HLK Studio shows “No targets in project” after successful Controller and Client setup (Windows Server 2019 + Windows 10)

Question

HLK Studio shows “No targets in project” after successful Controller and Client setup (Windows Server 2019 + Windows 10)

Nitin Pardeshi 0

Title: HLK Studio shows “No targets in project” after successful Controller and Client setup (Windows Server 2019 + Windows 10)

Summary

I am attempting to set up the Windows Hardware Lab Kit (HLK) environment following the official Microsoft documentation. The HLK Controller and Client installations complete successfully, and the client machine appears in HLK Studio. However, I am unable to see any targets when creating a project, and all views show:

“There are no selected targets in the project” “Selected machine pool does not contain any targets of this type”

Documentation Followed

I followed the official Microsoft guide: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/test/hlk/getstarted/step-1-install-controller-and-studio-on-the-test-server

Environment Details

HLK Controller OS: Windows Server 2019 Version 1809 (OS Build 17763.8389)
HLK Client OS: Windows 10 Version 22H2 (OS Build 19045.6466) (for driver testing)

HLK Version: Windows HLK for Windows 10, version 22H2

Installation Type: Controller + Studio on same server

No pre-installed SQL Server or third-party software

Controller Installation Steps

Disabled Windows Firewall

Created a local user: HLKInstallUser and logged in with it

Disabled Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration (IE ESC)

Verified system is clean (no existing software in Programs and Features)

Downloaded HLK (Windows 10 version 22H2)

Verified download contents:

HLKSetup.exe
Windows Kits folder

Granted full permissions to HLKInstallUser on the entire Windows Kits directory

Ran HLKSetup.exe as Administrator

Selected:

Install → Controller + Studio

Accepted firewall port opening

Accepted license agreement

Installation completed successfully (~10–15 minutes)

Rebooted server

Controller Validation

Verified services are running:

DTMService → Running

HLKsvc → Running

WttChangeScheduler → Running

WTTServer → Running

HLK Studio and HLK Manager launch successfully.

Client Installation Steps (Windows 10)

Created same user HLKInstallUser (same credentials as controller)

Mapped controller share:

\\<ControllerName>\HLKInstall\Windows Kits\

Navigated to:

\\<ControllerName>\Windows Kits\10\Hardware Lab Kit\Controller\WTTInstall\Client

Ran Setup.cmd as Administrator

Completed installation successfully

Verified installation in Programs and Features

Verified service:

HLKsvc → Running

HLK Studio Configuration

Opened HLK Studio as Administrator

Clicked Connect

Controller and datastore detected correctly

Navigated to Configuration → Machine Pools

Observed:

Client machine appears under Default Pool

  Status initially NotReady, then changed to Ready
  
     Heartbeat is visible and updating
     
     Created a new machine pool
     
     Moved client machine into the new pool
     
     Set client state to Ready

Issue

When creating a project and selecting the machine pool:

No targets are visible under:

Systems

  Device Manager
  
     Devices and Printers
     
        Software devices
        
        The UI displays:
        
        ```sql
        There are no selected targets in the project

Selected machine pool does not contain any targets of this type ```

Expected Behavior

The client machine and its devices should appear as selectable targets in the project.

Actual Behavior

No targets are detected in any view despite:

Client being visible

Machine being in Ready state

Heartbeat working correctly

Request for Assistance

Could you please help identify:

Why the HLK client machine is not exposing any targets?

Whether there is any missing configuration or step not covered in the documentation?

If additional components (filters, drivers, provisioning steps) are required before targets appear?

Additional Notes

Installation was performed strictly as per Microsoft documentation

No errors were shown during installation

Environment is clean and minimal

Any guidance or troubleshooting steps would be greatly appreciated.Title: HLK Studio shows “No targets in project” after successful Controller and Client setup (Windows Server 2019 + Windows 10)

Summary

I am attempting to set up the Windows Hardware Lab Kit (HLK) environment following the official Microsoft documentation. The HLK Controller and Client installations complete successfully, and the client machine appears in HLK Studio. However, I am unable to see any targets when creating a project, and all views show:

“There are no selected targets in the project”
“Selected machine pool does not contain any targets of this type”

Documentation Followed

I followed the official Microsoft guide:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/test/hlk/getstarted/step-1-install-controller-and-studio-on-the-test-server

Environment Details

HLK Controller OS: Windows Server 2019

HLK Client OS: Windows 10 (for driver testing)

HLK Version: Windows HLK for Windows 10, version 22H2

Installation Type: Controller + Studio on same server

No pre-installed SQL Server or third-party software

Controller Installation Steps

Disabled Windows Firewall

Created a local user: HLKInstallUser and logged in with it

Disabled Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration (IE ESC)

Verified system is clean (no existing software in Programs and Features)

Downloaded HLK (Windows 10 version 22H2)

Verified download contents:

HLKSetup.exe
Windows Kits folder

Granted full permissions to HLKInstallUser on the entire Windows Kits directory

Ran HLKSetup.exe as Administrator

Selected:

Install → Controller + Studio

Accepted firewall port opening

Accepted license agreement

Installation completed successfully (~10–15 minutes)

Rebooted server

Controller Validation

Verified services are running:

DTMService → Running

HLKsvc → Running

WttChangeScheduler → Running

WTTServer → Running

HLK Studio and HLK Manager launch successfully.

