Error 1783: The stub received bad data

This article helps fix the error 1783 that occurs when you open Services.msc.

Applies to:   Windows Server 2012 R2
Original KB number:   2028588

Symptoms

When you open Services.msc, you may get the following error:

The system encountered the following error while reading the list of services on:
Error 1783: The stub received bad data

Accessing Services remotely may yield the same error. You may be able to Start and Stop the services using sc start and sc stop commands.

Cause

The number of services installed has exceeded the size limit of the Services.msc buffer. This buffer is limited to 256 kb of data.

Resolution

Reduce the Number of Services. You can do this by:

1. Uninstall unneeded software that includes services (recommended).

2. Uninstall unneeded services manually:

   1. Go to Registry Editor.
   2. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services Key.
   3. Back up the Services registry key and remove unwanted keys to reduce the number of items.