Windows 10: "Windows host process (Rundll32)" causing hourglass to flash every 5s

Discus and support "Windows host process (Rundll32)" causing hourglass to flash every 5s in Windows 10 Support to solve the problem; Windows 10 Pro 1909 Freshly installed less than a week ago. Noticed that every 5 seconds the blue circle or hourglass (depending on mouse pointer... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Support' started by glaucus1, Feb 1, 2020.

  1. glaucus1 Win User

    "Windows host process (Rundll32)" causing hourglass to flash every 5s


    Windows 10 Pro 1909

    Freshly installed less than a week ago. Noticed that every 5 seconds the blue circle or hourglass (depending on mouse pointer size) would flash. Tried uninstalling a bunch of recently installed programs including some built-in programs included with Windows that I wasn't using. Tried killing a bunch of processes. No success. Disabled all non-Microsoft services and all Startup items (including the Microsoft ones), and the problem went away.

    I narrowed it down to a Startup item from Microsoft called "Windows host process (Rundll32)." Enabling all services and Startup items while leaving this one disabled fixes problem. Enabling this one item while disabling all other Startup items and services brings the problem back.

    Trying to figure out what is wrong with Windows host process (Rundll32), it seems like it is probably not the problem in and of itself but is simply an intermediary for something else that is causing the problem. I found a recommendation to run "Autoruns" to see what is behind it. I have no idea what I'm looking for in "Autoruns." There's nothing listed anywhere that obviously matches "Windows host process (Rundll32)." Otherwise, the "Logon" tab seems to roughly match the other items in the Startup list. So if I go through all of the items on the "Logon" tab, and I see that there are some "n/a" entries that seem to be 32 and 64 bit versions of "mscories.dll," and if I click on them the details mention the 32 and 64 bit versions of Rundll32.exe. Searching for info on "mscories.dll" seems to suggest it is related to .NET framework which is again most likely just another middleman for whatever is the real culprit.

    At this point, I have no idea what to do next. This rabbit hole is super deep, and it seems to be one middleman after another. Having the hourglass or blue circle flash every 5 seconds is something I cannot unsee now that I've seen it, and it is extremely distracting.

    :)
     
    glaucus1, Feb 1, 2020
    #1
  2. DaveM121 Win User

    Windows host process rundll32 running 19 instances

    That is certainly not normal, you will need to find out what processes are running on rundll32.exe

    Rundll32 is just a host for other processes to run, to find out exactly what is running on this process, Click HERE to download the free ProcessExplorer
    from TechNet

    The app will download in a zip file (approx 1.84mb), unzip it and run the appropriate version (32bit or 64bit) for your system by right clicking the exe and choosing 'Run as Administrator'

    You’ll want to choose File - Show Details for All Processes to make sure that you’re seeing everything

    Hover over the rundll32.exe in the list, you’ll see a tooltip with the details of what it actually is:


    "Windows host process (Rundll32)" causing hourglass to flash every 5s 46b7762b-f570-4f67-91d6-cdbc93658a92.png


    Alternatively you can right-click, choose Properties

    Then take a look at the Image tab to see the full pathname that is being launched

    You can see the Parent process, which in this case is the Windows shell (explorer.exe), indicating that it was likely launched from a shortcut or startup item.


    "Windows host process (Rundll32)" causing hourglass to flash every 5s 5cbd5aa3-2611-42a6-887d-265e98758083.png


    In general, processes running on rundll32.exe can be stopped from running when Windows starts up as follows:

    • Press Windows + R keys together to open the run dialog
    • Type msconfig and hit enter
    • On the Startup Tab will be a list of processes that start with Windows
    • Check the box marked Hide all Microsoft Services'
    • Look down through the remaining list for items containing 'rundll32'
    • If you find any erroneous entries, uncheck them . . .
    • BE CAREFUL not to uncheck items like nVidia items which sometimes use rundll32


    "Windows host process (Rundll32)" causing hourglass to flash every 5s a2575ab0-bcc0-4c79-abbd-5f502fa66ace.jpg
     
    DaveM121, Feb 1, 2020
    #2
  3. Windows host process (Rundll32) has stopped working

    Ran all of the above malware removal tools for Windows 10. "Windows host process (Rundll32) has stopped working" error message only occurs when I try to view jpegs in Windows Photo Viewer. How can I restore my ability to view jpegs?
     
    bayareauser, Feb 1, 2020
    #3
  4. "Windows host process (Rundll32)" causing hourglass to flash every 5s

    Hundreds of "Windows host process (Rundll32)"

    For a while now, if I look at my Task Manager, I'm greeted with literally hundreds of "Windows host process (Rundll32)" processes. They all only take up 0% CPU, 0.2-0.3 MB of Memory, 0 MB/s Disk, and 0 Mbps Network each. They also all come from "C:\Windows\System32".
    Restarting my computer doesn't work either. My computer works completely fine with all these processes running, but it's still cluttering my Task Manager and taking up a few hundred MB of my memory out of 16GB of memory.

    Imgur

    Though, is there any way to fix this. Also, what's causing this to happen in the first place?

    ***Post moved by the moderator to the appropriate forum topic.***
     
    Little Whispers, Feb 1, 2020
    #4
Thema:

"Windows host process (Rundll32)" causing hourglass to flash every 5s

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