Client Installation Steps (Windows 10)

Created same user HLKInstallUser (same credentials as controller)

Mapped controller share:

\\<ControllerName>\HLKInstall\Windows Kits\

Navigated to:

\\<ControllerName>\Windows Kits\10\Hardware Lab Kit\Controller\WTTInstall\Client

Ran Setup.cmd as Administrator

Completed installation successfully

Verified installation in Programs and Features

Verified service:

HLKsvc → Running

HLK Studio Configuration

Opened HLK Studio as Administrator

Clicked Connect

Controller and datastore detected correctly

Navigated to Configuration → Machine Pools

Observed:

Client machine appears under Default Pool

Status was NotReady.

Heartbeat is visible and updating

Created a new machine pool

Moved client machine into the new pool

Set client state from NotReady to Ready.

Issue

When creating a project and selecting the machine pool:

No targets are visible under:

Systems

  Device Manager
  
     Devices and Printers
     
        Software devices
        
        The UI displays:
        
        ```sql
        There are no selected targets in the project

Selected machine pool does not contain any targets of this type ```

Expected Behavior

The client machine and its devices should appear as selectable targets in the project.

Actual Behavior

No targets are detected in any view despite:

Client being visible

Machine being in Ready state

Heartbeat working correctly

Request for Assistance

Could you please help identify:

Why the HLK client machine is not exposing any targets?

Whether there is any missing configuration or step not covered in the documentation?

If additional components (filters, drivers, provisioning steps) are required before targets appear?

Additional Notes

Installation was performed strictly as per Microsoft documentation

No errors were shown during installation

Environment is clean and minimal

Any guidance or troubleshooting steps would be greatly appreciated.

Nitin Pardeshi 0 Reputation points

2026-03-30T12:19:30.64+00:00
Thank you for your response.

I have carefully followed the suggested troubleshooting steps multiple times, but the issue still persists. Below is a summary of what I have tried:

Steps performed to trigger fresh gatherer data:

On the HLK client machine:

Restarted the system multiple times

Performed driver update/reinstall using Device Manager (including reinstalling the same driver and switching drivers where possible)

Waited for the client to reconnect and verified: Client shows correct heartbeat in HLK Studio
Client status changes to **Ready** successfully In HLK Studio: Closed and reopened HLK Studio and HLK Manager Reopened the project and reselected the machine pool

Additional steps performed (as per recommendation): 4. Restarted the HLK client system again to force gatherer refresh 5. Deleted existing projects and created new projects 6. Reset the client status in HLK Manager Job Monitor 7. Closed all instances of HLK Studio and HLK Manager and restarted them 8. Created a new machine pool, added the client, and selected the pool in a new project

Current behavior:

The HLK client is visible under the machine pool

Status shows as Ready and heartbeat is active

However, under the Selection tab:

No targets are displayed

Message shown: *"There are no selected targets in the project"*

I have repeated the above steps several times, but the issue remains unchanged.

Could you please advise on further troubleshooting steps or help identify what might be missing in this setup?

Thank you for your assistance.Thank you for your response.

I have carefully followed the suggested troubleshooting steps multiple times, but the issue still persists. Below is a summary of what I have tried:

Steps performed to trigger fresh gatherer data:

On the HLK client machine:

Restarted the system multiple times

Performed driver update/reinstall using Device Manager (including reinstalling the same driver and switching drivers where possible) Waited for the client to reconnect and verified: Client shows correct heartbeat in HLK Studio Client status changes to **Ready** successfully In HLK Studio: Closed and reopened HLK Studio and HLK Manager Reopened the project and reselected the machine pool

Additional steps performed (as per recommendation):
4. Restarted the HLK client system again to force gatherer refresh
5. Deleted existing projects and created new projects
6. Reset the client status in HLK Manager Job Monitor
7. Closed all instances of HLK Studio and HLK Manager and restarted them
8. Created a new machine pool, added the client, and selected the pool in a new project

Current behavior:

The HLK client is visible under the machine pool

Status shows as Ready and heartbeat is active

However, under the Selection tab:

No targets are displayed

Message shown: *"There are no selected targets in the project"*

I have repeated the above steps several times, but the issue remains unchanged.

Could you please advise on further troubleshooting steps or help identify what might be missing in this setup?

Thank you for your assistance.

2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Hi @Nitin Pardeshi .

This behavior typically indicates the client is connecting (heartbeat/Ready) but its device inventory (“targets”) isn’t being published to the controller, so the selected pool has no targets to add to the project.

Can you try these few quick checks:

Domain vs. workgroup authentication

If the environment is workgroup-based, using matching local accounts can sometimes allow the client to appear while other operations (like inventory/target publication) fail. If available, please try a domain-joined setup and run HLK using a domain account with admin rights on both machines.

Firewall / required connectivity

Since the controller firewall was disabled, please also confirm the client firewall (and any network filtering) isn’t blocking HLK traffic. As a diagnostic step, temporarily disable the client firewall, toggle the client NotReady → Ready, and check whether targets populate.

