Windows 7- rundll32.exe 50% CPU load

[Eggtooth]

Hi there. I got a problem, i got two rundll32.exe processes, but one when i'm start games, and other, goes crazy and using 50% of my CPU.

I got windows 7 two days! And why this proces is not automaticialy killed when i shutdown game? After shutting down game, process stay and use 50% of my CPU! i must manually kill that process..

help pls...

 

[seekermeister]

I would suggest looking to see if there is a patch available for that game. In a way, you are lucky that you can manually kill the process, because I have run into a couple that couldn't be killed short of a reboot.

 

[Pieloi]

This needs bumping, or needs more attention atleast.
Same problem and all.

Older games will end up giving rundll32.exe an entire 25% of my cpu (4core) when I double click the exe (Older games including max payne 2, ut2004, silent hill 2 and even quake 1 etc and many more...)...thats all that happens, you can watch this in Task manager...but the game doesnt start, you double click the .exe again THEN the game starts, 25% on the 32bit game 25% on rundll32, awesome thing is you can just end rundll32 and the game runs absolutely fine regardless...
(I have a theory that its AVG on access scanning or something doing this)

But awkwardly enough.
Modern games such as Bioshock, Fallout, Crysis: warhead and Empire total war, all stick to respective 32/64 capability, with no fuss with rundll32.exe

Strange...
Not like DirectX could have any qualms with rundll ?
Maybe even the gpu drivers ?


Although I cant remember when this problem started, I might be able to say it was recent (And within that time I have not really done anything too significant to cause this), but I can definitely say I never had this problem a few weeks back...

 

[bstepchin]

rundll32 fix

Hello everyone,

I spent countless hours trying to figure out how to fix the issue with rundll popping up after starting a game but the game wouldn't start and would eat up resources. I finally found something that worked twice, so I thought it may be worth mentioning. I don't know why or how, but for some reason, when you install a program called "Rundll Errors Fix Wizard" (can be found at the following link: Rundll Errors Fix Wizard - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com), it rids your computer of the problem. The funny thing is you don't even have to run the program; you just install it, and the problem goes away. I still see no logical conclusion to this, but it worked for me, so maybe it will work for you too. Cheers!

 

[Nintendork]

Oh god, it worked.

Dunno what the real issue is beyond this, but the cnet app worked.

 

[pauljagnew]

I have run the "Rundll fix wizard" from CNET and I am still being killed by "runaway" rundll32 processes. I am not even running games, just some Java IDE stuff, and mind mapping piece of software. I have cleaned my reg, I have scanned for mal-ware. I still have to re-boot every 30 mins or so. This must be because the 32bit software does not play nice with the 64bit architecture... This issue really needs to be escalated. This is a major issue with windows 7.

 

[pauljagnew]

Well I have a fix for the RUNDLL32.exe issue. Don't run explorer 32bit on your 64bit machine. Use Firefox, or some other browser. If you do run explorer on your machine kill the rundll32.exe process (both of them because they always seem to spawn 2). Some of you might be asking why are you 32bit explorer...try running youtube on 64bit or running BBC's radio player on 64bit and see what happens.

 

[amirajdhawan]

Solution

I had the same problem for 6 months finally i found a method by which all my 32 bit games started working flawlessly....
Step 1: Open Games Explorer
Step 2: Click on Option in top bar
Step 3: Check "Never cheeck online" Option
Step 4: Uncheck "Download art & information" & also uncheck "collect most recently played game info"
Step 5: Click OK & close Games explorer
Step 6: Right click on the exe file of the game & go to properties & in compatibility mode select windows xp sp2 & check option disable desktop composure & disable visual themes & check run as administrator
Step 7: In same menu go to Security tab & in groups or user names panel select Administrators & click OK
Step 8: Run the file
Step 9: Sit back & enjoy....

Note: for some games, some files like launcher.exe etc also had to be set the same way as for the main exe file from which the game starts.

If it works do comment...

 

[Ubeogesh]

the following worked for me:
1) Run services.msc
2) Stop and disable BITS (Background intelligent transfer service)

Just disabling options from games explorer didn't help (maybe its because i run built-in administrator account?)

 

[City Hunter]

Hi there
I had the same problem but I found the location of rundll32.exe by task manager &
deleted it by tuneup 2011 shredder.Now I have problems with many of my software &
I can't run the old game(Scarface:The World Is Yours).
The problems started here,when I wanted to run the game,
Rundll32.exe appeared with over 60% cpu usage & I did a huge mistake by thinking that must be a malware....& deleting it.
I can't restore my windows though,because I turned it off & I don't have a restore point.
So what can I do to restore the Runddll32.exe(it is strange that when I search,there are various Rundll32 s & there is one in system32)
plz help solving my problem,thanks.

