Okta Verify may fail to open on Windows machines due to an incorrect .NET Framework registry setting that forces 32-bit execution. Updating the registry key to enable 64-bit processes resolves the issue. Okta Verify runs in the background process, but the user interface fails to open and crashes. Okta Verify appears in Task Manager. The issue occurs after upgrading or after installing Windows Update KB5037591. Reinstalling or rebooting does not resolve the issue.
The following errors appear in the Okta Verify logs:
Extensions.UnobservedTaskContinuation: Background task 59 doing initialization for ClientStorageManager on thread 7 failed.. Exception: Could not find file 'C:\Users<username>\AppData\Local\Okta\OktaVerify\DataStore.db'.
ClientStorageManager.RecoverCorruptedStore: Database DataStore is corrupted, creating new db and storing old content in DataStore_<random number>.bkp
ClientStorageManager.TryInitializeStore: Failed to initialize storage manager.. Exception: An attempt was made to load a program with an incorrect format. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x8007000B)
OktaDeviceAccessRegistryWatcher.Initialize: Error starting registry watcher
SingletonHandler.SignalMainInstance: Failed to signal main instance with error 0x80004005.
- Okta Identity Engine (OIE)
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
- Windows Okta Verify
- Okta FastPass
After installing Windows Update KB5037591, all versions of Okta Verify stop operating. The Windows registry contains modified .NET Framework settings. Okta Verify operates as a 32-bit process and fails to load the required Dynamic Link Libraries (DLLs).
How does the user resolve the Okta Verify application launch issue?
The Enable64Bit key controls whether applications built on the .NET Framework execute as 64-bit or 32-bit processes. A 64-bit operating system (OS) sets this default value to 1. A value of 0 forces 64-bit applications to execute in 32-bit mode, which causes problems. 32-bit applications still execute on a 64-bit OS without issues. Okta builds Okta Verify as a .NET application on the .NET Framework. The Windows operating system installs Okta Verify as a 64-bit application based on the system architecture. However, the incorrect registry bit forces Okta Verify to run in 32-bit mode on a 64-bit OS.
Perform the following steps to update the registry key and resolve the issue:
- Navigate to the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework\Enable64Bitregistry key. - Change the value to 1.
- Restart the Windows machine.
- Launch the Okta Verify application and verify that Windows Okta Verify executes as a 64-bit application.
The images below depict the correct configuration of the registration setting and how to verify the platform setting of the Okta Verify application while in use.
Note: If the above settings are already correct but the application still fails to open, the issue may be separate and exhibit similar symptoms.
