Client Restore Service not starting?
Running a 2025 server with Office Maven’s essentials. All updates on server and essentials are done.
Been unable to get essentials to do client computer backups to the server. When in essentials app, and trying to “set up client restore services” the pop-up window says “Client Restore Service Installation did not succeed”. Further, at the bottom of the pop-up, it says “Windows Deployment Services Configuration did not succeed on this server”
- Mike asked 13 hours ago
- last edited 13 hours ago
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Hmm… I’ve not come across that one before I’m afraid.
What version of the Windows ADK (Assessment and Deployment Kit) did you install on your 2025 server? You should always use the ADK for Windows 10, version 1607 which can be downloaded from here (under Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022, or 2025).
If you installed a different (newer) version of the ADK, then I’d try completely uninstalling it from the server and then installing the 1607 version instead.
NOTE: You only need to install the “Deployment Tools” and the “Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE)” features from adksetup.exe.
SEE ALSO: Restore a full system from an existing client computer backup
- Mike answered 13 hours ago
- last edited 13 hours ago
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It has version .2454 on it.. uninstalling it now. Do you think I should use the latest version from microsoft? 9457?
- Mike answered 13 hours ago
- last edited 13 hours ago
- It MUST be the older 1607 version that I linked you to above.
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Downloaded and installed as suggested. Now getting a digital signature ID error 0x80004005. I read a little and decided to reinstall the WIMMount repair utility. I have a server reboot scheduled for 2am. Hopefully that fixes the signature issue.
- Mike answered 12 hours ago
- last edited 12 hours ago
- Interesting… (what exactly is giving the digital signature ID error?) Please do let us know how it goes after the reboot.
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I usually try to work these things out on my own and learn as I go, but for this one, I had chatgpt give me some help. Here is the response after viewing all of the logs:
The most likely cause is a Windows Code Integrity problem involving the ADK’s WIMMount driver (wimmount.sys).
When Office Maven attempted to install Client Restore, Windows logged Event ID 3004 stating it couldn’t verify the driver’s image integrity because its file hash couldn’t be found.
We verified that:
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The WIMMount driver exists and has a valid Microsoft signature.
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Its service is registered.
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The ADK includes Microsoft’s WIMMount repair utility.
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The repair utility completed successfully (exit code 0).
However, we haven’t confirmed the root cause yet. The driver or its catalog registration may be the problem, but we need to reboot and retry Client Restore to see whether that resolves it.
So, WIMMount is our strongest lead—not yet a proven diagnosis.
- Mike answered 11 hours ago
- last edited 11 hours ago
- Interesting… It’s been a while since I’ve looked at any of this stuff, but I’ll try to spend some time over the weekend installing the 1607 ADK on 2025 and see what happens. I suppose it could be an issue with the drivers in the aging ADK (as your ChatGPT conversation indicated). If it’s broken for me as well, then we may just be up the creek without a paddle here (although, the ADK isn’t a requirement for normal client backups to occur AFAIK so it should only be an issue of you’re wanting to use the Client Restore Service feature of Essentials). Thx for all your insight on this one. ; -)
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i’ve narrowed it down to an issue in essentials:
The server recognizes “PC1” as an active, joined client under Get-WssComputer, but the client backup subsystem doesn’t recognize it.
Do you think I need to re-run the client computer connector tool?
Could you provide the supported procedure to repair or reinstall the client connector and register this PC with the client backup subsystem?
I’d prefer not to remove/rejoin the computer or modify the backup database manually.
Mike
- Mike answered 10 hours ago
- last edited 10 hours ago
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Okay, it appears that the small (1.65 MB) installer available from Microsoft for the 1607 ADK (i.e., adksetup.exe that I linked you to above) fails to install the ADK as it errors out trying to grab the files from Microsoft’s servers (for whatever reason). I was able to get around that issue by downloading the large/full (3.28 GB) installer available directly from archive.org over here (note that I cannot speak to the validity of the download other than to say that it worked fine for me).
Using the full version of the installer, I was able to install the 1607 ADK on Windows Server 2025 without any issues. After doing that, I was then able to successfully start the Client Restore Service just fine from within the server Dashboard (as usual).
I had no issues with connecting up a client computer and backing it up neither before nor after the 1607 ADK was installed and the Client Restore Service was started on my Windows Server 2025 test server.
Thus, everything appears to be working as expected for me over here and so I cannot speak as to why you’re having the issue that you’re seeing. That being said… You can uninstall the “Client Connector for Windows Server Essentials” program from your client computer (via the Control Panel’s “Programs and Features” applet) if needed. Doing so does not remove the computer from the domain, nor does it delete the client computer’s existing backup database. After it has been uninstalled, you can then reinstall it again by simply running the client connector setup program again (after downloading it from your Essentials server by browsing to: http://YOURSERVERNAME/connect (as usual)).
- Mike answered 9 hours ago
- last edited 8 hours ago
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