VShell^® Service Fails to Start (Error 1053), or attempting to start the VShell control panel results in "application configuration is incorrect" error.

Note: VShell 3.9 and later has addressed this issue by no longer using the Windows Side-by-Side assembly (WinSXS) for dependent libraries. If you are running a version of VShell earlier than 3.9, please upgrade to the latest official release. If you are unable to upgrade, please follow the below steps to resolve the problem.

The following information applies to VShell versions 3.0 through 3.8.

Background Information

VShell for Windows requires specific DLL files (Microsoft redistributable libraries). If required DLL files are not already available on a machine when VShell is installed, the VShell for Windows installer stores them in the Windows "Side-by-Side" (SXS) directory in order to ensure that they are available for use when the VShell service starts, or when the VShell control panel is launched.

In rare situations, a Microsoft Windows update or non-VanDyke software maintenance action may unexpectedly remove required DLLs or corrupt related manifest files located in the "WinSxS" system folder.

If these unexpected changes occur while the VShell service is running, the error will not be seen until either the VShell service is restarted, or the machine is rebooted.

It is unknown what application, actions, or circumstances cause the removal of these required WinSxS DLL files and/or manifest files.

When this situation occurs, the VShell service fails to start with the following error message:

Could not start the VanDyke Software VShell SSH2/SFTP service on Local Computer.
Error 1053: The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion.

Additionally, the VShell control panel fails to launch, with the system reporting the following error message:

This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem.

Resolution

To correct the WinSxS problem, a system administrator can "repair" the VShell installation. This "repair" operation will not modify your VShell configuration, and can quickly be done using the following steps as a guide:

1. Launch the Windows Control Panel as the user that originally installed VShell on the machine.
2. Launch "Add/Remove Programs".
3. Find "VanDyke Software VShell" and press the "Change" button. If "VanDyke Software VShell" does not appear within the list, then you must re-launch the Add/Remove Programs applet within the user context of the account that was originally used to install the VShell application.
4. When the "Welcome" screen appears, press the "Next" button.
5. On the "Program Maintenance" screen, select "Repair" and press the "Next" button.
6. On the "Ready To Repair" screen, press the "Install" button to repair your VShell installation. Note that a repair will not modify your current VShell configuration, unless you have installed a custom VShell deployment package which includes VShell configuration information.
7. Once the installer has completed the "repair" operation, you should be able to launch the VShell control panel and start the VShell SSH2/SFTP service (as well as the VShell FTPS service, if installed).
   
   Note: The repair operation does not affect core Windows operating system files. It only replaces the DLL files that have been unexpectedly removed -- files that the VShell service requires for functional operation.

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