I'm running Windows Server 2025 as a plain domain-joined member server. It does not have the RDS role installed, and there are no roaming profiles, user profile disks, AVD, or FSLogix involved. Users see a black screen for several minutes after signing in, either at the console or through RDP for administrative access. Stopping the App Readiness service makes the desktop appear immediately. I know similar black-screen problems are associated with App Readiness timeouts in RDS and AVD environments, but I'm trying to determine whether this is the same underlying issue or a Server 2025 regression. What could cause the App Readiness app database or service to stall on a normal member server? Is permanently disabling the service safe, or could it interfere with Store/Edge sign-in or Windows Update and other application installation tasks? Are there any Server 2025-specific Microsoft fixes, rather than the older timeout and registry workarounds?
2 Answers
If these machines are virtual, check whether VMware customization or guest OS customization is involved. There is a VMware-documented App Readiness interaction that can produce a logon black screen, along with a corresponding workaround. That would explain why the issue appears on a regular member server rather than only in an RDS or FSLogix deployment.
I wouldn’t disable App Readiness as the permanent fix. The service can be involved in application provisioning and patch installation, so disabling it may cause updates or application installs to fail or require additional recovery steps. The safer approach is to investigate the timeout and use the applicable App Readiness, first-logon, or desktop-switch timeout settings as a workaround while checking for a current Microsoft fix. The fact that the server is not an RDS or AVD host does not necessarily rule out the same service problem.
That’s why I’m hesitant to leave it disabled. I’m specifically trying to find out whether Server 2025 has a newer fix instead of relying on the older RDS-focused registry workarounds.
The server isn’t being used as an AVD or RDS host. It’s just a domain-joined Server 2025 machine, so I’ll check the virtualization and customization history rather than assuming the usual multi-user profile database scenario.