Some of the steps to troubleshoot citrix issues

Case 1:

• Reset user’s profile.
• Check if application is using any share path to write any settings/values. Reset profile from that path, like any share path is mounted in application and user’s profile is created there.
• Check what shared drives are mapped to user’s profile.
• Open dsa.msc and check if there is any path provided under “profile” tab for home folder or user profile.
• Create different test accounts and try to replicate the issue.
• Check which ou are the computer accounts or users are there. Check what policies are applied for them.
• Check from a VDI or xendesktop machine, as there would be different policies applied for those
• Based on the type of issue, check if user is using dual monitor? does application support dual monitor?

Case 2:

1. Have screenshare with user and check what is crashed on the server at the time when user is accessing the application. Analyze Memory dump  on the server. By this you will know what application/exe is causing the issue.
2. Create test account in affected user’s domain and replicate the issue.
3. Let other users in same domain as affected users try to access the application. Try with normal user and admin id in same domain.
4. Always check if there are any share paths are mapped while users login to their application/Desktop VDI.
5. Move users to different OU in same domain and give it a try and check if there are any issues opening the app/desktop.
6. Run RSOP reports as needed.
7. Create an empty OU and move user’s computer and user id to that OU and test. If it works, add single policy by policy to that OU and test.
8. Check if there are any services that are blocking user’s profile. Stop any non-windows services like bit-9 parity and check.

Case 3:

When application doesnt work as expected in citrix:

• Login to the VDA via hypervisor and launch the applitcation. This will exclude citrix policies. If it doesnt work as expected, involve application team or vendor to troubleshoot. This is not a citrix issue.
• Launch application via citrix and toggle seamless mode with shift + F2. This will toggle seamless mode. Check if  application works as expected. If works fine, then change seamless mode settings. check https://www.knowcitrix.com/posts/seamless-applications/ for more information.
• If issue persists, login to the server via rdp(mstsc) and check the application. If it works as expected, it means citrix API hooks are interfering with the application. Disable API hooks for that specific application.
• If still not resolved, Publish a server vda desktop. Install application in that server vda. Login to the server vda and try to access the application. If it works here, it could be an application compatibility with RDS, as citrix uses rds in the background to connect to the application. Engage vendor for further assistance.

If an application displays unexpected behaviour in an HDX session, and in RDS session, but not in console session (i.e., connected via hypervisor), it is an RDS incompatibility issue.

When troubleshooting connectivity issues, work backward from end point to application server/desktop VDA checking each communication process. To isolate application behavior, published applications should be observed in seamless and HDX sessions and results of observations should be compared to application’s behaviour in RDS and console sessions.