-virus scan, ad-aware scan, spybot search and destroy scan and a full scandisk, so I'm pretty confident that it is unlikely that there are viruses or malware on the machine. Everything machine-wise was working well prior to this.

 

It was a BlackIce for PCs (software firewall/intrusion detection) update from ISS (iss.net).

I've already contacted their tech support and they've never heard of that happening before and have no suggestions for how to fix the problem. I could delete the program files and folders from DOS but I'm not sure how to edit the registry settings from DOS to delete the various keys the program installed.

When I let the computer try to boot normally, I get an error message that "blackd has caused an error in <unknown> and will now close" and then the <RPCSS has caused an error in <unknown> and will now close" error. Then windows stops loading. When I boot the computer in Safe Mode, I just get the <RPCSS has caused an error in <unknown> and will now close" error, (which makes sense since Black Ice isn't loaded in safe mode at startup) and then windows stops loading.

Because I can't boot properly even when BlackIce isn't loaded at start up, I think the RPC error is now my main problem.

 

Hi Arie,

I've got Win ME installed on my computer, not Win XP. Is the path for executing the restore the same in Win ME? I haven't had a lot of luck with doing restores in the past, but it's definitely something to consider as it would solve the problem with the least amount of effort.

I've kind of resigned myself to the fact I'll probably need to reinstall the O/S. Over the weekend I'm probably going to flash the BIOS, upgrade the hard drive, and put a fresh install of Win XP (I do have a copy of Win XP Pro (without any service packs) at home but haven't installed it, since things were working fine - until now) on the computer.

Since the replacement hard drive I've got is 160 GB and I don't have Win XP SP1 or greater, I'm not sure if the system will recognize the new hard disk or not. And if it does, it will only 'see' 137 GB of the drive anyway. But that's ok - it's more than the 45 GB that's currently installed.

If my computer recognizes the hard drive, then I'll just do a fresh install of Win XP and start loading all the programs back from scratch. If it doesn't recognize the drive, then I will probably put the present C drive back in the computer and consider doing a system restore or a dirty reinstall of Win ME, as you suggest.

 

Oooo.... thank you very much for the instructions for making that slipstreamed SP2 disk! I followed the directions and now have one in hand. I'll try using it for installation tonight.
On Sunday I flashed the BIOS and installed the new hard drive. I ran into a stumbling block when the system would only recognize 32 GB instead of the full 160 GB. It also labeled the other hard drives "unknown drives ". I figure I need to load the ATA controller card drivers... somehow.... so the hard drives will be recognized properly (I've had a 120 GB drive installed on the same computer as a slave drive for years, so I know that the 32 GB doesn't represent an insurmountable system limitation).

With the bootable Win XP-SP2 disk in hand, as well as a foggy and fairly vague idea of trying to get the ATA controller card drivers installed (press F6 while the Windows CD is booting?), hopefully I'll manage to make at least a little bit more progress tonight.