Client-side logs during “Ready” transition

On the client, please review Event Viewer (Application/System and any HLK/WTT/DTM/HLKsvc logs) for errors at the time the machine is set to Ready. Any RPC/WMI/permission/connectivity errors there are usually the key clue.

Re-run client setup to force re-enumeration

On the client, re-run ...\Controller\WTTInstall\Client\Setup.cmd as Administrator, reboot, then set the machine to Ready again and re-check targets.

Version alignment

Please confirm the HLK release matches the client OS (e.g., Windows 10 HLK 22H2 with a Windows 10 22H2 client; for Windows 11 clients, use the Windows 11 HLK).

As a final note, could you confirm whether the controller and client are domain-joined or in a workgroup, and share any relevant client Event Viewer errors from around the time the machine is set to Ready?

Hope to hear from you soon.

If you found my response helpful or informative, I would greatly appreciate it if you could follow this guidance or provide feedback. Thank you.

Danny Nguyen (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 6,615 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-03T02:51:44.9833333+00:00

Since the machine is Ready with heartbeat but no targets, the next step is to determine whether this is client side or controller side

Please try the checks below:

Domain vs workgroup

Are the controller and client domain-joined or workgroup?

Client Event Viewer (around the time you set it to Ready)

On the client, open Event Viewer and check Windows Logs → Application and System (and any HLK/WTT/DTM/HLKsvc logs if present).

Please share the Event ID + full error text for any errors in that time window.

Controller Event Viewer (same time window)

On the controller, check Windows Logs → Application/System for HLK/DTM/WTT-related errors when the client goes Ready.

Share Event ID + full error text.

Clean HLK client reinstall (not driver reinstall)

Uninstall HLK client from Programs & Features → reboot → run ...\WTTInstall\Client\Setup.cmd as Admin → reboot → set Ready and wait ~10 minutes.
Danny Nguyen (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 6,615 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-07T10:43:48.62+00:00

Hi, just checking in, do you have any update on this post?
Danny Nguyen (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 6,615 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-10T10:44:16.8366667+00:00

Hi, I’ve shared an answer. Did you get a chance to look at it? If you have any questions, just drop a comment and I’ll try my best to help.

Answer 2

The behavior matches a known HLK condition where the client is connected and sending heartbeats, but no usable targets appear in a project because the gatherer data on the controller is missing or stale.

Two specific HLK client issues from the documentation map to this:

Client entry recreated but no targets in pool
If the controller’s database entry for the client was deleted or became inconsistent, the client will reconnect (heartbeat works, shows as Ready in a pool), but no targets are listed when selecting that pool in a project. The documented symptom is:

After the client entry appears, the client is visible in the Configuration screen in Windows HLK Studio; however, when you select the machine pool on the Selection tab, no targets are listed for the system.

The documented resolution is to force the gatherer to return fresh data:

On the HLK client machine, perform one of the following to trigger new gatherer data:
- Install or update a driver or hardware device, or
- Restart the client system.
Wait for the client to reconnect and for HLK to rescan the system.
In HLK Studio, re-open the project and reselect the machine pool; targets should now appear.
Inaccurate or missing client information in Studio
HLK can show incomplete or missing targets/tests if gatherer data is not current. The documented workaround is more thorough and often resolves “no targets in project” when the client is otherwise healthy:
Restart the Windows HLK Client computer.
(Optional) Delete the existing project in Windows HLK Studio.
(Optional) In Windows HLK Manager Job Monitor, reset the status of the client computer.
Close all instances of Windows HLK Studio and Windows HLK Manager.
Restart Windows HLK Studio.
Create a new project and add the HLK client computer to a machine pool, then select that pool for the project.

If the client was installed incorrectly, another documented symptom is the LLU error “Skipped as Public key is null for the machine.” In that case, the fix is to uninstall and reinstall the HLK Client. Since the question states that the client appears, is Ready, and heartbeats are visible, the primary suspect is stale/missing gatherer data rather than a completely failed client install.

In summary, to expose targets in the project with the current setup:

Restart the HLK client machine (or cause a hardware/driver change) to force new gatherer data.
Close Studio/Manager, then reopen Studio.
Create a new project, add the client to a pool, and select that pool.
If targets still do not appear, reset the client status in Job Monitor and repeat, and only then consider uninstalling/reinstalling the HLK Client.

References:

Troubleshooting Windows HLK Client

Share via

HLK Studio shows “No targets in project” after successful Controller and Client setup (Windows Server 2019 + Windows 10)

Summary

Documentation Followed

Environment Details

Controller Installation Steps

Controller Validation

Client Installation Steps (Windows 10)

HLK Studio Configuration

Issue

Expected Behavior

Actual Behavior

Request for Assistance

Additional Notes

Summary

Documentation Followed

Environment Details

Controller Installation Steps

Controller Validation

Client Installation Steps (Windows 10)

HLK Studio Configuration

Issue

Expected Behavior

Actual Behavior

Request for Assistance

Additional Notes

2 answers

Your answer