Server 2019 RemoteApp Splash Screen Stuck

[Stephen Kovacsiss]

Hello all,

We have been transitioning some of our remote servers from 2012 R2 or 2016 to 2019 when we recently saw this issue. We have an application that is installed on the server and published as a RemoteApp for the users. When the application launches, there is a Splash Screen that shows the version and information about the app while it is loading. As the Login dialog box for the app is opened, the Splash Screen is closed several seconds before it opens. The problem is that the Splash Screen is stuck on the screen. If the Advanced RemoteFX setting in Group Policy is active, the screen will remain in full and if it is disabled, it will leave a Black Box in the exact location that the Splash Screen had been. 

There is a thread on Technet about this and there are no answers or responses since May. This is exactly what we are also seeing.

https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsserver/en-US/f64d1d8b-b99b-4e22-95be-38da6ed8f33c...

Really do not want to have to pay Microsoft for an incident to get an answer as to why this is not working as it does in 2012 R2 and 2016 without any issues. The version of 2019 is Version 1809 Build 17763.529.

Thank you,

Stephen

[#2]

Has no one else seen this happening or is no one in this community using 2019 and Remote Apps?

[#3]

I am using RemoteApps in Windows Server 2019 but i'm not using RemoteFX. Tbh i thought that technology was replaced by DDA (Discrete Device Assignment).
can I know what GPU you are using and what application is having that issue?

[#4]

@HotCakeX these are virtuals running on T3 instances at AWS EC2. DDA seems to be for graphic intensive applications that can use a GPU for better performance with graphics using a PCI Express connected device.

The application is our Windows application that we host for some of our customers called Micro Key Millennium that we develop in house. In the link to the TechNet thread, there are people seeing the same issue with Acrobat Reader, so it is in general happening with most applications that have a splash screen.  

[#5]

I had the splash-screen "hanging" issue too and found that as a workaround I copied the C:\Windows\System32\rdpshell.exe from a 2016 server over to my 2019 server and the issue went away. You have to take ownership of the file on the 2019 before you can delete it or rename it if you want to keep it around for back up.

My 2019 file version was 10.0.17763.404

The 2016 version I replaced it with was 10.0.14393.2828

Hope this helps those who would like to stick with 2019 until a fix is made from Microsoft.

@Stephen Kovacsiss 

[#6]

@RyeDMScould you share that rdpshell.exe please? I'm desperatly trying to find a workaround for this but don't have access to a 2016 server.

[#7]

Did you find a way to fix this@Stephen Kovacsiss

I am still getting it on the newest updates as of today 

[#8]

Having the same issue as well. Been looking for a solution over the last year now.

[#9]

@ryan123615 I have not seen a resolution from Microsoft. We changed our application to remove the splash screen as we had no way around it. It is a bit ridiculous that there has not been any solutions to this.

[#10]

Us too, as noted we had to remove the Splash from our app. I guess that Microsoft does not read these.

[#11]

@jtoews559 

@Stephen Kovacsiss 

I found a sort of workaround.

i used the remote app for windows 10 here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/microsoft-remote-desktop/9wzdncrfj3ps?activetab=pivot:overviewtab

I also had to update the RDP server to use html5 for the RD gateway, sorry i can't find my link to that but it was a few lines of PS

The splash screen doesn't show up anymore but it does mean you have to use Win10 and use the app.

It's not a fix, it's a completely different way of doing it, hope that helps

[#12]

@ryan123615the problem with that is the RemoteApp is very limited in what one can do. You can't redirect local resources for example...

[#13]

@JFerreira  - That is the reason I'm not able to use it in my environment.

I have also found that if I disable Remotefx, the stuck screen goes away... But then It creates these weird boarders that are sometimes partial borders around the application.

Really wish there was a fix for this. Are you guy's RDS servers on VM's. I'm starting to wonder if this only happens with VM's and not on physical RDS servers.

[#14]

@JFerreira 

What are you doing to work around the local resources issue and splash screen then?

seems like your stuck between a rock and a hard place...

[#15]

Im using physical servers less than a year old.
Same with my older RDS servers that are running 2012 R2 but they don't have the splash screen issue.

[#16]

I'm not 😞

That said I've carried on two tests.

1) on Server 2016 this issue doesn't seem to happen
2) the company who's in charge of our servers did "some changes" (they didn't want to say what) which seems to workaround well (haven't tested much but as far as I can see the issue is gone)

Again, they didn't said what changes they have made but all I could find was they disabled " use hardware graphics adapter for all remote desktop services sessions" on gpedit

[#17]

@jtoews559 yes disabling RemoteFX does that but apparently the other option I've mentioned doesn't

[#18]

Disabling the RemoteFX does not solve it, there is a black box as the outline of the splash screen left behind. I would have to look at the Hardware Graphics to see if does anything, although our Virtual machines are only using a default video driver, not any high end video interfaces.

[#19]

@Stephen Kovacsiss 

same for me, it doesn't fix the issue

[#20]

Disabling hardware acceleration didn't do anything for me. Though looking at the GP disabled and not configured would do the same thing in my enviornment.