On your Ninja Mobile Trader VPS, start troubleshooting a NinjaTrader disconnect by identifying what stopped: Remote Desktop, Windows or NinjaTrader, market data, or a strategy. Our NinjaTrader-focused Windows hosting includes 24/7 VPS support. Use these checks to capture the evidence we need and avoid interrupting a working workspace.
Reconnecting your screen does not reconnect a feed, and a moving chart does not establish that a strategy is running.
Identify the failure before restarting#
| What you can observe | Check next | What the symptom does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Remote Desktop closes or cannot reconnect | Try your configured backup device or another network; note the exact RDP error | That NinjaTrader stopped on the server |
| The remote picture or mouse is slow, but applications appear to keep updating | Compare remote access from another connection and inspect the VPS itself | That the VPS-to-broker route is slow |
| Windows responds, but NinjaTrader freezes | Inspect NinjaTrader CPU and memory use, and its logs | That the entire server needs restarting |
| Windows and several applications stall together | Inspect overall CPU, memory and disk activity | Which application or resource caused the stall |
| The desktop responds, but a named trading connection drops or quotes stop | Check that connection, the instrument/session and provider status | That more RAM will restore market data |
| Quotes update, but automation has stopped | Inspect the Strategies tab and the strategy’s error/startup state | That an open chart means the strategy is enabled |
If an interruption leaves an order’s status uncertain, use your broker’s supported account access or contact its trade desk. Repeatedly submitting the same instruction is not a connection test.
Remote Desktop disconnects or feels slow#
Remote Desktop carries the screen and input between your device and the VPS. NinjaTrader has a separate connection from the VPS to its provider. A problem on either route can look like a frozen trading screen.
Reconnect to the same server and Windows user from your configured backup device. If that session responds normally while the original device remains slow, investigate the original device’s network and remote client first. If neither reaches the desktop, send support both errors and their times; failed remote access alone cannot identify a VPS outage.
Disconnect and sign out have different effects. Microsoft documents that disconnecting can preserve the session’s processes, while signing out terminates them. Session policies and server restarts can still end a disconnected session. See Microsoft’s session guidance and our Windows VPS remote access guide.
For persistent delay, measure the two routes separately using the VPS latency test guide. A ping result is a network measurement, not a measurement of order execution.
Windows works, but NinjaTrader freezes#
Open Task Manager inside the VPS and observe the processes using CPU, memory and disk while the slowdown occurs. Capture the process names and readings with the time. A brief loading spike differs from sustained resource use that coincides with repeated stalls.
If only NinjaTrader is affected, note whether the problem began after opening a workspace, loading history or adding an indicator. Preserve that context and the platform logs before changing the setup. In simulation or a separate test workspace, isolate one suspected component at a time; closing a live strategy’s chart is not an observational check.
Use the NinjaTrader VPS sizing guide when the evidence points to workload capacity. It covers specifications and workload testing without assuming that every freeze needs a larger server.
NinjaTrader charts are not updating, but Windows responds#
First, check that you are viewing the latest bar. NinjaTrader’s charting guide identifies the arrow at the chart’s upper right as the control that returns a scrolled chart to the current bar. Then compare the affected chart with current quotes for the same instrument and futures contract during its expected trading session.
| What you see | Check next |
|---|---|
| One chart stops, while another chart or quote window for the same contract updates | Record the affected chart’s bar type, interval and Trading Hours selection in Data Series. Compare those settings before treating it as a connection failure. |
| Other instruments update, but this contract does not | Verify the full contract/expiry, its trading session and your subscription’s instrument coverage. Record any entitlement error. |
| Current quotes arrive, but earlier bars are missing | Check the requested history range, Days to Load and locally stored data. Historical coverage and a current feed are separate checks. |
| Several instruments expected to be active stop updating on the same connection | Record the connection state and Log errors; check the provider’s service status. Use the feed-recovery section below if the connection has actually failed. |
NinjaTrader’s Trading Hours documentation explains that a template excludes data outside its defined sessions. Record the selected template, its time zone and applicable holiday hours. A chart outside that window is not by itself evidence of a feed outage. Check a contract’s current status against the provider’s instructions; do not choose a rollover date from an old screenshot or change a live strategy’s instrument as a diagnostic test.
