Smallvoid.com
  • Home
  • About
  • Articles
  • Links
  • Forum

Program Compatibility Assistant Service

July 17, 2007 by Snakefoot | 4 Comment

Description:
Provides support for the Program Compatibility Assistant. If this service is stopped, the Program Compatibility Assistant will not function properly. If this service is disabled, any services that depend on it will fail to start.

The Program Compatibility Assistant (PCA) detects when an older program has compatibility problems, and then automatically tries to apply the proper compatibility settings:
  • User Account Protection (UAP) might block an application from working properly as it requires Administrator rights. PCA will automatically elevate the application if needed and display the UAP prompt.
  • If an application tries to install an unsigned driver on 64 bit Windows, then PCA will disable the driver automatically as Windows will not load if an unsigned driver is detected.
If the PCA cannot determine the needed settings, then it will prompt the user for what action to take. More Info MS Windows Help - Program Compatibility Assistant FAQ.
Recommended state:
  • Automatic
Default State:
  • Automatic
Proces name:
  • svchost.exe -k LocalSystemNetworkRestricted (PcaSvc)
Supports:
  • none
Depends:
  • Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
Tags:
  • application-compatibility, user-account-protection
Category:
  • Services Guide,
  • Services Guide,
  • Services Guide

Comments:

  1. Bill Whitfield says:
    18 April 2010 at 18:02

    I have an old version of Windows XP and lately the Programm Compatibility Assistant has been coming on, when I go on sites like YouTube, saying I have to download a codec, downloads it, then redirects the website to another, and wanting me to buy a whole codec program, then the whole website freezes and I have use the Task Asst to shut the window. Sometimes it does it to emails also. Help!

    Reply
  2. DT says:
    4 May 2010 at 21:26

    Bill, I have the same problem. It's only recently come on my XP computer. The Program Compatibility Assistant comes up with IE and Windows Explorer, but it only crases IE. It tells you to click on the button to go to Microsoft, but when you click to find the codec, it takes you to a non Microsoft site called totalcodec.com - looks dodgy to say the least.

    Does anyone know how to fix this?

    Reply
  3. Ian M says:
    9 May 2010 at 1:47

    The exact same thing you both descirbe has also happened to me. I noticed that it only started occuring after I contracted the "Desktop Security 2010" virus. After successfully removing it, the message started popping up everytime I tried using youtube in Internet Explorer. Since this, I've started using Firefox instead to watch youtube videos. It's quite annoying to say the least. I also have a "Windows Live" folder that is now automatically popping up at start-up. I'm assuming that this is all related to the virus and the codec pop-up. This is extremely annoying. Does anyone know how to disable this?

    Here is a link to someone who sounds like they know computers much better than I do:

    http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100504204308AAJVKk2

    Reply
  4. Sam L says:
    23 June 2010 at 0:01

    Ian, I am having the same problem. Have you found a solution yet?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts

  • Interactive Services Detection
  • ActiveX Installer (AxInstSV)
  • Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol Service
  • Windows Media Center Extender Service
  • Problem Reports and Solutions Control Panel Support

Recent Posts

  • Disable IPv6 imaginary tunnel network interfaces
  • Encrypted backup to OneDrive or DropBox
  • Description of soft and hard page faults
  • Windows 10 Upgrade with black screen
  • Wordpress 4.2 Upgrade

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed