Symptoms
RAS RD Session Host Agent service is stuck:
It is able to stop successfully but not able to start.
It is stuck always after a server reboot or when the service is manually restarted.
When it is stuck, if you manually restart Print Spooler service, then RAS RD Session Host Agent service switches from Starting to Running state.
Cause
In most cases, it is related to Print Spooler issues which can be caused by some corrupted printer drivers.
Check the following Windows Event Viewer node for hints when the issue with service restart is triggered:
Event Viewer (Local) > Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft-Windows-PrintService/Admin
Also, could be Microsoft-Windows-PrintService/Operational but only if it was enabled.
Example
You can see the following errors occur periodically:
Such event may point to specific DLL and the path where it could be missing:
It means that Print Spooler service is trying to load either ghost or corrupted printer driver.
In this example, DLL belongs to RICOH Printer Driver and it is missing from that folder but Print Spooler is still trying to load it.
Resolution
1. Perform Universal Printing Maintenance.
2. Confirm that service can be restarted without further issues.
3. If the issue will come back, check printer drivers that are getting installed on the system and try the following:
- Update printer driver.
- Try to pinpoint where it comes from. (locally installed on the server or redirected previously by some user)
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