Check stored history without changing the workspace#
Open Control Center > Tools > Historical Data and inspect the Loaded section. It shows downloaded history; note the instrument, interval/data type and relevant dates. NinjaTrader’s historical-data guide also explains that available history varies by provider and data type. Increasing Days to Load cannot create history the provider does not supply.
Stored bars do not prove that live quotes are arriving or that the account has the required market-data entitlement. Keep those observations separate in your support ticket. Preserve the evidence before any reload or repair; deleting a database/cache or using Reload NinjaScript is not an observational chart check.
Rithmic or Tradovate disconnects while the desktop works#
Record the affected connection’s name and error in NinjaTrader’s Control Center and Log tab. Use the chart checks above when the connection remains available but one chart is inactive.
Check your provider’s service notices and current connection instructions. Credentials, the selected system/environment and account access must match the actual account. Our Rithmic and Tradovate guide covers those distinctions; the multiple-account guide explains separate Rithmic logins versus multiple accounts under one login.
For automatic recovery, we recommend our partner Ninja Watchdog. It detects NinjaTrader disconnects, reconnects supported accounts including Rithmic and Tradovate, waits for live data and can restore interrupted strategies. It can also relaunch NinjaTrader after a crash or reboot. The partnership overview explains its role alongside your VPS.
Recovery still depends on the provider becoming available. Reconnecting cannot repair a provider-wide outage or guarantee that missed trading instructions will be recovered. After recovery, verify account, strategy and copier state.
The feed is back, but the strategy is stopped#
Inspect the affected row in the Strategies tab, including its account and instrument. NinjaTrader’s strategy display documentation distinguishes a running strategy, a disabled strategy and one waiting until flat. Check filters if the expected row is missing.
Then read the Log entries around the interruption. NinjaTrader’s connection-loss handling can keep a strategy running, recalculate it after reconnection or stop it. The configured behavior and the strategy’s own logic determine what happens; changing the setting to keep running is not a universal fix.
Before re-enabling, compare the actual account position and working orders with the strategy’s expected state. Review the strategy vendor’s recovery instructions and NinjaTrader’s startup and synchronization behavior. Synchronize account options can submit live orders. Use the configuration already validated for that strategy, rather than trying synchronization settings to see which clears the status.
For automation that includes a separate copier or bridge, also inspect its destination account and log. The automated trading setup guide explains how to trace an event through those components.
Choose a reconnect or restart from the evidence#
- Only remote access failed: reconnect the RDP client to the existing session. Inspect the trading applications when access returns.
- A provider connection failed: follow its connection instructions and address any explicit login, entitlement or service error. After reconnecting, verify current data and account state before resuming automation.
- NinjaTrader remains unresponsive: preserve available evidence and account/order status before a controlled application restart. Check the restored connections and strategies afterward.
- Windows itself remains unresponsive: contact VPS support with the time and failed access attempts so it can investigate the host and advise on recovery.
A server reboot, reinstall or disabled firewall should not be the first response to every symptom. Those changes can interrupt other applications and remove useful evidence without addressing the failed component.
Send support the evidence that identifies the problem#
Include the following in one ticket:
- Incident time and time zone: when it started, when it recovered and whether your device and VPS clocks use different zones.
- Scope: RDP access, all of Windows, NinjaTrader alone, a named connection, or a specific strategy/copier.
- Exact error and context: screenshot, affected instrument/contract, platform and add-on versions, and what changed immediately beforehand.
- Chart-specific evidence: full contract/expiry, bar type and interval, Trading Hours template and its time zone, Days to Load, and whether current quotes for that same contract continue to arrive. For a history gap, include the missing range and what appears under Historical Data > Loaded.
- Observations: whether one chart, one instrument or all expected-active instruments stopped; Task Manager readings; whether another device/network worked; and what you already tried.
- NinjaTrader diagnostic files: preserve the incident date’s files from
Documents\NinjaTrader 8\logandDocuments\NinjaTrader 8\trace. Share diagnostics privately with support; do not post credentials or full account details publicly.
Contact Ninja Mobile Trader support with this record so we can investigate VPS access and host performance. If the evidence identifies a broker/account or strategy error, keep the same timestamps and diagnostics for the provider or strategy developer. That makes the next investigation specific to the component that stopped.