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Also, in the monitor, when it hangs, it shows up with 2 instances of the exe running even though we are only trying to run one.
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This suggestion is a little out of left field or may be stating the obvious, but it also may be pertinent. You can configure the newer Windows OS's under Folder Options to allow opening programs with a single click or a double click. If configured to open with a single click, the mouse pointer will be a hand when held over an icon or file. In this case, if you double-click, the program will be run twice. This would be independent of the back end server, but could this be part of the problem, where you are seeing 2 instances of the app being run?

This can be a little surprising, especially if you are accustomed to the double-click setting, and go to another machine with the single click setting.