RPC server is unavailable / could not start DHCP Client

I've been tasked with restoring a laptop running W11 (22631.3155) that has the dreaded RPC server unavailable error, meaning that it can't assign IPs for its network connection either manually or using DHCP.

I first tried sfc and dism, which reported errors. After no small effort I managed to get dism /restorehealth to work by getting online by configuring a wifi network to use IPs that match the default IP that the laptop wanted to use. (169.254.xxx.xxx). (Don't get me started on all the attempts to download an installation ISO that claimed to be build 22631 but were actually 22621 #FFS)

But still the RPC error persists. I've tried all the advice I could find online, including checking the status of various services, booting into safe mode, checking various registry entries, creating a different user.

The smoking gun I found is that the DHCP client is not running. I attempted to start it and got "Error 5: Access is denied". I tried the registry permissions modifications on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE->SYSTEM->CurrentControlSet->Services->Dhcp as described here: DHCP won't start : Error 5 but no improvement.

Can anyone suggest what the next step might be?

You can also perform in-place upgrade of Windows 11. In-place upgrade is to use to replace the current operating system files on your computer. Unlike a clean installation of Windows, you can start a Windows in-place upgrade when your OS is still running. And an in-place upgrade can keep your files, settings, & apps during the upgrade process. You can perform a Windows 11 in-place upgrade is to use the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool. Make sure to select Upgrade this PC now and click Next. Follow the on-screen guide to perform a Windows 11 in-place upgrade.

Thanks @FreeBooter for the suggestion. Unfortunately (though in my experience hardly surprisingly) the in-place update failed with error code 0xC1900101 - 0x30018 The installation failed in the FIRST_BOOT phase with an error during SYSPREP_SPECIALIZE operation.

An error that begins with 0xC1900101 is usually a driver error.

Disable or remove all 3rd party antivirus or antispyware from your system. Disconnect all peripheral devices that are connected to the system, except for the mouse, keyboard and display.


Contact your hardware vendor to obtain updated device drivers.