What is Rundll32.exe and why has it started running in the background?


  1. Posts : 325
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
       #1

    What is Rundll32.exe and why has it started running in the background?


    Hello,

    From the last few days there is something bizarre happening with my Windows 10 Task Manager Rundll32.exe will start running in the background when I look at my Task Manager and will not disappear.

    I have Windows 10 1903 for the last 1 month and I never noticed this, until a few days ago. What is Rundll32.exe and why has it started running in the background?-rundll32.exe-after-2-hours.jpg
    I'm completely confused as to what this is. It starts launching approximately after 2 hours and will remain there. This happened somewhere around the 18th of June.

    "C:\Windows\system32\rundll32.exe" -localserver 22d8c27b-47a1-48d1-ad08-7da7abd79617

    Autostart location. HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{89B4C1CD-B018-4511-B0A1-5476DBF70820}

    I tried searching for this but I couldn't find much info. I think I started noticing this after I installed Diablo 2 and Splinter Cell 1 on the 18th of June. But I don't know if this is simply a coincidence. But it definitely seems a little bit strange as I have not noticed this behaviour prior to that.

    Can someone tell me what is triggering this to launch after 2 hours?
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 4,173
    Windows 11 Pro, 22H2
       #2

    Doing a search on TenForums for rundll32.exe yields the following...

    Rundll32 Commands List for Windows 10
    Why is Windows Host Process (Rundll32) in my Startup?

    There are more, but this should answer the question.
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 3,257
    Windows 10 Pro
       #3

    Rundll is a common thing to run. It's part of windows. However, what isn't common is what it seems to be running. Rundll does what it's name says. It runs a dll. In this case, this is a part of the Windows Performance Monitor. See https://translate.google.com/transla...61&prev=search
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 325
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #4

    Weirdly this thing started again. "C:\Windows\system32\rundll32.exe" -localserver 22d8c27b-47a1-48d1-ad08-7da7abd79617
    Current directory: C:\Windows\System32\

    Autostart Location: n/a

    Parent: explorer.exe(2652)

    I tried msconfig selective startup yesterday and thought the issue was solved. Today My PC was on for 3 hours and it didn't come and before that last night it was for over 2 hours and it didn't show up. Now the thing has returned back after less than 1 hour after returning back home from outside.

    I do not know if this is a viral infection or not. This happened after I installed Splinter Cell 1 from Uplay and downloaded widescreen patch. I believe this is when I first started noticing it. But I uninstalled the game and everything new in the last few days such as .NETFRAMEWORK.

    I've been using Windows 10 for 2 months since upgrading from 8.1. Windows 10 1903 since 31st of May and I never noticed this.

    Also I'm not sure if it is related to latest Google Chrome update.

    rundll32.exe doesn't seem to have been tampered. It shows as ‎19 ‎March ‎2019, ‏‎04:45:05. Consumes only 896 K and doesn't consume any CPU usage.

    I don't even have a Windows System restore point from the day before I started noticing it. Windows has erased all my system restore points..
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 325
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #5

    So I tried to repair Windows 10 but the outcome is the same.

    I also get an error 1008 Perflib in the Event Viewer. The Open procedure for service ".NETFramework" in DLL "C:\WINDOWS\system32\mscoree.dll" failed with error code Access is denied.. Performance data for this service will not be available.

    This happened at 1:40am. While the C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe according to Process Explorer started at 1:31am

    It appears that this problem might be associated with the rundll32.exe running in the background at all times. Sometimes this thing pops up after 25 minutes other times after 3 hours, etc. It is very random. But usually it happens after 1-2 hours.

    A fresh re-installation of Windows 10 will probably fix it. But the problem is that Process Explorer is not giving me any information on what has triggered this thing to start. I don't know if it is a Task Scheduler but I did not find any task schedule that triggers this at the exact same time.

    If I don't know what is triggering it, little will I know if next time after a fresh install this starts occurring again.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 655
    Windows 10 Home
       #6

    BLaZiNgSPEED said:
    But the problem is that Process Explorer is not giving me any information on what has triggered this thing to start.
    Personally, I dont see rundll32.exe running as a problem. But it might be strange if it stays running all the time.

