Desktop Connector Fails to Start with TCP Error

[swfaust]

My desktop connector no longer starts for some reason.  It has been doing it for a while but I haven't needed it and haven't had time to mess with it... now I need it so time to figure out what's wrong.

Whenever I try to start it it just says 'Starting' for several minutes and then gives me the attached TCP error.  I have tried updating DC to the latest version (12.4.0.985) and fully uninstalling and reinstalling.  I did have an old A360 connector installed so I also uninstalled that, restarted the machine, and installed DC.  I also this:

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/bim-360/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Socket...

That seems to be the error I'm getting, but I don't have any type of nat that I'm aware of.  I just have a WIFI connection to my router which connects to the internet through a broadband modem; pretty standard home setup.  It also hasn't changed for a long time so I don't know why that would have started not working...

So how do I get desktop connector back functional?

[renata.demuro]

Hi @swfaust, 

My name is Renata and I'm happy to troubleshoot with you! I know you mentioned you have already tried uninstalling and reinstalling Desktop Connector, but I'd like to try a "clean uninstall." let's try performing a clean uninstall of the application: 

1. First, uninstall the application through the Windows Control Panel. 
2. Then delete the following folders: 
   1. C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Local\Autodesk\Desktop Connector
   2. C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Local\Autodesk\Web Services\DesktopConnector
3. Then delete the following registry keys (be advised that it is recommended to first export out or 'save' a copy of the current registry before deleting or modifying any keys):
   1. HKEY_CURRENT_USER>SOFTWARE>Autodesk>Autodesk Desktop Connector
   2. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>SOFTWARE>Autodesk>Desktop Connector
4. After the above items are removed, restart the computer.
5. For the final step, please install the latest version of Desktop Connector here. 

Let me know the results of the above steps! If they don't work, it would be great to have screenshots of any of the error messages you're receiving and we can continue investigating. Thanks!

[swfaust]

No change unfortunately.  I uninstalled through Windows.  Once I did the first folder and first registry entry you specified were already gone but I deleted the others.  I then restarted the machine.  I downloaded the installer from your link (pretty sure it's the same I already had but downloaded again to be sure).  I installed it which it said it did successfully, then it tried to start and I got the same error.  I did capture the error message and post it here although it's the same as the last one.

Edit: Sorry I thought I had attached a screen shot of the original error but apparently I didn't...  It's the same as attached to this reply.

[swfaust]

It does give me the opportunity to submit an error report which I have done.  Let me know if it would be helpful to send any of the dump data to a specific place...

[swfaust]

Any other ideas here?

[renata.demuro]

Hi @swfaust, 

Yes, I've got something else for you to try! Does the rest of the error you receive mention "IP Endpoint=0.0.0.0:51001"? If not, can you please copy and paste the full error message you are receiving? 

If it does end in "IP Endpoint=0.0.0.0:51001," this is an error message related to the SkyFontsService. You'll want to disable this service by:

1. Type msconfig.exe in the Windows search and press Enter.
2. In the System Configuration dialog, click on the Services tab.
3. Scroll up/down the list to locate the service (SkyFontsService).
4. Deselect the check box next to the service and click the Apply button.
5. Click OK to close.
6. Restart the system for the changes to take effect.
7. Retry downloading Desktop Connector. 

There are a few other software services that are known to conflict with Desktop Connector and if SkyFonts isn't it for you, you can see the other software services listed out here: Desktop Connector Support. Look under "Known Conflicting Software" and follow steps 1-7 above. 

Let me know if disabling any of these software services does the trick!

[swfaust]

Unfortunately I don't know how it ends and I don't think I have a way to find out.  The screen shots show the error as it comes up in the windows 'bubble' notifications that are listed in the side panel.  There is no way to expand it and when I click on it it just goes away and leaves me with nothing.

I followed your steps but sky fonts was not listed and I could not find any trace of the other ones listed on that page either.  I also tried searching installed programs for all of them and couldn't find any.  I do have an NVidia card but I'm not using nview, plus according to your page that's just a display issue with a dialog not a crash...

[swfaust]

Any other thoughts?

[renata.demuro]

Hi @swfaust, 

I have not forgotten you or this issue! I am following up with some senior Desktop Connector people to get their thoughts. It would be really great to get the full error message to help narrow down troubleshooting. I believe that if you ignore the error message when it first happens, it should then hang around in the notification/action center. Can you give that a shot and see if you can access the full error message that way? 

Thanks! 

[swfaust]

It's truncated the same way in the notifications tray and I see no way to expand it.  Add soon as I click anywhere on it it goes away permanently. 

