StartIBC.bat cannot see ibgateway.vmoptions on Windows Server 2025 - FIX FOUND, IN COMMENTS

[nate966]

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Environment

• IBC version: 3.23.0
• OS: Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Standard 10.0.26100 64‑bit
• IBKR Gateway: Build 10.45.1e, May 7, 2026 5:00:06 AM (from Help → About IB Gateway)
• Gateway install path: C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045

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Goal
Run IB Gateway 10.45.1e under IBC 3.23.0 (paper account) on a Windows Server 2025 VPS, using the standard StartGateway.bat and StartIBC.bat from the IBCWin‑3.23.0 ZIP.

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Symptom / Error

When I run StartGateway.bat, IBC starts and then exits with ERRORLEVEL = 1007 and an error saying neither tws.vmoptions nor ibgateway.vmoptions can be found, even though ibgateway.vmoptions is present in the version directory.

Console window:

==============================================================================
 IBC version 3.23.0
 Running GATEWAY 1045 at Thu 05/14/2026  8:21:55.20

 'wmic' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
 operable program or batch file.

 Diagnostic information is logged in:

 C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\sec_reports\IBCWin-3.23.0\Logs\IBC-3.23.0_GATEWAY-1045_.txt

 ** Caution: closing this window will close GATEWAY 1045 **
 (window will close automatically when you exit from GATEWAY 1045)
==============================================================================

                       **** An error has occurred ****

 Error while: Running StartIBC.bat

 ERRORLEVEL = 1007

 Please look in the diagnostics file mentioned above for further information

==============================================================================

Relevant part of the IBC log:

Starting IBC version 3.23.0 on Thu 05/14/2026 at  8:21:55.63

Operating system:  Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Standard 10.0.26100 64-bit        

Arguments:

TWS version = 1045
Program = Gateway
Entry point = ibcalpha.ibc.IbcGateway
/TwsPath = C:\Jts\ibgateway
/TwsSettingsPath = C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045
/IbcPath = C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\sec_reports\IBCWin-3.23.0
/Config = C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\sec_reports\IBCWin-3.23.0\config.ini
/Mode = paper
/JavaPath = 
/User =
/PW =
/FIXUser =
/FIXPW =

"C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045\tws.vmoptions" does not exist

=========================== An error has occurred =============================

Error: Neither tws.vmoptions nor ibgateway.vmoptions could be found

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Filesystem state (Gateway install)

The Gateway install directory looks like this:

C:\Users\Administrator>dir C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045

 Directory of C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045

05/14/2026  07:56 AM    <DIR>          .
05/14/2026  07:53 AM    <DIR>          ..
05/14/2026  07:54 AM    <DIR>          .install4j
05/14/2026  07:53 AM    <DIR>          data
05/08/2026  03:11 AM           795,320 ibgateway.exe
05/14/2026  07:54 AM               915 ibgateway.vmoptions
05/14/2026  07:54 AM    <DIR>          jars
05/14/2026  08:24 AM               656 jts.ini
05/14/2026  08:24 AM            63,394 launcher.log
05/14/2026  08:24 AM    <DIR>          lbmfdjllphoapbfmiajjdedkhjpcekhpghandhfj
05/08/2026  03:11 AM           928,952 uninstall.exe
05/14/2026  08:24 AM             3,120 xmlopt.dat
               6 File(s)      1,792,357 bytes
               6 Dir(s)  58,554,556,416 bytes free

And specifically:

C:\Users\Administrator>dir C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045\*.vmoptions

 Directory of C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045

05/14/2026  07:54 AM               915 ibgateway.vmoptions
               1 File(s)            915 bytes

So ibgateway.exe, ibgateway.vmoptions, jars, etc., are all present in the folder that IBC is pointing at (C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045).

IB Gateway 10.45.1e starts and runs correctly when launched directly via:

C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045\ibgateway.exe

The problem occurs only when launching via StartGateway.bat → DisplayBannerAndLaunch.bat → StartIBC.bat.

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My IBC configuration

StartGateway.bat (header section, from IBCWin‑3.23.0, with my edits):

@echo off
setlocal enableextensions enabledelayedexpansion

set TWS_MAJOR_VRSN=1045
set CONFIG=C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\sec_reports\IBCWin-3.23.0\config.ini
set TRADING_MODE=paper
set TWOFA_TIMEOUT_ACTION=restart
set IBC_PATH=C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\sec_reports\IBCWin-3.23.0
set TWS_PATH=C:\Jts\ibgateway
set TWS_SETTINGS_PATH=C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045
set LOG_PATH=%IBC_PATH%\Logs
set TWSUSERID=
set TWSPASSWORD=
set FIXUSERID=
set FIXPASSWORD=
set JAVA_PATH=
set HIDE=

config.ini (relevant parts):

FIX=no

IbLoginId=...redacted...
IbPassword=...redacted...

