SOLVED

Windows Server 2022 App Compatibility FOD breaks Remote Desktop

Brass Contributor

When installing the App Compatibility FOD on Windows Server 2022, Remote Desktop connections to the server seem to be no longer possible. I think this is a bug, but haven't found any other reports. Can someone confirm?

 

How to reproduce:

  • Install Windows Server 2022 Standard Core (physical and virtual installs are equally affected).
  • In SConfig, enable Remote Desktop.
  • Connect to the server via Remote Desktop using the default 'Administrator' account. Works fine.
  • Install the App Compatibility FOD and reboot:

 

Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name ServerCore.AppCompatibility~~~~0.0.1.0
Restart-Computer

 

  • Try establishing a Remote Desktop connection again. Doesn't work. You either get a blank screen or get disconnected immediately.
  • Install all applicable Windows Updates and try again. No change.
  • Remove the App Compatibility FOD and reboot:

 

Remove-WindowsCapability -Online -Name ServerCore.AppCompatibility~~~~0.0.1.0
Restart-Computer​

 

  • Try again. Remote Desktop functionality is now restored.

This did work fine in Server 2019.

32 Replies

@sysadminRiga yes, same situation. I have hybrid ambients, some with Desktop Experience, some with Server Core. With Desktop, no problems, RDP works fine...but with AppCompatibility, RDP crashs

@mauricewalker  l'd like to add as well how horrible of a choice it was to force us to use a Feedback Hub app for bug reporting.  Come on Microsoft.

At last Microsoft have acknowledged the problem and promised a fix in a 'future' cumulative update.
Let's hope the 'future' is measured in weeks or months and not years.
Thanks @ticktok for letting us know. Can you provide a link to Microsoft's statement?
KB5008353: Releasing Windows 11 Build 22000.466 to Beta and Release Preview Channels

"We fixed an issue that causes a remote desktop protocol (RDP) session to disconnect or the screen to be blank for Server Core. This issue occurs when you install the AppCompat feature."

Let's hope this fix will be publicly available for Windows Server 2022 soon.

https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/01/14/releasing-windows-11-build-22000-466-to-beta-an...

Issue is now fixed with the CU released yesterday, KB5009608, build 20348.502.
I have tested it on 3 vms, all of which are WS2022 core based, with app compat FOD.
I can connect to them fine with RDP! :)

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/january-25-2022-kb5009608-os-build-20348-502-preview-54285... 

  • Addresses an issue that causes a remote desktop protocol (RDP) session to disconnect or the screen to be blank for Server Core. This issue occurs when you install the AppCompat feature.

Great to hear! How did you install the update? Can't see it in Windows Update using WAC.
Well in my case it was clearly time consuming as the update is not available through WSUS/MECM.
I imported manually KB5009608 to WSUS (with the almighty Internet Explorer, thanks to the activex control we still have to use to do that), then forced a sync of MECM (SCCM) so that it could recognize the update, then forced a check of the update on the servers, waited for them to report back to configuration manager (took about 1h i think?), then forced my Automatic Deployment Rule to execute, which downloaded and deployed the update to the appropriate collection.
I then forced another computer policy retrieval on the servers, which prompted the update to be waiting for installation, i proceeded, rebooted and voilà! :grinning_face_with_sweat:
On another server though it was deployed using WU without doing anything, so it was as easy as going to sconfig, and selecting "6" then "1". I have yet to use WAC in a broad scale, another thing on my growing todolist!
I guess if you don't have it showing up in WU/WAC, you can install it manually, by downloading it from catalog (it is indeed available there, i checked), then extracting the update cab from the msu file you downloaded, then copying the cab to the servers you want to update, then executing (cmd with admin rights) from the folder where your copied the cab :
dism /online /add-package /packagepath:Windows10.0-KB5009608-x64.cab
This should work!
Thanks a lot for the detailed instructions!
I think I'll just wait until it becomes available via WU then. :grinning_face:
best response confirmed by mauricewalker (Brass Contributor)
Solution

This is now fixed in OS Build 20348.524 (KB5010354), available from Windows Update since February 8, 2022.