[This is Part 1 of a two part problem. You can see the description and solution for the second issue which was no audio during and after the part 1 solution was completed. See Part 2 here.]
I ran into this issue a couple of weeks ago and eventually threw my hands up. Today, I came across the exact same symptoms on another computer so I decided to dig further in and find the cause. After successfully discovering the problem and applying the solution to the first problematic computer, I was able to fix the issue without reloading/refreshing the PCs.
I looked all over the web and was unable to find any mention of this problem with a valid resolution. Most things I found suggested running SFC /SCANNOW which refused to run. I also tried some other repair tools, most of which failed or wouldn’t complete.
In determining the problem and discovering a solution, one of the PCs actually had a 2nd problem with a similar solution regarding audio on the computer. No audio due to “Audio Service not started”. The service fails to start and an error is logged in event viewer that says the reason is “duplicate endpoint”. I’ll post the resolution for the audio problem in a separate post.
Sympomps
Here are the symptoms I was seeing to confirm that you are seeing the same problem as I have:
- Control Panel fails to load. You can get a white explorer box, but the window hangs. It can’t be resized, moved or closed without forcing explorer.exe to close. After that, Control Panel usually won’t load anything at all–not even a white frozen box.
- Lots and lots of repeated Service Control Manager errors from the service “Network List Service”. The reason for the failure to start is “Procedure not found”
- The Network Connection Broker service is stuck in the Starting state.
- Office 2013 programs hang while launching
Resolution
Method 1 (Automatic)
You can download my registry exports included at the end of Part 2 to avoid having to edit the registry. Just download the appropriate .REG file and then double click the file in your downloads list to import the registry key. No knowledge needed.
Method 2 (Manual)
- Open regedit.exe
- Navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\netprofm\Parameters - Check the value of ServiceDLL, it should be exactly as follows:
%SYSTEMROOT32%\System32\netprofmsvc.dll(See update note below)
- If it is not, change it to match the above value.
- After making changes, reboot the system and look for the symptoms again.
UPDATED 3/13/2015: Stephen G. commented below about the environment variable being incorrect. At first I thought this was due to 32/64-bit system differences, but I believe I simply added the 32 in %SYSTEMROOT32% accidentally as I do not believe that %SYSTEMROOT32% is a valid path on any Windows operating system. Please verify that there is NOT a 32 in the variable as this will still be an incorrect path. Just ensure the corrected value is in place. Sorry for the type-o.
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1 2 3 … 15 Next »what a life saver! I searched and couldn't find a fix. Exact problem as you described. roll back didn't help/restore didn't help. The simple change to the reg name above fixed the issue for me.
I had to add *svc to the filename.
Glad to see my post has been of use to someone else!
Hi Josh
I cannot tell you how grateful I am for those two articles. A real life saver.
Christian
Glad my experience could be of use.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I was at my wits end trying to figure this out. You are a life saver. Thank you again
I have just encountered this problem myself on this computer. Exact symptoms show, the control panel froze and isn't loading. I tried to fix my internet settings for my internet is also having problems, but your registry downloads just opened a new window in my browser and had the codes written out in plain text, is this what is supposed to happen, and if so what do I do from there?
Try right clicking on the download link and look for Save As or Save Link As. The file should download as a .REG file. If you still have problems then open them as you did before to see the code. Then open Notepad on your computer. Copy and paste my code into Notepad and then save the file to your desktop as “whatever-name-you-want.reg” with quotes – – Windows will remove the quotes in the file name, but using quotes prevents Notepad from saving the file as name.reg.txt and giving the wrong extension. After you have done that, just double click on the new .REG file that you saved.
Hope that will help you out.
Josh I faced the same issues and I even turned off AVG but your solutions worked like a champ. Thanks so much.
Thanks Josh, your post was exactly what I was looking for. I just fixed an two month old HP Pavilion notebook with both the control panel and audio issues on Windows 8.1. the netprofmsvc.dll registry fix resolved a number of issues with network apps hanging, bluetooth and onedrive loading, windows updates, HP updates, and authentication problems using a Microsoft account. Apparently the registry items were changed by a Windows Update. Thanks again for you post.
Aww yiss! I spend the whole day yesterday trying to fix my sound problem and every tutorial led to more and more errors. This worked instantly this morning! Thank you so much for being so smart, haha. I found this tutorial from a comment on a youtube video about error 1079, and error 0x800706cc.
Hello.. Whats the fix for the Audio issue? Can't to find out....
I actually ran into this problem again (for only the 2nd time now) today so I was able to refresh my memory as to what I did. I'll post it in the main post above as soon as I finish this comment.
WOW!!!! I spent the last 4 hours ready to throw my printer, then my laptop, out of my 2nd floor window. I came across this and it fixed it immediately. I didn't even have to reboot before it started responding and finding my network printer. It would freeze every time I tried to add my printer. THANK YOU!
My daughter's brand new Dell laptop has been displaying the exact symptoms as described here, including the issues with a freezing control panel, Office programs hanging & no sound. I applied the registry edit as indicated which seems to have addressed the control panel & office programs, but still no sound...
Any further advice you could offer?
I've now read part II - apologies. Please see my comment there...
Thank you for sharing this fix on your blog. It helped me fix my son's new notebook computer. Breaking his two-day old notebook by installing Windows updates would have made me very popular.
A small detail, in case it helps someone else:
For my son's notebook, I had to set the value to:
%SYSTEMROOT%\System32\netprofmsvc.dll
instead of:
%SYSTEMROOT32%\System32\netprofmsvc.dll
The existing value in the registry had been:
%SYSTEMROOT%\System32\netprofm.dll
I have no idea where the %SYSTEMROOT32% came from. I don't believe that is even a valid environment variable. Fixing the post now to reflect that change. Thanks Stephen G.
Thank Stephen, what you described was the issues I had. I change the value from %SYSTEMROOT%\System32\netprofm.dll
to
%SYSTEMROOT%\System32\netprofmsvc.dll
It did not work at all. Tried three times. Control panel is frozen, blank and I have no sound.
Vania, please see my update above in case that is the problem. I apparently mistyped the full path when creating this entry and was only just recently corrected. Hope that helps you solve the problem.
I had the same symptoms and this resolved it.
Should also note that this also seems to have resolved an issue I was having with the 'Mail' program in 8.1 - it was working one day then the next it wouldn't pull any mail in. While trying to check the firewall I ran into the blank control panel and found your post.
Both issues now resolved. Thanks alot!
Awesome! Glad that it fixed more than expected! Windows 8 is weird with the Apps.
Hey man thanks for the help, part 2 worked for me with the audio issue, but my control panel is still freezing up after changing the registry. Any additional advice you can give?
Steve, check the update above. I mistyped the variable in the path name that could have left the path as still incorrect even after fixing the file name. Please ensure that the path is correct as I have updated above. Hope this helps.
thank you, worked awesome.
I'd like to kiss you, I've been struggling with the issue for a few weeks until i found your solution, thanx so much. Also it still a mystery why these things happen anyway.
Thanx again!