 

[City Hunter]

No one is helping?

 

[seekermeister]

I don't know if I can help or not, but I can offer some thoughts. The first is the most obvious...look in the trash, and see if you can restore it. I doubt that is likely, so the next step would be to run a system restore to a point just prior to deleting the file. If that isn't possible, try this:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/42776-extract-files-windows-7-installation-dvd.html?ltr=E

If still no joy, then do a repair install.

EDIT: After rereading your post...forget about looking in the trash.

 

[xrmauk]

had same problem with d2d games warcraft ii in this case.
the workaround i use now is:

open iso folder in virtual drive
copy the file install.exe
open location of game on disk (c:\program files(x86)\etc)
paste the install.exe in the installation folder
execute game using the install exe

why rundll does not runaway when i do it this way?

also, with aero themes there can be a display conflict, so i
execute using the following batch script

@echo off
@taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
@gamename.exe
@echo to return to windows
@pause
@Start explorer.exe

note /f forces kill /im specifies image as it appears it taskmgr
script should be written in NOTEPAD and saved in installation folder as
.bat
when game closes, select cmd window which will be open, hit any key

 

[Ubeogesh]

I was experiencing this problem and found a workaround recently. Try renaming the game's executable. Will not work for all games.
I renamed Oblivion.exe to Oblivion1.exe and that worked
But when I renamed jk2sp.exe (Jedi Outcast game, Q3 engine) to something else -- game failed to launch. Looks like gamedepends on executable name...

 

[xrmauk]

oblivion should be launched thru the launcher anyway.
if it is modded, many techniques recommend launching
thru an erstwhile proxy

 

[Hermest]

Well, I have run into this problem quite a lot of times by now, as I like older games. The most convenient solution to this problem is to simply open the game in a different account. Anyway, the rundll32.exe problem seems to be account specific, so the quickest way to solve the problem is to create a new account, or just enable the guest account and launch the game from there.

P.S. The problem tend to reoccur from time to time, forcing you to create then another account, (I have a one year old windows installation and I'm having my 3rd account) so I would suggest the creation of a gaming account to avoid further inconvenience. Note that some games have a folder in your "documents" directory, which contains savedgames and settings, so you may want to copy that into your new account as well.

 

[xrmauk]

works great.
most curious. obviously there is a conflict with the "digital clutter"
that can be inherent in the administrator acct. don't know when
i might find (stumble over) the operant issues, but more study
is in order. btw, i only experience this type of issue when
running on battery.

note to Ubeogesh:
with respect to changing names, dll and other calls may be
restricted to fixed titles via the registry (perfectly possible)
and registry conflicts are always a way for dll's to get caught
in a loop (see hermest above).

 

[Ubeogesh]

Hi there everyone

I've had struggling with this problem for quite long

Here is the solution: Software hints from newbie windows-geek: RESOLVE IT FINALLY! Game Explorer AKA rundll32.exe problem with Games!

I swear it works on Win 7 x64 ultimate and quite sure it will work on other modifications

 

[Ubeogesh]

Well, I have run into this problem quite a lot of times by now, as I like older games. The most convenient solution to this problem is to simply open the game in a different account. Anyway, the rundll32.exe problem seems to be account specific, so the quickest way to solve the problem is to create a new account, or just enable the guest account and launch the game from there.

P.S. The problem tend to reoccur from time to time, forcing you to create then another account, (I have a one year old windows installation and I'm having my 3rd account) so I would suggest the creation of a gaming account to avoid further inconvenience. Note that some games have a folder in your "documents" directory, which contains savedgames and settings, so you may want to copy that into your new account as well.

Separate account for gaming is OK if you don't have any game saves in your current users folder. Don't forget to find and move them.
I was thinking of such solution but never tried it because I was lazy to move game saves of some games. And that's not very convenient to right click and "run as" and then inputting the account every time

 

[xrmauk]

O. FREAKIN K.

using a guest account does work (seems to be temporary)
renaming the exe does work (bypasses game explorer & gameux.dll)
renaming gameux.dll should work.
the culprit IS game explorer, which invokes gameux.dll
which tries to connect to the internet to update game
files etc. there does not appear to be a failure limit
in the routine, so that the game will never start until
gameux.dll can connect. unchecking update options
in game explorer is NOT effective in all cases.

i have had success with a wrinkle no one else
has mentioned. DO NOT INSTALL ANY 3RD PARTY SOFTWARE
IN EITHER OF THE PROGRAM FILE FOLDERS.
install to committed folders on c drive.
my example: c:\games\dune2000
although the game still appears in game explorer,
the game starts immediately, and no rundll hang.
oh, and i made sure my wifi radio was off and
out of range in one case.
any takers?