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Symptoms can varyOn the horizon administrator console, errors around the agent availability status may include: agent unreachable starting other agentsconfiguration error Inspecting a Virtual Machine with this error, In Device Manager, you will see in System Devices, the VMware Session Monitor driver is listed with the yellow exclamation icon, and the General tab in the Properties shows the following status: This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device (Code 31) {Operation Failed} The requested operation was unsuccessful. Checking the windows event logs it reports this driver and some others failing to load. "Warning","219","09/08/2023 08:57:46","Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-PnP","212","NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM","The driver \Driver\WUDFRd failed to load for the device ROOT\VMWUSM\0000." "Warning","219","09/08/2023 08:57:46","Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-PnP","212","NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM","The driver \Driver\WUDFRd failed to load for the device ROOT\VMWVIDD\0000." Sample Screenshot:Within the Horizon Agent Log, you may see logging similar to the below:Location of Horizon (VDM) log files (1027744)vdm-inst-logs/setupapi.dev.log : {Device Removal Initiated by Policy Change [ROOT\VMWUSM\0000]} Section start 2023/09/08 11:56:55.453 dvi: {Restarting Devices} 11:56:55.562 dvi: Start: ROOT\VMWUSM\0000 !!! dvi: Device not started: Device has problem: 0x0a (CM_PROB_FAILED_START), problem status: 0xc0000182. Horizon Agent Debug Logging: 2023-05-25T15:55:59.271+08:00 WARN (03C0-0658) <1624> [wsnm_desktop] Failed to open Session Monitor, status unexpected, error=2. Windows Session Tracker watcher will retry in 10 seconds 2023-05-25T07:07:29.077+02:00 WARN (0BB4-18B4) <KsmWinlogonNotifForwarder> [ws_sm] Failed to open KSM status 5, error: 31. Retrying in 10 seconds
To highlight a scenario and the possible causes for this service start-up failure.
Causes can vary and include but is not limited to the below common causes - resource or guest o/s issues that could impact a service could equally impact this. Corrupt State due to Incomplete Windows Update The machine has just finished Windows Update, but instead of selecting the “Update and Restart” option, the user (or a custom reboot script provided by the system administrator) simply executes the “Restart” option. Then, after Windows has completed restarting, the user (or an automation script provided by the system administrator) proceeds to upgrade Horizon Agent. At this point, since it has not completed its update process, Windows is still in a transitory state. As a result, the Horizon Agent Installer cannot overwrite some files, thus placing itself also in a transitory state from which it cannot recover. The outcome is Windows will not recognize the new VMware Session Monitor driver as a valid driver and will not load the driver. Security Software The Agent virtual machine runs certain security software for specialized security measures, such as Data Loss Prevention. Such security software scans drivers loaded by Windows at startup. Under special circumstances, different processes in the same security software can take longer than expected to examine startup drivers, or simply prevents Windows from loading certain drivers. If that affects the VMware Session Monitor driver, this can prevent the Windows Session Monitor driver to be accessed by Windows, resulting in the driver not being loaded by Windows. The Windows Driver Foundation service is not ready at Bootup Since the VMware Session Monitor Driver is a user-mode driver, it has a dependency on the Windows Driver Foundation – User-Mode Driver Framework (UMDF). This is a Windows service that starts automatically at Windows bootup. In Windows 10 and newer, this service startup is not customizable. However, in older Windows Server versions, such as Windows Server 2012 R2, the user can change the UMDF service start-up type to manual, and if it is the case, the VMware Session Monitor Driver cannot be loaded.Device Installation Restrictions in Group Policy:Often, security policies may be configured to prevent the installation of certain devices and this can conflict with the VMware Session Monitor Driver.Disclaimer: VMware is not responsible for the reliability of any data, opinions, advice, or statements made on third-party websites.
For each root cause, there is a separate solution: Corrupt State due to Incomplete Windows Update Revert to a known good backup, complete the Windows Update, and then re-install Horizon Agent.Alternatively, the user can build a fresh base image.Please see the following upgrade recommendations:Update or upgrade VMware Horizon for Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating systems (2148176) Security Software Double-check to ensure the security software has been completely disabled. In some cases, even when the user has explicitly executed the menu option to stop the security software from running, some of the software’s processes are still running, especially for Data Loss Prevent (DLP) software.This may require engagement with your security solution vendor. The Windows Driver Foundation service is not started at Bootup. For Windows Server 2012 R2, check the Services console to ensure the Windows Driver Foundation – User-Mode Driver Framework (UMDF) service is started and set to Automatic.For other Windows versions, check to make sure the UMDF service is running in the background. Device Installation Restrictions in Group Policy: Ensure the drivers utilized by VMware Session Monitor are not restricted. Location:Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Device Installation > Device Installation Restrictions.Policies to Verify: Prevent installation of devices using drivers that match these device setup classes. Prevent installation of devices that match any of these device instance IDs Please reference Microsoft documentation for additional detail: Manage Device Installation with Group PolicyDisclaimer: VMware is not responsible for the reliability of any data, opinions, advice, or statements made on third-party website
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