Citrix Workspace crashes/disconnects after a few seconds of entering a virtual desktop

[Paul Dalby]

When opening a virtual desktop it boots up and then after a few seconds and after a few things like Skype have loaded it crashes when I first move the mouse/click on things.  I click on the desktop again it open up to the point of last crash and then crashes again.

 

I have confirmed this is only an issue when on my laptop:

Windows 10

AMD A8-6410 APU with AMD Radeon R5 Graphics 2.00 GHz

8GB RAM

64 Bit

 

What is very strange is that it occasionally works.  I have tried the old receiver, the old receiver updated and with Citrix Workspace and I get an issue on each.  I completely uninstall all the Citrix programs and then I install the programs.  What's interesting is that I sometimes get everything working after a re-install but then when I reboot my laptop it then starts crashing again.  I've had some experts look into this and they can't figure it out and so I am borrowing a friends laptop to work.  My laptop is new and it'd be a real shame to have to invest in a new one but I simply can't figure this one out.

 

The Processes Running are as follows;

Citrix Connection Center (32 bit)

Citirx Connection Manager (32 bit)

Citrix FTA, URL Redirector (32 bit)

Citrix Workspace (32 bit)

Citrix Workspace (32 bit)

Citrix Workspace Application (32 bit)

 

Just to note if relevant on the laptop I have this working on I am running the same Receiver equivalents but with the following additions;

Citrix Authentication Manager (32 bit)

Citrix HDX Engine (32 bit)

[David Clark1709160691]

@Paul Dalby  I hope you know better than to follow the instructions above.  Launching unknown apps from another unknown environment is a bad idea.  Escalate to your own internal IT support.  This is apparently something specific to your environment and is not anything we can help you with on the forums.

[David Clark1709160691]

Just to be clear, the crashes occur on the Virtual Desktop, not your laptop?  What versions of the Citrix products are you running?  What specifically crashes, the OS or individual apps?  Is everything patched/updated to latest versions?

[Paul Dalby]

16 hours ago, David Clark1709160691 said:

Just to be clear, the crashes occur on the Virtual Desktop, not your laptop?  What versions of the Citrix products are you running?  What specifically crashes, the OS or individual apps?  Is everything patched/updated to latest versions?

Yes the desktop crashes/disconnects and I am back to the desktop selection screen on my internet browser.  Unfortunately I can't tell what versions the company I work for are currently running I will ask the IT dept, it is a large company and there's a lot of users and I think it is only myself having this issue.  I'm not logged off the Citrix Gateway.

 

I restarted my laptop yesterday and it is now back working although it seems inevitable (this has been happening for a number of weeks) that it will happen again.  I wondered if my internet connection may have been an issue if there was heavy traffic/poor speed but I did get it working on another at the same time.  Not sure if it could be something conflicting on my laptop...

[David Clark1709160691]

Your complaint is still a bit confusing.  You say it crashes but you when you reconnect, the remote system apparently has not 'crashed' or rebooted?  Are we correct to assume that's what happening is that your connection to the remote system is where the 'crash' occurs?

 

I'd suggest to begin with that you make certain you have the latest version of Receiver/Workspace and that your system is otherwise stable.  If Receiver is simply disconnecting from the remote system and shutting down, it certainly appears as though the problem is with that workstation and nothing to do with the remote system and infrastructure.

[Paul Dalby]

On 3/1/2019 at 7:43 PM, David Clark1709160691 said:

Your complaint is still a bit confusing.  You say it crashes but you when you reconnect, the remote system apparently has not 'crashed' or rebooted?  Are we correct to assume that's what happening is that your connection to the remote system is where the 'crash' occurs?

 

I'd suggest to begin with that you make certain you have the latest version of Receiver/Workspace and that your system is otherwise stable.  If Receiver is simply disconnecting from the remote system and shutting down, it certainly appears as though the problem is with that workstation and nothing to do with the remote system and infrastructure.

Apologies for not being clear.

