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Just an Update Info

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Conrad Sallian, Support (Posts: 3061)
Oct 13, 2023 10:29:18 am EDT
It may not even be security software. This could be another type software. Is there any software or application common for all the Hosts that have issues starting/restarting?
Matthew Cooper, User (Posts: 42)
Oct 13, 2023 10:49:28 am EDT
I had considered this too. The security software running on our endpoints is varied. The majority run either Emsisoft [www.emsisoft.com] or Webroot [www.webroot.com].

We have a small number of machines that run customer choice software - Norton, TrendMicro and some with just plain Windows Defender.

I have created exceptions in Emsisoft and Webroot previously as a precaution, I did not see any change. With the other systems, I have not created any exceptions.

I have now updated all the servers [8] on a single site to the new 7.2.10 host and disabled the RUM. I have also enabled the local logging on these machines. I have not yet updated the self hosted server version. Does that need to be done in order to test the new version effectively?

Matthew
Conrad Sallian, Support (Posts: 3061)
Oct 13, 2023 11:18:18 am EDT

I have now updated all the servers [8] on a single site to the new 7.2.10 host and disabled the RUM.

Yes, please keep it disabled. Let's test one solution now. Please, unzip and run this script on the Host computer as administrator. You should get the following settings as a result (it's in the Remote Utilties - Host sevice properties):

Just an Update Info - 13 Oct 2023 11:03:50

Note: the script will work only if the Host is installed in the default folder, i.e. Program Files (x86). Also note that there's the parameter -restart added. In a nutshell, this modifies the Host restart process slightly by running a code (which has already been there since previous versions) by killing all running instances of rutserv before attempting the restart. We assume that this could have been the bottleneck and the reason why the Host couldn't restart properly even when you used the settings as on the screenshot.

Download set_config.zip

You can test this for a while on several Hosts - I also encourage anyone else to join the testing. If this resolves the problem we will include the fix in the very next update.

Answering your question about RU Server - it's not necessary, but it will do no harm if you upgrade the server, just in case.

Thanks.

UPD: Updated the script to also accomodate 32-bit versions of Windows.
Peter Gray, User (Posts: 51)
Oct 13, 2023 6:26:02 pm EDT
Support level: Starter
I have not noticed the problem with host service stopping, but I have several old slow machines where the host service does not reliably start on switch on or on reboot.  With some of these, I dare not do a reboot unless I am on site, so able to restart the host manually.
I have just run the script on one of these machines (while logged on remotely) and rebooted it after doing windows updates.  The machine has rebooted (I can ping it) but the host has not restarted.  I shall be there on site tomorrow, so can check  if the service properties are still changed according to the script.  It may be that the script should have been run while the host service was not running.
Matthew Cooper, User (Posts: 42)
Oct 13, 2023 7:09:51 pm EDT
Hi Conrad, am I correct in my interpretation that this script simply changes the parameters on the Recover tab for the RManService [Remote Utilities - Host]?

It looks as though it is setting the service to run rutserv.exe -restart on the first and second failure, and nothing on subsequent failures.

I had previously set these to 'Restart the Service' upon failure, with no effect.

Matthew
Shane Farmer, User (Posts: 5)
Oct 13, 2023 9:03:35 pm EDT
Support level: Free or trial
For me it starts after machine start and it will then stop working after 5 to 10 minutes.  I can restart the service, same issue.  It's one three machines.  All of them have this issue.  Since moving to one of the 7.x versions.  I will send logs next week as I just quite trying to use it after a year of no fixes.
Conrad Sallian, Support (Posts: 3061)
Oct 14, 2023 3:44:25 am EDT

Matthew Cooper wrote:

Hi Conrad, am I correct in my interpretation that this script simply changes the parameters on the Recover tab for the RManService [Remote Utilities - Host]?

It looks as though it is setting the service to run rutserv.exe -restart on the first and second failure, and nothing on subsequent failures.

I had previously set these to 'Restart the Service' upon failure, with no effect.

Matthew

Hi Matthew,

Yes, it is. But the point is that it now sets this -restart flag which triggers the code in the program that properly performs the restart. Of course, the script is just helper to set these settings, and we are only testing now. I recommend that you test this configuration for a while and see.
Conrad Sallian, Support (Posts: 3061)
Oct 14, 2023 3:46:15 am EDT

Shane Farmer wrote:

For me it starts after machine start and it will then stop working after 5 to 10 minutes.  I can restart the service, same issue.  It's one three machines.  All of them have this issue.  Since moving to one of the 7.x versions.  I will send logs next week as I just quite trying to use it after a year of no fixes.

Hello Shane,

The reason for stopping the service may well be of an external nature, it cannot just stop by itself. You should carefully check if there's no software (especially security software) that interferes with the host operation.
Conrad Sallian, Support (Posts: 3061)
Oct 14, 2023 3:46:58 am EDT

Peter Gray wrote:

I have not noticed the problem with host service stopping, but I have several old slow machines where the host service does not reliably start on switch on or on reboot.  With some of these, I dare not do a reboot unless I am on site, so able to restart the host manually.
I have just run the script on one of these machines (while logged on remotely) and rebooted it after doing windows updates.  The machine has rebooted (I can ping it) but the host has not restarted.  I shall be there on site tomorrow, so can check  if the service properties are still changed according to the script.  It may be that the script should have been run while the host service was not running.

Hello Peter,

What is the operating system on those machines?
Peter Gray, User (Posts: 51)
Oct 14, 2023 12:56:59 pm EDT
Support level: Starter
Hello Conrad

I have just run the script on one of these machines (while logged on remotely) and rebooted it after doing windows updates. The machine has rebooted (I can ping it) but the host has not restarted. I shall be there on site tomorrow, so can check if the service properties are still changed according to the script. It may be that the script should have been run while the host service was not running.

Hello Peter,

What is the operating system on those machines?

All my older machines are Windows 7, except one remaining working XP.  Not all of them have the startup issue.  The one I tested yesterday is W7

When I checked it this morning, the host service properties were still as modified bythe script, so running the script while the service was running was OK.

While looking at the host servicce properties I changes the Startup Type from Automatic to Automatic (Delayed Start), and then rebooted the machine.  This time the host service *did* start on re-boot.  So far I have only tried this once, on the one machine.  I plan to do the same change on the other slow machines.

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