3ds Max 2027 "ADP Failed to start" in server mode when opted out

[ZainAallii]

Effect

3ds Max 2027 launched in server mode (3dsmaxbatch.exe / 3dsmaxcmd.exe, as render nodes do) aborts during startup, before any scene work, and the render task fails. The 3ds Max log shows:

ADP Initialize: OptedOut
Starting network
ADP Failed to start
3ds Max Exit Code = -12

This blocks all rendering on affected nodes.

Affected host configuration scripts (Deadline Cloud samples)

Any 3ds Max 2027 service-managed fleet provisioned with these scripts is affected (apply the opt-in consent workaround below):

• 3dsmax-2027 — base 3ds Max 2027
• 3dsmax-2027-and-vray — 3ds Max 2027 + V-Ray
• 3dsmax-2027-and-corona-14 — 3ds Max 2027 + Corona 14
• 3dsmax-2027-and-vray-and-tyflow — 3ds Max 2027 + V-Ray + tyFlow
• 3dsmax-2027-vray-and-aec-plugins — 3ds Max 2027 + V-Ray + AEC plugins

Root cause

This happens when the launching user is opted out of the Autodesk Analytics Program (ADP). The opted-out path runs a "Starting network" step that cold-starts the Autodesk SSO server app AdSSO.exe. That executable is not installed: the ADP SDK bundled with 3ds Max 2027 still expects the legacy AdSSO.exe, but the installed Autodesk Identity Manager ships AdSSOServices.dll / AdskIdentityManager.exe and no AdSSO.exe. The SSO cold-start times out, ADP reports failure, and Max exits -12.

The opted-in path (ADP Initialize: Done) skips the "Starting network" / SSO step entirely, so it does not hit the missing AdSSO.exe.

What it is not:

• Not headless- or session-specific. Confirmed on a fully interactive workstation, with the ADP/Identity Manager stack running, that a server-mode launch while opted out fails identically. The differentiator is opt-in vs opt-out, not interactive vs headless.
• Not fixed by opting out "cleanly" — opt-out is exactly what triggers the crash.
• Not a Deadline Cloud issue — reproduces with a plain 3dsmaxbatch.exe launch and a trivial script.

Render nodes hit this because they run in server mode and their service account defaults to opted out. Interactive artists using the normal 3ds Max GUI do not, because the GUI resolves consent (or they are opted in).

Workarounds

1. Use 3ds Max 2026 render nodes — not affected.

2. Record an ADP opt-in consent for the render user before launch, if you agree to it. Writing %APPDATA%\Autodesk\ADPSDK\UserConsent\UnNamed.json with all optIn: true and userActionRequired: false makes ADP reach Done and Max start:

{
  "preferences": [
    {"consentId": "ADSK_PUD_CONTRACTUAL_NECESSITY_DESKTOP", "optIn": true},
    {"consentId": "ADSK_PUD_OPTIMIZATION_IMPROVEMENT_DESKTOP", "optIn": true},
    {"consentId": "ADSK_PUD_GO_TO_MARKET_DESKTOP", "optIn": true}
  ],
  "userActionRequired": false,
  "userId": "UnNamed"
}

On a service-managed fleet, apply this script to opt-in if agree at provision time from your host configuration script by writing the file into the Default user profile so every new profile (including the render service account) inherits it:

$consentDir = "C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\ADPSDK\UserConsent"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $consentDir -Force | Out-Null
$consent = @{
    preferences = @(
        @{ consentId = "ADSK_PUD_CONTRACTUAL_NECESSITY_DESKTOP";   optIn = $true },
        @{ consentId = "ADSK_PUD_OPTIMIZATION_IMPROVEMENT_DESKTOP"; optIn = $true },
        @{ consentId = "ADSK_PUD_GO_TO_MARKET_DESKTOP";            optIn = $true }
    )
    userActionRequired = $false
    userId = "UnNamed"
}
$consent | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 5 |
    Set-Content -Path (Join-Path $consentDir "UnNamed.json") -Encoding UTF8

(Writing to the current user's %APPDATA% at render time works too, but the Default-profile approach is one-time and covers every job.)

This records consent to Autodesk's analytics program. Apply it only if you accept that; tooling should not opt users in on their behalf. This is a host-configuration/administrator step, not something the submitter or adaptor does automatically.

3. Opting out does not work — the same file with optIn: false still fails (OptedOut → ADP Failed to start), confirmed on both a render node and an interactive workstation. The crash is in the opted-out SSO cold-start itself, so a proper fix must come from Autodesk: make the opted-out server-mode path non-fatal (do not require AdSSO.exe), or provide a way to fully disable ADP.