 

On my personal laptop I browse to my companies to log into their Virtual Workplace via Citrix Receiver.  I am then given a choice of desktops.  I then click on one and then that desktop environment loads in a new window.  May issue occurs after a few seconds or when I try to do an action.  The desktop window, freezes, goes a white/grey colour and then closes itself down.  I am therefore then back to my web browser with the available laptops.  If I again click on the same one as before it again opens a new window for that virtual desktop and picks up where my last session was up to when it crashed.  Again it tends to "crash"/close itself down after a few seconds.

 

The last few days it has again been working fine even when I have restarted my laptop each day.  However today it has started to "crash" again.  I restarted the laptop again and it crashed out again at the same point after a few seconds.  I restarted a third time and left it time for everything to boot up on my laptop and it crashed again.  However this time I left it 5 or so minutes after the failure and came back to it, I clicked on the same desktop and it loaded and seems to be working (I have just gone back to the session and clicked on something and it has crashed again).  

 

I am on the latest version of Receiver/Workspace and have indeed tried previous ones.  It certainly does point to something odd happening on my laptop but I can't nail down why every know and then it seems to become so unstable and what is affecting it working/not working.  The only thing that I can think that is running in the background would be iCloud Photos for Windows but this wouldn't be doing too much over the web other than downloading any recent photos/videos I have taken since I last used my laptop.  I can't think of anything else running that could possibly be causing any conflict.

 

[David Clark1709160691]

A freeze while in a session Is typically indicative of a network disconnect.  XenApp/XenDesktop is usually fairly tolerant of slow links but a complete lack of networking will be seen as the application or desktop freezing and then you might get an error message telling you that the network connection failed.  I think I would start troubleshooting by testing with another device to see if the problem persists.  You may also want to test your laptop from a different location to prove that the problem is not specific to your local network.  If your Citrix infrastructure is behind a Netscaler, if that netscaler is being used beyond its licensed limit, it will start dropping packets and cause similar behavior.  That's a fairly rare occurrence as I think most businesses will purchase adequate license levels, but it's worth mentioning.

 

If you're on a Wifi connection, test it while wired to your switch or router.

[Paul Dalby]

17 hours ago, David Clark1709160691 said:

A freeze while in a session Is typically indicative of a network disconnect.  XenApp/XenDesktop is usually fairly tolerant of slow links but a complete lack of networking will be seen as the application or desktop freezing and then you might get an error message telling you that the network connection failed.  I think I would start troubleshooting by testing with another device to see if the problem persists.  You may also want to test your laptop from a different location to prove that the problem is not specific to your local network.  If your Citrix infrastructure is behind a Netscaler, if that netscaler is being used beyond its licensed limit, it will start dropping packets and cause similar behavior.  That's a fairly rare occurrence as I think most businesses will purchase adequate license levels, but it's worth mentioning.

 

If you're on a Wifi connection, test it while wired to your switch or router.

Thanks for getting back, it's appreciated.

 

I have run speed tests on my own network when it crashes and have seen normal speeds.  I have taken my laptop from my home to my place of work and have seen disconnections there.  I have had my friends laptop running a virtual desktop whilst on my laptop has been having the disconnections on a separate virtual desktop.  It has therefore only ever failed on my laptop and has done so in different connections.  I do get a question regarding using nglauncher (press yes to run-get asked on mine and my friends laptop) when I successfully initially login which suggests a netscaler.  I will mention it to my desktop support.  I'll also dig out the necessary cable to go for a wired connection.  

 

Probably an ignorant question but are you aware of any log files/diagnostic things I can run/view on my laptop that might show what's occurring at the point of disconnection?

 

Again thanks for your help on this.

[David Clark1709160691]

There are a few diagnostic tools you can run, but you really need some details about the infrastructure to use these.  Receiver/Workspace does have a configuration checker function that may be helpful.  From your description, it certainly appears that the problem is with your laptop specifically.  I'd suggest you contact your internal Citrix support team to help troubleshoot as there really isn't anything I can offer short of wiping the laptop and reinstalling everything.

