[KB7175] An error occurred communicating with the ESET Endpoint Encryption subsystem

• ESET Endpoint Encryption (EEE) client software includes a service component. The service component must be started within the first three minutes after EEE is launched, or you receive the following error: "An error occurred communicating with the ESET Endpoint Encryption subsystem. The ESET Endpoint Encryption software may not be installed correctly."

Figure 1-1

Old version of EEE (formerly DESlock+) being installed on newer operating system

The most common cause for this error is when an out-of-date version of EEE (formerly DESlock+) client is installed on newer operating systems. Installing versions earlier than 4.7.5 on Windows 10, or on Windows 8.1 with the November 2014 rollup, will exhibit this problem.

Install the current, most recent version of EEE will address the error. 

If the issue persists, verify the EEE service is present and running:

1. Press the Windows  key + R.
2. In the Run prompt, type services.msc and then click OK.
3. In the list of installed services, find the DESlock+ Service entry and follow the applicable solution provided below.

• Service not present

  if the entry is not present:

1. Open Programs and Features in the Windows control panel. 
    
2. Select the ESET Endpoint Encryption entry in the list of installed software.
3. Click Repair.
4. Allow the system to repair and restart.

• Startup type incorrect

The Start-up Type of the DESlock+ service should be listed as Automatic. If the Startup Type is incorrect, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the DESlock+ Service.
    
2. Click the Properties item from the context menu.
    
3. In the Startup Type drop-down menu, select Automatic.
    
4. Click OK.
    
5. Follow the steps in the Service not started section.

• Service not started

If the service status is blank or stopped, start the service using these steps:

1. Right-click the DESlock+ Service.
    
2. Click Start the service.

Figure 1-2

The status will change to Started.

3. If the ESET Endpoint Encryption (EEE) frontend is running, exit it by right-clicking the EEE system tray icon and then select Exit.

Figure 1-3

4. Run EEE again by clicking the entry in the Windows Start menu.

Figure 1-4

• Create/adjust a registry key to change the service start-up time allowance

If starting the service manually and rebooting the machine does not fix the problem, then perform these steps:

1. Press the Windows  key + R and enter regedit.

Figure 1-5

2. Navigate to the following location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control
3. Verify the ServicesPipeTimeout value exists. If the value does not exist, then create a DWORD (32-bit) Value and name it ServicesPipeTimeout.
4. Set the decimal value to 120000.

Figure 1-6

5. Restart Windows for the change to take effect.

• Other solutions

• We have seen cases where some anti-malware and anti-virus systems incorrectly flag the ESET Endpoint Encryption (EEE) service and prevent it from being installed. Check logs of any such utilities to verify this is not the cause of the problem you are experiencing. If EEE software is incorrectly flagged, whitelist the EEE software and then perform the install repair process.
• We have seen rare instances where other recently installed software prevents the DESlock+ service from starting. If this is the case, restart Windows again, as it may resolve the problem.
• If the client is managed by an EEE Server, check logs of any Firewall software to see if it has blocked the DESlock+ Service from starting.