[GH-ISSUE #130] win client service starting twice and flooding server with failed connection attempts #100

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opened 2026-05-05 05:16:03 -06:00 by gitea-mirror · 3 comments

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 05:16:03 -06:00

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Originally created by @idlesHand on GitHub (Sep 13, 2018).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/debauchee/barrier/issues/130

Operating Systems

Server: Arch 4.18.6

Client: Windows 10 1803

Barrier Version

2.1.0

Windows service starting twice or something to that effect.

I originally thought there was a problem with linux server as memory usage was growing uncontrollably. Slowly but surely eating all in its path, I locked and had to hard power off. Checked the log and every second has an entry warning that a client with the name is already connected. With win task manager showing two barrierc processes. I am a long time user and the windows box has no internet connection so never gets updated.
If I launch the gui and tell it to stop then the problem goes away. Both barrierc.exe processes get killed and then one more, presumably from the service, starts up. Trying to end it manually from task manager is totally hit and miss.
I did recently switch from a manual config to auto config but switching back and forth and rebooting with each option selected makes no difference.

I suppose this could be two or three issues.

double processes on windows client using service
rate limit on the retries to connect to server
limits and garbage collection on the server logs

Originally created by @idlesHand on GitHub (Sep 13, 2018). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/debauchee/barrier/issues/130 ### Operating Systems ### Server: Arch 4.18.6 Client: Windows 10 1803 ### Barrier Version ### 2.1.0 Windows service starting twice or something to that effect. I originally thought there was a problem with linux server as memory usage was growing uncontrollably. Slowly but surely eating all in its path, I locked and had to hard power off. Checked the log and every second has an entry warning that a client with the name is already connected. With win task manager showing two barrierc processes. I am a long time user and the windows box has no internet connection so never gets updated. If I launch the gui and tell it to stop then the problem goes away. Both barrierc.exe processes get killed and then one more, presumably from the service, starts up. Trying to end it manually from task manager is totally hit and miss. I did recently switch from a manual config to auto config but switching back and forth and rebooting with each option selected makes no difference. I suppose this could be two or three issues. 1. double processes on windows client using service 2. rate limit on the retries to connect to server 3. limits and garbage collection on the server logs

gitea-mirror closed this issue

2026-05-05 05:16:05 -06:00

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 05:16:08 -06:00

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@walker0643 commented on GitHub (Sep 15, 2018):

Hi @idlesHand -

If you're using the official windows installer package from our GitHub-hosted download page then we can narrow down the issue a bit. The official installer will only install one service entry; the service entry is only capable of starting one service process at-a-time; the service process will only start a barriers/barrierc process if it is not already running. If things get confused and it is forced to start a new process then it will kill any existing processes gracefully (and then forcefully) first.

With this in mind let's try the following:

stop all barrier processes, barriers/barrierc/barrierd. start by stopping the Barrier service via the services window (Start, Run, "services.msc")
completely uninstall Barrier via Programs and Features
confirm that there are no barrier binaries left on your system by inspecting C:\Program Files (and its x86 sibling) for traces of barrier.
reboot the machine then check Task Manager for any processes starting with "barrier"
reinstall Barrier cleanly using an installer from our official download page: https://github.com/debauchee/barrier/wiki
once the installation has completed and the service has started up, start the barrier GUI, configure it, then click the Start button
confirm that there is only one of each of barriers (or barrierc), barrierd, and possibly barrier (the GUI).

Please report back with any new information and the results of this procedure. Thanks!

@walker0643 commented on GitHub (Sep 15, 2018): Hi @idlesHand - If you're using the official windows installer package from our GitHub-hosted download page then we can narrow down the issue a bit. The official installer will only install one service entry; the service entry is only capable of starting one service process at-a-time; the service process will only start a barriers/barrierc process if it is not already running. If things get confused and it is forced to start a new process then it will kill any existing processes gracefully (and then forcefully) first. With this in mind let's try the following: 1. stop all barrier processes, barriers/barrierc/barrierd. start by stopping the Barrier service via the services window (Start, Run, "services.msc") 2. completely uninstall Barrier via Programs and Features 3. confirm that there are no barrier binaries left on your system by inspecting C:\Program Files (and its x86 sibling) for traces of barrier. 4. reboot the machine then check Task Manager for any processes starting with "barrier" 5. reinstall Barrier cleanly using an installer from our official download page: https://github.com/debauchee/barrier/wiki 6. once the installation has completed and the service has started up, start the barrier GUI, configure it, then click the Start button 7. confirm that there is only one of each of barriers (or barrierc), barrierd, and possibly barrier (the GUI). Please report back with any new information and the results of this procedure. Thanks!

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 05:16:09 -06:00

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@idlesHand commented on GitHub (Sep 20, 2018):

All done and all is well. I am assuming the problem originated from between the chair and the keyboard.

Any thoughts on the limiting of connection attempts and especially of logging / memory use?

Thank you for your help and thank you for your efforts in keeping this app fully open.

@idlesHand commented on GitHub (Sep 20, 2018): All done and all is well. I am assuming the problem originated from between the chair and the keyboard. Any thoughts on the limiting of connection attempts and especially of logging / memory use? Thank you for your help and thank you for your efforts in keeping this app fully open.

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 05:16:11 -06:00

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@Anatoly03 commented on GitHub (Dec 9, 2023):

I had the same problem. These messages would flood the logs and decrease the performance of input on the client.

[2023-12-09T13:19:16] NOTE: accepted client connection
[2023-12-09T13:19:16] NOTE: accepted client connection
[2023-12-09T13:19:16] NOTE: client "XXX" has connected
[2023-12-09T13:19:16] WARNING: a client with name "XXX" is already connected
[2023-12-09T13:19:16] NOTE: disconnecting client "XXX"
[2023-12-09T13:19:16] NOTE: client "XXX" has disconnected

For me the mistake was, that there was a hidden process of barrier running on the client. Simply terminating barrier in the menu screen helped.

@Anatoly03 commented on GitHub (Dec 9, 2023): I had the same problem. These messages would flood the logs and **decrease the performance of input on the client**. ``` [2023-12-09T13:19:16] NOTE: accepted client connection [2023-12-09T13:19:16] NOTE: accepted client connection [2023-12-09T13:19:16] NOTE: client "XXX" has connected [2023-12-09T13:19:16] WARNING: a client with name "XXX" is already connected [2023-12-09T13:19:16] NOTE: disconnecting client "XXX" [2023-12-09T13:19:16] NOTE: client "XXX" has disconnected ``` For me the mistake was, that there was a hidden process of barrier running on the **client**. Simply terminating barrier in the menu screen helped.

gitea-mirror referenced this issue

2026-05-05 07:23:31 -06:00

[GH-ISSUE #1280] Polish diacritics can't be typed between Linux server and Windows client #1022