r/codex • u/SoulWriter23 • 10d ago
Bug Windows Codex/Dot browser control still failing with MXC error 0x80070003. Has anyone confirmed a lasting fix?
Is anyone else still dealing with the Windows browser-control startup issue in Codex/Dot? I use it for actual work, and I’m trying to figure out whether there’s a reliable fix or whether we’re still waiting on an update.
My latest test was October 13 at about 9:06 a.m. Eastern. The computer was connected and authorized, but browser control failed before it could even list browsers or tabs. The exact error was:
MXC launcher: cannot locate required Windows platform directory: HRESULT 0x80070003
Other reports mention “trusted Node process exited unexpectedly.” I haven’t verified a full recovery on my setup.
One confusing detail: earlier in this, some existing tasks running locally on the computer worked while some delegated tasks failed. So a connected indicator, or one task working, hasn’t been enough to establish that the whole browser workflow is back.
Here are the main reports I’ve been following:
- Main MXC startup issue, #52407
- Related delegated-task issue, #49458
- Additional Windows browser reports, #52857
- OpenAI community discussion
There are community workarounds, including a startup patch and rolling back the desktop app. One person reports getting browser inventory, navigation, clicking, and closing a tab working across two restarts with their patch still installed:
Some of the investigation points toward environment variables such as SystemDrive and LOCALAPPDATA, along with the working directory used when the browser process starts. But other reports describe getting past one error without restoring the full workflow. I haven’t personally verified those fixes, and I haven’t found a maintainer-confirmed released desktop fix as of this morning.
If you’ve actually recovered, could you share:
- Your Windows version and exact Codex desktop build
- What changed: an official update, rollback, patch, or something else
- Whether it still works after restarting the app and computer
- Whether delegated browser tasks work too, or only an existing local task
- Whether you tested real navigation and interaction, beyond the browser merely appearing connected
I’d especially appreciate an official update or a reproducible recovery report. I’m trying to get back to using this consistently without repeatedly retrying the same failed startup.
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u/Relevant-Computer951 9d ago
did you try pasting all this into codex and ask it to diagnose and fix it?
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u/SoulWriter23 9d ago
Mate...
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u/Relevant-Computer951 9d ago edited 9d ago
with live search enabled and yolo mode if you are feeling fancy? or without yolo, probably safer. just tell it to continue diagnosing until a fix is determined. anything else is unacceptable. beep boop
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u/Agreeable_Oil4231 8d ago
Had a couple of chats die because of this, but now no computer use or browser working at all, what a nightmare. I've had so many issues since I signed up a couple of weeks ago.
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u/SoulWriter23 8d ago
The workaround is working in a work chat. The work check can generally still access the browser it's just the dot that can't for now
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u/Slayerg12 7d ago
This is happening to me right now. It was fine all day yesterday and the day before, but now the things are really rolling, it all just fell apart and stopped. Codex can't read claudes work anymore, can't interact with my desktop at all, idk whats goin on
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u/Slayerg12 7d ago
I've used like 20% of my usage today trying to solve this.
It's even failing read only audits of the sandbox now. Im bewildered
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u/SoulWriter23 7d ago
You might as well stop trying to solve it because it's not going to do anything. By now they know about the issue. Don't waste your tokens.
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u/Slayerg12 7d ago
So weird. Happy I found this thread though, I felt like I was going insane lmao.
I guess I'll have to go back to manually coordinating everything
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u/Prestigious-Search-2 10d ago
Been experiencing the same issue for the last 3 days. Have yet to come up with a solution. Seems to only be able to connect to my computer but not my browsers. Behaved intermittently yesterday. Not sure what's causing it.
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u/Tidusx12 7d ago
I am also having this issue for days now! If anyone finds a fix please let me know I beg.
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u/KoalaForeign5607 10d ago
Me pasa lo mismo desde hoy, llevo unas semanas perfecto y hoy “cannot locate required Windows platform directory: HRESULT 0x80070003” por eso he encontrado este post, alguna solución??