Docker has been unable to enter starting

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My docker has been updated to the latest version, but docker has been in this state of Starting the Docker Engine, constantly turning around, after a period of time, there is this error running engine: waiting for the Docker API: context deadline exceeded
sys:window11with wsl ubuntu 24.04
docker version:latest

image
image570×433 22.5 KB

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Same issue here.

Running Docker Desktop with WSL2 backend on a Windows system.

However, Docker fails to start properly with the error:

running engine: waiting for the Docker API: context deadline exceeded

Logs show repeated warnings like:

[lifecycle-server][W] still waiting for the HTTP proxy ... connect: connection refused

  • Port 53 is used by svchost.exe, but that’s expected and not the root cause.
  • Environment variables like HTTP_PROXY and HTTPS_PROXY are set to Clash, but NO_PROXY already includes 127.*, localhost, and Docker internal addresses.
  • nslookup to 127.0.0.1 fails to resolve domains, suggesting local DNS via proxy isn’t responding properly.

At this point:

  • Docker requires the proxy to access the external internet (for image pulls).
  • But Docker must not use proxy for internal communication (http.docker.internal), otherwise it times out.

I’ve tried reinstalling Docker, and it seems that the issue can be avoided as long as I don’t choose to install the WSL2 distribution. However, obviously, that’s not a realistic solution.