[Liz Graham]

I have a similiar issue.  I have worked on this for months with no resolution.  I have confirmed it is specific to my laptop and not my network.  In my case, one of my clients require Citrix to gain access into their system.  Their IT department will not assist me as it is on my machine.  

Has any other tips regarding internal settings come to light? Here are my specs: HP Spectre x360 – 15- ch011dx, PN 2LV24UA#ABA, Windows 10 Home 64-bit

[David Clark1709160691]

liz@dugganhim.com -  I'd suggest you open a new thread with the specific details for your issue, this thread is several months old.  I would start with ensuring that you are using a version of Receiver or Workspace that is supported by the Client's infrastructure.  For instance the latest Workspace version no longer supports SSLv3 and may not connect to some environments that do not support recent Cipher suites.  You may want to download the current Receiver LTSR With CU7 which has the latest security patches but seems to support most environments with no problem. https://www.citrix.com/downloads/citrix-receiver/windows-ltsr/

[R Johri]

Hi, I encountered the same issue today and while searching for solutions, I came across this discussion thread that exactly mirrors my issue.  Has this been solved and if so, I would be grateful, if the resolution can be shared.  Many thanks

 

[Baringrd Olsen]

I have the same problem, and have done extensive research and troubleshooting...

https://discussions.citrix.com/topic/409842-problem-with-workspace-app-when-using-more-than-2-screens/

 

CITRIX as a company refuse to assist or even look into this unless i sign up for paid support. Since Citrix Workspace APP is a "free solution"....which is just utterly silly.

They have a bug in their software and refuse to even address or trouble shoot it. When i made a ticket they clearly did not even read my troubleshooting steps, as they just told me to reinstall citrix workspace app...duh...

 

 

 

Bård

Norway

[Baringrd Olsen]

On 7/9/2019 at 7:01 PM, David Clark1709160691 said:

liz@dugganhim.com -  I'd suggest you open a new thread with the specific details for your issue, this thread is several months old.  I would start with ensuring that you are using a version of Receiver or Workspace that is supported by the Client's infrastructure.  For instance the latest Workspace version no longer supports SSLv3 and may not connect to some environments that do not support recent Cipher suites.  You may want to download the current Receiver LTSR With CU7 which has the latest security patches but seems to support most environments with no problem. https://www.citrix.com/downloads/citrix-receiver/windows-ltsr/

This did not work. i tested going down from 2006 to "Citrix Workspace app 19.12.1001 for Windows, LTSR Cumulative Update 1" and no change.

[Ben Edwards1709162405]

I have been getting this issue at my office as well, it seems to be caused be a lack of computability between the citrix servers and the version of Workspace, The use had upgraded to Workspace 2010 and it was dropping in less than 10 seconds, downgraded Workspace to 2008 seems to have resolved this issue, you could try removing the current version of workspace and installing the previous version.

[Baringrd Olsen]

I already tried to downgrade the Citrix Workspace Agent, to no avail.

 

Thnx.

[Paul Orschau]

I created a Citrix account just to share my solution to this problem. This may or may not work for you, but it fixed the issue on my end at least.

 

Recently I did a fresh install of Windows 10 on my older work laptop, and also installed "Catalyst Control Center", which is used to switch between the dedicated AMD GPU and the Intel graphics card on the laptop. I'm pretty sure the CCC software is already deprecated by AMD, so I would assume this issue won't happen on newer laptops. I then went ahead and configured CCC in such a way that it was always using the AMD GPU, because I was only using the laptop plugged into power anyways. Citrix Workspace seems to have a problem with the AMD GPU, and hence it would crash on attempting to connect (in my case, shortly after clicking a .ica file downloaded from my company's store front...).

 

To configure CCC, I right-clicked on the desktop, clicked something like "Configure Switchable Graphics" (I'm German), and then went to the Global Configuration (down at the bottom of the window in my case), and then switched the option for plugged-into-power-mode to highest performance. Switching this option back to optimise performance fixed the issue!