    Anyway, I can tell you a few things that I know trigger rundll32.exe to run, this things are about browsers and rundll32.exe. If you open Internet Explorer, rundll32.exe will run immediately after you open the browser without you having to do anything with the browser. It ll stay running all the time, but when you close IE, the process should close immediately after you close IE (it should close immediately). About Chrome and browsers like Chrome. I dont use Chrome or anything like it, but there are some functions that when you do them with Chrome, they might trigger rundll32.exe to run. This functions can be, printing, opening File explorer or opening a picture with Windows photo viewer. If you do this functions when using Chrome, rundll32.exe might run. I cant tell you exactly which function would trigger rundll32.exe to run in my computer because I dont have Chrome, and dont want to install it. But if you have Chrome, do some testing. On the other hand, running Firefox, doesn't trigger rundll32.exe to run, no matter what you do. HTH.

    Bo
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 325
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Many thanks for that!

    I didn't realise all this time that it was my browser that was causing this issue!

    Basically it was Google Chrome Beta version that was causing the rundll32.exe to run in the background and it was triggered usually when going to YouTube.

    I uninstalled Google Chrome Beta version and installed the original official Google Chrome release and that stopped causing rundll32.exe to appear in the background.

    Unfortunately I spent so much time trying to fix this initially that I broke my Windows 10 system. I uninstalled Splinter Cell, Diablo 2, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Visual C++, etc thinking these were the culprits.

    This only made further damage breaking my games and Origin from launching due to corruption on MS Visual C++ which I couldn't fix.

    Anyway, I freshly installed Windows 10 Pro 1903 and everything is fixed.

    It appears that it was an update on the Chrome Beta release that was triggering rundll32.exe. But sadly this coincided with Wide Screen patch and I thought that was a virus. But obviously it wasn't and I ended up wasting my time.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 31,471
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #8

    BLaZiNgSPEED said:
    ...Unfortunately I spent so much time trying to fix this initially that I broke my Windows 10 system.....
    That is where a Macrium Reflect system image would have come in handy....

    Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect
      My Computers


  9. Posts : 655
    Windows 10 Home
       #9

    BLaZiNgSPEED said:
    Many thanks for that!

    I didn't realise all this time that it was my browser that was causing this issue!
    You are welcome, I am glad to have helped.

    Other than browsers, there are other activities that we do in our computer that trigger rundll32.exe to run. For example, when I run File/Windows Explorer in a sandbox (under Sandboxie), rundll32.exe runs and fades away until I close the sandbox. So,dont be surprised when you see rundll32.exe running as you might have programs (other than browsers) or do activities that triggers it to run. rundll32.exe running is not an issue.

    What is Rundll32.exe and why has it started running in the background?-sin-titulo.jpg

    Bo
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 325
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #10

    Finally after over 2 years I have found the solution that stops triggering rundll32.exe when using volume control in Chromium browsers with Youtube!!!!

    I know this thread of mine is almost 2 years old, with over 20+ thousand views. I'm pretty sure many others have also been interested in solving the issue but don't know how.

    After further testing by sheer coincidence I found out the fix finally!!!

    Go to opera://flags or flags on Chromium Hardware Media Key Handling

    Enables using media keys to control the active media session. This requires MediaSessionService to be enabled too – Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS
    #hardware-media-key-handling Disabled

    After setting to disabled and restarting the browser. Volume control no longer triggers rundll32.exe to run in the background.
    You can find the tutorial linked below for more information. The problem with the tutorial is that it does not mention that it resolves this issue.

    But I happened to have found out that this is the root of all evil here... When you increase or decrease the volume, you see the media control player along with the volume bar. This is what triggers rundll32.exe to run in the background.

    Disabling it will only show the volume bar, but will not trigger rundll32.exe. This is why on Waterfox Classic and Firefox web browsers rundll32.exe is not triggered because the Media Key interface does not pop-up when using volume control.

    I long suspected this was the cause of what triggered it, but I simply didn't know how to get rid off it until just a couple of hours ago when I found out the fix. I hope this helps and is going to be handy for me to remember for next time!

    Enable or Disable Volume and Media Key Handling in Google Chrome
      My Computer


 

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