What does HRESULT 0x80004018 (CO_E_CREATEPROCESS_FAILURE) mean?

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: COM could not start the configured local server executable for the requested class.

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CO_E_RUNAS_SYNTAX	CO_E_RUNAS_CREATEPROCESS_FAILURE

CO_E_CREATEPROCESS_FAILURE

CO_E_CREATEPROCESS_FAILURE occurs after COM has selected an out-of-process local server but cannot start the configured executable. It is therefore more specific than a generic class-registration failure: the activation path reached the process-launch step.

Registration values that matter

For an executable server, LocalServer32 supplies the command line and may include application arguments; COM appends -Embedding when it launches the server. The optional ServerExecutable value supplies an unambiguous executable path to CreateProcess. If the class is instead configured with LocalService, that service model takes precedence over LocalServer32.

Focused investigation

Resolve the CLSID and verify the exact LocalServer32 and ServerExecutable values, including full paths and command-line quoting.
Confirm that the file still exists at the registered location and that the registration belongs to the installed version of the application.
Do not assume that re-registering an in-process DLL fixes an EXE-server launch problem; first identify which activation model the CLSID actually selects.

References

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