[Baringrd Olsen]

1 hour ago, Paul Orschau said:

I created a Citrix account just to share my solution to this problem. This may or may not work for you, but it fixed the issue on my end at least.

 

Recently I did a fresh install of Windows 10 on my older work laptop, and also installed "Catalyst Control Center", which is used to switch between the dedicated AMD GPU and the Intel graphics card on the laptop. I'm pretty sure the CCC software is already deprecated by AMD, so I would assume this issue won't happen on newer laptops. I then went ahead and configured CCC in such a way that it was always using the AMD GPU, because I was only using the laptop plugged into power anyways. Citrix Workspace seems to have a problem with the AMD GPU, and hence it would crash on attempting to connect (in my case, shortly after clicking a .ica file downloaded from my company's store front...).

 

To configure CCC, I right-clicked on the desktop, clicked something like "Configure Switchable Graphics" (I'm German), and then went to the Global Configuration (down at the bottom of the window in my case), and then switched the option for plugged-into-power-mode to highest performance. Switching this option back to optimise performance fixed the issue!

Hello and thnx for replying.

I initially tried with AMD/radoeon, but i have also tested with built in INTEL gpu in my 9900K cpu, and as well my Nvidia 2080 SUPER which i use now.

The problem still exsist regardless of reinstalling drivers, what brand of gpu, and even persist through reinstalling OS from scratch.

Funny thing is, my IT department said it could not be fixed from server side, but they made a new environment using Windows10 citrix, where 3 screens work fine, but the old WEM setup does not support multiscreen, and i have not changed local settings.

[Rob Elmour]

I have exactly the same issue on one of my work laptops but not the other. Both new installs.

 

They both had the problem at first, but on the one that eventually worked I got a pop-up notification/dialog (something about linking unrecognised hardware - don't remember exactly). I noticed that Citrix Workspace closed when the dialog closed, so next time I clicked "yes" in the pop-up and Citrix Workspace stayed open. 

The one that still has the problem doesn't display any pop-ups.

 

Does that give any clues as to what's going on?

 

---- Edit ----

On the non working laptop, I tried to find the pop-up by "alt-tab"ing away from Citrix Workspace in case it was hidden behind another window.

Bizarrely, that seems to have fixed it. When I went back to Citrix Workspace it was still open and remained so. 

Edited March 31, 2021 by Rob Elmour
update

[Pearl Jegals Orion]

I have a question, in my work environment, users who recently installed the latest Citrix workspace app have continuously facing VDA session disconnectivity whenever they access/click windows file explorer on their desktop or any document that was saved in it.

As a workaround suggested to install older version surprisingly that's working for them without any problem.

Is this a known issue in latest workspace app?

[Andrew Falk]

For me I'm using the latest version of Citrix workspace (21.8.0.0) and I could see application crashes in the event viewer. 

 

For example:

Faulting application name: WFICA32.EXE, version: 21.7.0.17, time stamp: 0x60ef5c3d
Faulting module name: TosQEP.dll, version: 1.2.15.526, time stamp: 0x556665f6
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x00029928
Faulting process id: 0x4d4
Faulting application start time: 0x01d813360fbe5854
Faulting application path: C:\PROGRA~1\WindowsApps\D50536~1.0_X\VFS\PROGRA~1\Citrix\ICACLI~1\WFICA32.EXE
Faulting module path: C:\Windows\System32\TosQEP.dll

 

I renamed the file to TosQEP.dll.bak and my problem was fixed.  Note the actual path was at C:\Windows\SysWOW64\

 

So, check your event viewer and see if you get any hints.

 

 

[Arunesh Shahi1709160347]

Paul Orschau thanks for the information. it worked as charm for me. had this issue since 3 months and did try multiple scenarios ; CCC has helped to fix the problem as mentioned. thank you.

[pankaj]

Please help me !!

Laptop goes to sleep mode and don't come back when I use citrix workspace in my Asus laptop. 

 

Office laptop work fine for same Citrix workspace.

Asus G17

And ryzen 7 + GeForce 3050