Unable to run Server.exe (exits immediately)

I've just tried to get SPT-AKI working for the very first time, with a couple snags along the way. The instructions I was following: How to install AKI

The initial issues I ran into was that the AKI Patcher Tool needed .NET Desktop Runtime 5.0.12; the 5.0.4 version linked in the Requirements section did not work (they installed, but the patcher binary would not run, and i have Windows Event Viewer entries confirming that). I solved that problem by installing both x64 versions of the .NET Desktop Runtime 5.0.12 as well as .NET Runtime 5.0.12 from here: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/5.0

After that, the patcher ran and reported no errors. Great.

Problems began once I reached the "Double-click on the Server executable" phase of the installation: doing so does nothing. It briefly pops up a window and immediately exits/closes the window. No logs are generated. A Properties on Server.exe says that it's a Node.js application of some sort (?!?!).

I have a couple suspicions as to the source of the problem, but I'm not sure how to verify them. One of the key aspects is that I'm using Windows 7 SP1 x64, which makes me wonder if whatever built Server.exe isn't being built with Windows 7 compatibility in mind. Another possibility is a missing requirement for SPT-AKI, but best I can tell, I do in fact have all the necessary .NET runtimes (3.5 comes with Windows 7, and I have .NET Framework 4.7.2 installed as well), as well as the Visual C++ runtime in question, though it doesn't appear in WMI's product list, running the vcredist binary only brings up Repair and Uninstall). Here's verification of some of it:

C:\>wmic

wmic:root\cli>product get name

Name

Microsoft .NET Runtime - 5.0.12 (x64)

Microsoft .NET Host - 5.0.12 (x64)

Microsoft Windows Desktop Runtime - 5.0.12 (x64)

Microsoft .NET Framework 4.7.2

What other information can I provide that would help?

Sorry for replying to my own thread, but yeah, it's because I'm on Windows 7. It seems the last versions of Node.js to work with Windows 7 was v13.14.0; starting with v14 they began doing OS version checks. I suspect Server.exe launches (window gets created) and the underlying PL does a version check, which fails, and thus immediately quits. All this is hidden when using a GUI, so I decided to launch Server.exe via cmd.exe and sure enough:

D:\Games\SPT-AKI>Server.exe

Node.js is only supported on Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, or higher.

Setting the NODE_SKIP_PLATFORM_CHECK environment variable to 1 skips this

check, but Node.js might not execute correctly. Any issues encountered on

unsupported platforms will not be fixed.

I tried the env var workaround and now we're getting somewhere!

D:\Games\SPT-AKI>set NODE_SKIP_PLATFORM_CHECK=1

D:\Games\SPT-AKI>Server.exe

┌───────────────────────────────┐

│ SPT-AKI 2.1.0 │

│ https://discord.sp-tarkov.com │

│ │

│ This work is free of charge │

│ Commercial use is prohibited │

└───────────────────────────────┘

Server: executing startup callbacks...

[INFO] Importing database...

[SUCCESS] Started webserver at http://127.0.0.1:6969

[SUCCESS] Started websocket at wss://127.0.0.1:6969

Anyway, it's important to remember that officially EFT supports Windows 7 -- per https://www.escapefromtarkov.com/support/knowledge/68 . SPT-AKI tools only working with Windows 8 or newer, as a result of using Node.js, should really be outlined somewhere in the Requirements or installation docs. And a polite reminder: while "consumer" Windows 7 is EOL'd, Microsoft is still providing support for it until January 2023 per their ESU programme -- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-…nded-security-updates-faq

Yep, everything seems to be working fine after above workaround. For now I'll just set said env var via my user profile and call it a day. (For others wondering how to do that: Control Panel / System and Security / System / Advanced System Settings / Advanced tab / Environment Variables / click New under User variables for {username} and use a NAME of NODE_SKIP_PLATFORM_CHECK and a value of 1. No reboot is needed)