Bug 331990 - krdc shows no error messages or feedback, making it impossible to troubleshoot any issues
Summary: krdc shows no error messages or feedback, making it impossible to troubleshoo...
Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 339490
Alias: None
Product: krdc
Classification: Applications
Component: RDP (show other bugs)
Version: 4.11.3
Platform: Ubuntu Linux
: NOR normal
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Urs Wolfer
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2014-03-10 19:25 UTC by Dima Ryazanov
Modified: 2014-12-05 13:46 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

See Also:
Latest Commit:
Version Fixed In:
Sentry Crash Report:


Attachments
krdc's xfreerdp strace (226.93 KB, text/x-log)
2014-05-28 13:15 UTC, Mihai DONȚU
Details
python script that can be used as wrapper over newer versions of xfreerdp (176 bytes, text/x-python)
2014-11-27 00:26 UTC, Mihai DONȚU
Details

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Description Dima Ryazanov 2014-03-10 19:25:08 UTC
When krdc fails to connect for any reason - DNS failure, password expired, etc. - it just displays a blue screen with no error messages or feedback. This makes it impossible to actually figure out what's wrong. Moreover, I can't even file a bug with a reasonable description, other than "krdc won't connect". More information would really help.


Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Try to connect when something is wrong
2. ??? 
3. No errors
Comment 1 Urs Wolfer 2014-03-16 10:53:41 UTC
I have tested some situation like wrong resolvable DNS and not running RDP service. I always get an error message in KRDC (like "Name or service not known." or "Connection attempt to host failed."). Since I do not have MS RDP test servers, I cannot test things like experienced passwords.

@Dima Ryazanov: Can you please run xfreerdp from command line with the same host when you experience such a behavior and post the output here? Also, does xfreerdp quit or continue run and just print a message?
Comment 2 Christoph Feck 2014-04-20 18:53:36 UTC
If you can provide the information requested in comment #1, please add it.
Comment 3 Christoph Feck 2014-05-08 22:21:22 UTC
To further investigate this issue, KDE developers need the information requested in comment #1. If you can provide it, or need help with finding that information, please add a comment.
Comment 4 Dima Ryazanov 2014-05-08 23:23:45 UTC
Sorry, you're right about DNS errors or timeouts. Looks like expired password is the only problem. When I connect using "xfreerdp", I get:

SSL_read: Failure in SSL library (protocol error?)
Authentication failure, check credentials.
If credentials are valid, the NTLMSSP implementation may be to blame.

However, krdc does not display any messages.
Comment 5 Mihai DONȚU 2014-05-28 13:10:45 UTC
I've got the same issue: lately something has been changed in xfreerdp that it no longer accepts the command line given by krdc and just dies with: "error: server hostname was not specified with /v:<server>[:port]" which is wrong, because the argument is there. Anyway, until I attached with strace and saw what was going on, all I could see was krdc's blue window. Nothing else. It _should_ say something when xfreerdp (or any other child) exits with a non-zero code.
Comment 6 Mihai DONȚU 2014-05-28 13:15:20 UTC
Created attachment 86880 [details]
krdc's xfreerdp strace

This is the strace log for the xfreerdp child. I have changed by hand the command line (password, domain name etc.).
Comment 7 Urs Wolfer 2014-06-01 12:05:59 UTC
(In reply to comment #5)
> I've got the same issue: lately something has been changed in xfreerdp that
> it no longer accepts the command line given by krdc and just dies with:

@Mihai DONȚU: What version of xfreerdp do you use?
Comment 8 Mihai DONȚU 2014-06-01 12:39:32 UTC
xfreerdp reports '1.1.0-beta1', while portage says '1.1.0_beta1_p20130710'.
Comment 9 Urs Wolfer 2014-06-01 12:46:54 UTC
(In reply to comment #8)
> xfreerdp reports '1.1.0-beta1', while portage says '1.1.0_beta1_p20130710'.

Please use the stable version (1.0). 1.1 has not been tested and there is work in progress for porting KRDC to the new command line interface (see: https://git.reviewboard.kde.org/r/115059/).
Comment 10 Mihai DONȚU 2014-06-03 09:42:07 UTC
Mm. There does not seem to be a stable version in portage. I haven't kept an eye on freerdp, but it would seem the oldest version supported by Gentoo is 1.1-alpha and was added to the package repository sometime in July, last year. Now, krdc has worked perfectly fine until about two weeks ago but I can't figure our what has changed. The only patches to freerdp have been some adding support for the latest ffmpeg. I'll keep investigating.

On a side note (or rant), I'm not very satisfied with how freerdp works. It has an exotic command line format reminiscent of the 90's and surprise error messages. Probably some other things, but they don't come to mind. It is, however, better at supporting the win2k12+ rdp protocol than rdesktop. I wonder if it would be possible to use some kind of client library and integrate it the tried and true way: via C/C++. :-)
Comment 11 Urs Wolfer 2014-06-05 18:41:05 UTC
(In reply to comment #10)
> I wonder if it would be possible to use some kind of client library and
> integrate it the tried and true way: via C/C++. :-)

Sure, this would be a way cleaner and better way to do it. But it needs quite some manpower to do it.
Comment 12 Philippe Cloutier 2014-10-06 04:03:55 UTC
KRDC always displays a blue screen, as explained in ticket 339490.

As for the actual source of your problem, I also lost the ability to connect to a server after upgrading from freerdp 1.0.2 to 1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e, so freerdp may be involved.
Comment 13 Urs Wolfer 2014-10-12 14:50:16 UTC
Please use freerdp 1.0.x; 1.1 is not yet supported since it has not been released.
Comment 14 Mihai DONȚU 2014-11-27 00:26:08 UTC
Created attachment 89739 [details]
python script that can be used as wrapper over newer versions of xfreerdp

Gentoo already moved to '1.2.0_beta1_pre20141115' on ~amd64, so I've concocted the attached python script which I use as a wrapper over xfreerdp. Works like a charm. :-)
Comment 15 Mihai DONȚU 2014-11-27 00:45:48 UTC
I think I have uncovered a bug in krdc: I have this connection for which it insists on generating the command option "udio-mode:" instead of "/audio-mode:". Mm. I thought that was supposed to be a some deprecated command, didn't make the connection until later ...
Comment 16 Philippe Cloutier 2014-12-03 05:21:45 UTC
Regarding connection issues with FreeRDP 1.1, see ticket 341284.
Comment 17 Urs Wolfer 2014-12-05 13:46:03 UTC
There exist other reports for the two discussed problem in this report:
* FreeRDP 1.1 issues: #341284
* Blue screen issues when connection could not be opened: #339490

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 339490 ***