TradingMode=paper
AcceptNonBrokerageAccountWarning=yes
LoginDialogDisplayTimeout=60

;IbDir=
StoreSettingsOnServer=
MinimizeMainWindow=no
ExistingSessionDetectedAction=primaryoverride

AcceptIncomingConnectionAction=accept

;CommandServerPort=7462
CommandServerPort=0
SuppressInfoMessages=yes

I am following the User Guide’s recommendations:

• Installed the standalone/stable IB Gateway build.
• Used the default C:\Jts\ibgateway\ root.
• Set TWS_MAJOR_VRSN based on the build number (10.45.1e → 1045).
• Set TWS_PATH to C:\Jts\ibgateway.
• Set TWS_SETTINGS_PATH to C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045.
• Commented out IbDir in config.ini so the settings folder is controlled via TWS_SETTINGS_PATH instead.

---

What I expected

Given this layout, I expected StartIBC.bat to:

• Resolve PROGRAMPATH to C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045,
• Find ibgateway.vmoptions there,
• Use it (or fall back correctly) to build the Java VM options,
• Then start Gateway under IBC control.

Instead, the log shows:

• It looks in C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045\tws.vmoptions,
• Then reports that neither tws.vmoptions nor ibgateway.vmoptions could be found,
• And exits with error 1007.

This is surprising given that C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045\ibgateway.vmoptions exists and is readable.

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Questions

1. Is there any known issue in the StartIBC.bat VM options discovery logic with IB Gateway 10.45.x on Windows Server 2025?
2. For Gateway, should the script be using ibgateway.vmoptions by default, and could there be a path/quoting issue that causes the if exist checks to fail even when the file is present?
3. Is there a recommended workaround (for example copying or renaming ibgateway.vmoptions to tws.vmoptions, or a small modification to StartIBC.bat) until the scripts are updated?

I’m happy to provide the full log file and test any script changes you suggest.

[nate966]

FOUND THE FIX

Additional detail: VM options filename issue and workaround

After more testing, I found that the failure was specifically related to the VM options filename detection in StartIBC.bat on Windows.

• Gateway is installed at:
  C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045
• This folder contains:
  ibgateway.exe, ibgateway.vmoptions, jars\, etc.
• IBC log shows:
  • TwsPath = C:\Jts\ibgateway
  • TwsSettingsPath = C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045
  • TWS version = 1045

However, even with this correct layout, IBC still reported:

"C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045\tws.vmoptions" does not exist

Error: Neither tws.vmoptions nor ibgateway.vmoptions could be found

and exited with error ETWSVMOPTIONSNOTFOUND (1007), despite the presence of ibgateway.vmoptions in that folder.

Minimal workaround that made IBC work

As an experiment, I manually created a copy of the Gateway VM options file under the TWS filename in the same directory:

copy C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045\ibgateway.vmoptions C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045\tws.vmoptions

Result:

• After adding tws.vmoptions this way, StartGateway.bat + StartIBC.bat worked, and IB Gateway 10.45.1e started under IBC control without errors.
• No other configuration changes were required.

This confirms:

• The underlying paths (TWS_PATH, TWS_SETTINGS_PATH, PROGRAMPATH) were correct.
• The Java IBC program itself was fine.
• The breakage on Windows was specifically at the VM options filename discovery step in StartIBC.bat, which for Gateway appears to be looking (or at least failing) in a way that doesn’t recognize ibgateway.vmoptions alone in this environment.

Conclusion

On this Windows Server 2025 + Gateway 10.45.1e setup, IBC’s Windows launcher only succeeded after a manual file copy:

• ibgateway.vmoptions → tws.vmoptions in the same C:\Jts\ibgateway\1045 folder.

That strongly suggests the VM options detection logic in StartIBC.bat for Gateway either:

• Assumes a tws.vmoptions filename, or
• Has a path/variable/quoting issue that prevents it from seeing ibgateway.vmoptions even when it exists.

A small change in the batch logic to explicitly check both:

• %PROGRAMPATH%\ibgateway.vmoptions
• %PROGRAMPATH%\tws.vmoptions

before erroring out would likely avoid this problem and remove the need for the manual copy workaround.

[rlktradewright]

The vmoptions handling code works fine and there is no need for any change in the logic or manually copying files.

The problem here is that your setting for TWS_PATH in StartGateway.bat is incorrect. You have got:

Set TWS_PATH=C:\Jts\ibgateway

but it should be:

Set TWS_PATH to C:\Jts\

See the comment for TWS_PATH in the .bat file. It says:

:: TWS_PATH
::
:: The folder where TWS is installed. The TWS installer always installs to
:: C:\Jts. Note that even if you have installed from a Gateway download
:: rather than a TWS download, you should still use this default setting.
:: It is possible to move the TWS installation to a different folder, but
:: there are virtually no good reasons for doing so.

C:\Jts\ibgateway is not the install folder for gateway: it's an internal folder within the overall C:\Jts folder structure.

By the way 1: I notice that your console window contains this error message:

'wmic' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

This is puzzling because StartIBC.bat in IBC 3.23.0 doesn't contain the wmic command, which has been removed from recent WIndows versions. It uses a Powershell command instead. So I'm concerned that your files might have go mixed up somehow.

By the way2: it's nearly always adequate to just include the IBC logfile (the whole of it) in issue reports rather than trying to make extracts of loads of things as you've done here. That would have saved both of us a bunch of time.