I’ve encountered a challenging issue with ClickOnce deployment. After successfully publishing my application on a deployment server (*.76), I can install and run the application without any problems on the local *.76 machine. However, when I try to install the application remotely on a different machine, I run into an error that prevents the installation from proceeding.

Here are the steps I’ve taken so far:

I’ve signed the manifests using both .pfx and .snk files to ensure a strong name and authenticity.
I’ve conducted tests on various machines to replicate the issue.
The ClickOnce deployment and application settings have been thoroughly reviewed and appear to be configured correctly.
Despite these efforts, the remote installation fails, while local installations on the deployment server (*.76) are successful. This leads me to believe there might be a network-related issue or a configuration detail that I’m overlooking.

Below is log i’ve received from publisher:

PLATFORM VERSION INFO
Windows             : 6.3.9600.0 (Win32NT)
Common Language Runtime     : 4.0.30319.42000
System.Deployment.dll       : 4.8.4654.0 built by: NET48REL1LAST_B
clr.dll             : 4.8.4645.0 built by: NET48REL1LAST_B
dfdll.dll           : 4.8.4654.0 built by: NET48REL1LAST_B
dfshim.dll          : 6.3.9600.20565 (winblue_ltsb_escrow.220810-1750)

SOURCES
    Deployment url          : file://otpgotst4/Pub/OT.System.application
    Deployment Provider url     : file://*/Pub/Application%20Files/OT.System.application

ERROR SUMMARY
    Below is a summary of the errors, details of these errors are listed later in the log.
    * Activation of \OTPGOTST4PubOT.System.application resulted in exception. Following failure messages were detected:
        + Downloading file://*/Pub/Application Files/OT.System.application did not succeed.
        + Could not find file '\*PubApplication FilesOT.System.application'.
        + Could not find file '\*PubApplication FilesOT.System.application'.
        + Could not find file '\*PubApplication FilesOT.System.application'.

COMPONENT STORE TRANSACTION FAILURE SUMMARY
    No transaction error was detected.

WARNINGS
    There were no warnings during this operation.

OPERATION PROGRESS STATUS
    * [2024-06-03 21:31:34] : Activation of \OTPGOTST4PubOT.System.application has started.

ERROR DETAILS
    Following errors were detected during this operation.
    * [2024-06-03 21:31:34] System.Deployment.Application.DeploymentDownloadException (Unknown subtype)
        - Downloading file://*/Pub/Application Files/OT.System.application did not succeed.
        - Source: System.Deployment
        - Stack trace:
            at System.Deployment.Application.SystemNetDownloader.DownloadSingleFile(DownloadQueueItem next)
            at System.Deployment.Application.SystemNetDownloader.DownloadAllFiles()
            at System.Deployment.Application.FileDownloader.Download(SubscriptionState subState, X509Certificate2 clientCertificate)
            at System.Deployment.Application.DownloadManager.DownloadManifestAsRawFile(Uri& sourceUri, String targetPath, IDownloadNotification notification, DownloadOptions options, ServerInformation& serverInformation)
            at System.Deployment.Application.DownloadManager.DownloadDeploymentManifestDirect(SubscriptionStore subStore, Uri& sourceUri, TempFile& tempFile, IDownloadNotification notification, DownloadOptions options, ServerInformation& serverInformation)
            at System.Deployment.Application.DownloadManager.FollowDeploymentProviderUri(SubscriptionStore subStore, AssemblyManifest& deployment, Uri& sourceUri, TempFile& tempFile, IDownloadNotification notification, DownloadOptions options)
            at System.Deployment.Application.DownloadManager.DownloadDeploymentManifestBypass(SubscriptionStore subStore, Uri& sourceUri, TempFile& tempFile, SubscriptionState& subState, IDownloadNotification notification, DownloadOptions options)
            at System.Deployment.Application.ApplicationActivator.PerformDeploymentActivation(Uri activationUri, Boolean isShortcut, String textualSubId, String deploymentProviderUrlFromExtension, BrowserSettings browserSettings, String& errorPageUrl, Uri& deploymentUri)
            at System.Deployment.Application.ApplicationActivator.PerformDeploymentActivationWithRetry(Uri activationUri, Boolean isShortcut, String textualSubId, String deploymentProviderUrlFromExtension, BrowserSettings browserSettings, String& errorPageUrl)
--- End of stack trace from previous location where exception was thrown ---
            at System.Runtime.ExceptionServices.ExceptionDispatchInfo.Throw()
            at System.Deployment.Application.ApplicationActivator.PerformDeploymentActivationWithRetry(Uri activationUri, Boolean isShortcut, String textualSubId, String deploymentProviderUrlFromExtension, BrowserSettings browserSettings, String& errorPageUrl)
            at System.Deployment.Application.ApplicationActivator.ActivateDeploymentWorker(Object state)
        --- Inner Exception ---
        System.Net.WebException
        - Could not find file '\*PubApplication FilesOT.System.application'.
        - Source: System
        - Stack trace:
            at System.Net.FileWebRequest.EndGetResponse(IAsyncResult asyncResult)
            at System.Deployment.Application.SystemNetDownloader.DownloadSingleFile(DownloadQueueItem next)
        --- Inner Exception ---
        System.Net.WebException
        - Could not find file '\*PubApplication FilesOT.System.application'.
        - Source: System
        - Stack trace:
            at System.Net.FileWebResponse..ctor(FileWebRequest request, Uri uri, FileAccess access, Boolean asyncHint)
            at System.Net.FileWebRequest.GetResponseCallback(Object state)
        --- Inner Exception ---
        System.IO.FileNotFoundException
        - Could not find file '\*PubApplication FilesOT.System.application'.
        - Source: mscorlib
        - Stack trace:
            at System.IO.__Error.WinIOError(Int32 errorCode, String maybeFullPath)
            at System.IO.FileStream.Init(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, Int32 rights, Boolean useRights, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions options, SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES secAttrs, String msgPath, Boolean bFromProxy, Boolean useLongPath, Boolean checkHost)
            at System.IO.FileStream..ctor(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions options, String msgPath, Boolean bFromProxy)
            at System.Net.FileWebStream..ctor(FileWebRequest request, String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare sharing, Int32 length, Boolean async)
            at System.Net.FileWebResponse..ctor(FileWebRequest request, Uri uri, FileAccess access, Boolean asyncHint)

COMPONENT STORE TRANSACTION DETAILS
    No transaction information is available.

Has anyone experienced a similar problem or can offer insights into what might be causing this remote installation failure? Any suggestions or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your help!