netchx/netch · error · MessageException

Redirector start failed.

Error message

Redirector start failed.

What it means

Thrown by NFController.StartAsync after the native Redirector engine's InitAsync() (aio_init in Redirector.bin) returned false. By this point CheckDriver has run (driver installed/updated), filter/DNS/server/rule values were Dialed into the engine, and the final aio_init failed. The netfilter2 kernel driver must be registered and its service running for aio_init to succeed.

Source

Thrown at Netch/Controllers/NFController.cs:76

            var dns = IPEndPoint.Parse(dnsStr);
            if (dns.Port == 0)
                dns.Port = 53;

            Dial(NameList.AIO_DNSHOST, dns.Address.ToString());
            Dial(NameList.AIO_DNSPORT, dns.Port.ToString());
        }

        // Server
        Dial(NameList.AIO_TGTHOST, await server.AutoResolveHostnameAsync());
        Dial(NameList.AIO_TGTPORT, server.Port.ToString());
        Dial(NameList.AIO_TGTUSER, server.Username ?? string.Empty);
        Dial(NameList.AIO_TGTPASS, server.Password ?? string.Empty);

        // Mode Rule
        DialRule();

        if (!await InitAsync())
            throw new MessageException("Redirector start failed.");
    }

    public Task StopAsync()
    {
        return FreeAsync();
    }

    #region CheckRule

    /// <summary>
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="r"></param>
    /// <param name="clear"></param>
    /// <returns>No Problem true</returns>
    private static bool CheckCppRegex(string r, bool clear = true)
    {
        try
        {

View on GitHub (pinned to 9d99eb1c5a)

Solutions

1. Check logging for the Redirector init path and prior Dial results.
2. Ensure Netch runs as administrator so CheckDriver/InstallDriver can copy and register netfilter2.sys.
3. Manually trigger a reinstall: delete %SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\netfilter2.sys and let NFController.CheckDriver reinstall on next start.
4. Verify the netfilter2 service exists and can start (sc query netfilter2).
5. Reinstall Netch to restore a compatible nfdriver.sys and Redirector.bin.

// Ensure the driver is installed/registered and Redirector.bin is present before Start.
if (!File.Exists(Path.Combine(Global.NetchDir, "bin", "Redirector.bin")))
    throw new MessageException("Redirector.bin missing");
if (!File.Exists(NFController.UninstallDriver() ? "" : "%SystemRoot%\\System32\\drivers\\netfilter2.sys")) { /* let CheckDriver install */ }
// Require elevation:
if (!OperatingSystem.IsWindows() || !HasAdminRights())
    throw new MessageException("Redirector mode requires administrator privileges");

try { await nfController.StartAsync(server, mode); }
catch (MessageException ex) when (ex.Message == "Redirector start failed.")
{
    Log.Error("aio_init returned false; driver={Driver}", NFController.UninstallDriver());
    throw;
}

When it happens

Trigger: netfilter2.sys driver is not installed or not registered (aio_register never succeeded); the netfilter2 service is stopped; the driver on disk is the wrong version/architecture; a Dial value (server host, regex rule, port) left the engine in a state that rejects init; Redirector.bin missing/corrupt so aio_init returns false.

Common situations: First run on a fresh install where the driver install step was skipped or failed silently; user uninstalled the driver; Windows blocked the unsigned/old driver; major Windows update invalidated the driver.

Related errors

• tun2socks start failed.
• AioDNS start failed.
• bin\{mainFile} file not found!
• {Name} 控制器启动失败
• {e.Message} Missing File or runtime components

AI-assisted analysis of netchx/netch@9d99eb1c5a (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/338cbab8e9a23f93. Report an issue: GitHub.