I have searched for similar issues!

Summary

The Coder Desktop for Windows installer fails if the "IP Helper" (iphlpsvc) service is disabled (or otherwise unavailable). The installer attempts to start the "Coder Desktop" service, which has a hard dependency oniphlpsvc. Ifiphlpsvc is not running, the Windows Service Control Manager will not start the Coder service, leading to a startup timeout (Error 1920) and a complete installation rollback.

This makes it impossible to run Coder Desktop on systems where this service is intentionally disabled for security or policy reasons.

Steps to Reproduce

1. On a Windows machine, open the Services console (services.msc).
2. Locate theIP Helper service.
3. Stop the service and set its "Startup type" toDisabled.
4. Run the Coder Desktop for Windows installer.

Expected Behavior

Ideally, the installation should succeed, as the dependency appears not to be critical.

Ideally, the installer should fail early with a clear prerequisite error stating that the "IP Helper" service is required, rather than proceeding with file installation and failing during service startup.

Actual Behavior

The installation proceeds until it tries to start the Coder Desktop service. It then hangs for some time (up to 2 minutes) before failing with the error:

Service 'Coder Desktop' (Coder Desktop) failed to start. Verify that you have sufficient privileges to start system services.

The entire installation is then attempted to roll back. Upgrades will require a number of 'Ignore' clicks, which end in a message 'You must restart your computer to complete the rollback of the software'.

Log Analysis

The MSI log clearly shows the hard dependency being registered during theServiceInstall operation:

MSI (s) (2C:04) [07:53:23:972]: Executing op: ServiceInstall(Name=Coder Desktop,DisplayName=Coder Desktop,ImagePath="C:\Program Files\Coder Desktop\service\CoderVpnService.exe",ServiceType=16,StartType=2,ErrorControl=1,,Dependencies=iphlpsvc[~]netprofm[~]WinHttpAutoProxySvc[~][~][~],,,Password=**********,Description=Coder Desktop,,)

Becauseiphlpsvc is listed as a dependency, the Service Control Manager fails the start request for "Coder Desktop", which in turn causes the MSI to report Error 1920 and initiate a rollback.

Root Cause

The dependency is hardcoded in the installer definition atInstaller/Program.cs:

// Installer/Program.csvarservice=newServiceInstaller{// ...// This matches Tailscale's service dependencies.DependsOn=[newServiceDependency("iphlpsvc"),// IP HelpernewServiceDependency("netprofm"),// Network List ServicenewServiceDependency("WinHttpAutoProxySvc"),// WinHTTP Web Proxy Auto-Discovery Service],};

Workaround

A user can successfully work around this issue, which suggestsiphlpsvc may not be a hard requirement for the service to run:

1. Temporarily enable and start the "IP Helper" service to allow the installation to complete.
2. (For advanced users) After a successful installation, the dependency can be removed by running the following command with Administrator privileges:

   sc.exe config"Coder Desktop" depend= /

   After this, the "IP Helper" service can be disabled again, and the Coder Desktop service will still start and function correctly.

Suggested Fix

Please evaluate if the dependency oniphlpsvc is critical.

• If it isnot critical, please remove it from theDependsOn list inInstaller/Program.cs to make the installation more resilient.
• If itis critical, the installer should include a launch condition that checks if theiphlpsvc service is enabled and running, and block the installation with a clear, user-friendly error message if it is not.