Claude Desktop - Unknown Error on startup after computer restart (Windows)

[CreatorOpsAdmin]

Preflight Checklist

• I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Issue: "Couldn't connect to Claude > Unknown Error" appears every time after restarting computer
Product: Claude Desktop app (version 1.11187.4.0)
OS: Windows with WSL enabled
Steps to reproduce:
a. Restart computer
b. Open Claude Desktop
c. Error appears immediately
Already tried:
Clear Cache and Restart
Reset App Data
Running as administrator
Disabled VPN
Implemented PowerShell fix from previous support session
Checked /etc/resolv.conf in WSL

cowork-service.log

main.log

What Should Happen?

Claude desktop should open

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

a. Restart computer
b. Open Claude Desktop
c. Error appears immediately

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

version 1.11187.4.0

Claude Code Version

version 1.11187.4.0

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

PowerShell

Additional Information

No response

[github-actions]

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. Version app-1.11187.4 of claude.desktop not opening after update on new version windows 11, European/switzerland #66214
2. [BUG] Cowork broken after auto-update to v1.11187.4.0 on Windows 11 Pro — RPC connection drops immediately with EOF #65936
3. [BUG] Claude desktop fails to launch after applyin an update #65072

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

• If your issue is a duplicate, please close it and 👍 the existing issue instead
• To prevent auto-closure, add a comment or 👎 this comment

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[CreatorOpsAdmin]

Issue resolved > AVG was the cause

Claude_AVG_WhiteScreen_FixPathway.docx

[king-sheol]

For anyone finding this issue because Claude Desktop on Windows shows "Couldn't connect to Claude" / "Unknown Error" after restart or update: I packaged a small unofficial launcher that may help in the narrower case where the browser can open Claude but the Desktop app cannot initialize/connect/render correctly.

Repo:
https://github.com/king-sheol/claude-desktop-windows-proxy-launcher

Latest release ZIP:
https://github.com/king-sheol/claude-desktop-windows-proxy-launcher/releases/latest

What it does: resolves the installed Claude path, launches Claude with explicit Chromium/Electron flags (--disable-quic and GPU-stability flags), optionally injects the current Windows/env proxy, and checks for a visible Claude window after startup.

Caveats: unofficial, not affiliated with Anthropic, does not modify or redistribute Anthropic software, and not a universal fix for WSL/Cowork VM/network issues.

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.