[renata.demuro]

Hi @swfaust, 

Thank you for your continued patience while I search for a solution for you! One of my teammates led a class at Autodesk University around Desktop Connector and common issues. She directed me to her presentation here and she specifically recommended checking out Page 35 of her handout to see if using the Netstat command could resolve your issue: Setting Up and Using Desktop Connector with BIM 360 Docs. 

Can you please try following the steps outlined there and let me know if they resolve your issue? Thank you in advance for letting me know! 

[swfaust]

Sorry but it doesn't.  I ran the netstat command and unsurprisingly I don't see DC in the file; it's not running because I can't get it to start.  I also looked through and didn't find any conflicting ports that are in the range given.  If you want I would be happy to send the text file to you guys but would rather not post it here for security reasons.  I also ran the handle command and found no reference to desktop connector (again, it's not running as it won't start).  

Next I tried to start it and ran the netstat command.  It pulled up the error but I left it there until netstat finished so it would technically be running for netstat to get it.  This time I did get an entry for DC that looked like this:

 [DesktopConnector.Applications.Tray.exe]
  TCP    127.0.0.1:49173        kubernetes:12342       TIME_WAIT
  TCP    127.0.0.1:49668        kubernetes:49669       ESTABLISHED
 [bdservicehost.exe]
  TCP    127.0.0.1:49669        kubernetes:49668       ESTABLISHED

I included the entry after it as there seems to be some cross over of the numbers, not sure if that's significant.  The port numbers there do not match the handout in that presentation, not sure if that is significant either.  The process is part of BitDefender that I have installed.

Hopefully that is helpful.  As mentioned I can send you all the text file outputs from these runs if you let me know where to send them.  Thank you for your help.

[swfaust]

Ok well.... I don't know what happened but it's working now...  I restarted my machine (which I have done at least 4 or 5 times in this process) and when it loaded back up DC came up with the welcome dialog and started and now I can see my BIM360 drives...  I haven't done anything since the last restart except the items from the handout and if I understand correctly those are just reporting tools and don't change anything...

Anyway, very confused on what happened but it's working.  If it goes back to not working I'll let you know.

[renata.demuro]

Hi @swfaust , 

Well I'm certainly glad Desktop Connector is functional for you again! Maybe following the instructions from the previous post AND the restart are what did the trick? I'll be sure to test that if I see this issue occur again. 

Thanks again for you patience throughout this process and willingness to try different approaches. Definitely let me know if Desktop Connector stops running for you again. My fingers are crossed that it will be smooth sailing for you going forward :). 

[OmegaRogue]

I have the same problem, there is nothing binding ports 51001-51010, there are no results in netstat -ab for “DesktopConnector.Applications.Tray.exe or the port range 51001-51010, this is the output of 

handle.exe net.pipe > netpipehandles.txt:

IAStorDataMgrSvc.exe pid: 25152  type: Section        638: \BaseNamedObjects\net.pipe:EbmV0LnBpcGU6Ly8rL1BVQkxJU0hFUi8=

FileSystemMonitor.WindowsService.exe pid: 15620  type: Section        89C: \BaseNamedObjects\net.pipe:EbmV0LnBpcGU6Ly8rL0FVVE9ERVNLL0ZJTEVTWVNURU1NT05JVE9SU0VSVklDRS8=

Is it possible that it's just Hyper-V being weird and binding alot more ports than it needs and would this https://github.com/docker/for-win/issues/3171#issuecomment-459205576  with

netsh int ipv4 add excludedportrange protocol=tcp startport=51001 numberofports=10

instead of

netsh int ipv4 add excludedportrange protocol=tcp startport=50051 numberofports=1

fix it?

[joeldf95]

I know this is over a year old, but I'm only only now getting this error at startup.  It does end with ""IP Endpoint=0.0.0.0:51001,".  I checked for "SkyFontService" but I have no such service running.

I'm on Window 10 Pro 21H1, and have been on this since building this machine 4 and a half months ago.  But this problem only started last week.  After a few reboots, it solved itself and ran fine the rest of the week until this morning.  Tried just rebooting several times, but it isn't working this time... so far.

Dealing with all those net commands seems a bit much for the average PC user to deal with.  Maybe Autodesk could change something about the Connector?

[joeldf95]

Just rebooted again and screen grabbed the error message...

[joeldf95]

Quick follow up.

I removed "Windows Sandbox" from the system, and that seemed to fix it.  I had installed it a couple weeks ago to fiddle with, but had no real use for it.  It didn't seem to interfere with the Desktop Connector initially, as I had initiated at least a few reboots after installing the Sandbox without conflict with the Connector.  But right after it was removed, and then a follow up reboot, Desktop Connector loaded up with no problem.