Autodesk Desktop Connector crashes on Windows startup

January 1, 2026 Gregory Lee

Issue:
Autodesk Desktop Connector crashes with a CER error on Windows startup.

Causes:
This issue can be caused by:

A trailing space at the beginning or end of a folder name.
Duplicate Desktop Connector registry entries.

Solution:
To resolve the issue, start troubleshooting by resetting Desktop Connector:

1. Navigate to the following folder and run ResetDesktopConnector.exe:

C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Desktop Connector\Reset\ResetDesktopConnector.exe

2. Open a web browser and access the ACC Projects. This step must be performed by an ACC Account Admin or Project Admin.

Go to Settings under each project and verify if the project name and project folders contain a trailing space.

Check all projects where the affected user is invited.

3. If no trailing spaces are found in the project name or folder, the issue may be caused by duplicate registry entries.

4. Open the Registry Editor in Windows.

5. Check the following registry locations for duplicate entries:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\SyncRootManager

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace

6. If duplicate registry entries are found, rename the registry folder and relaunch Desktop Connector.

About the Author

Sr Technical Support Specialist<br><br> Skilled in AutoCAD, Mixed-use, Renovation, Revit, and Sustainable Design. Strong arts and design professional with a BA in Urban design focused in Architecture from University of Washington.
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