Vista: Installing the Telnet Client
By default, Vista doesn’t install the Telnet client. The client is for text-based communication with remote systems. You can install it by following these steps:
1. Click Start then select Control Panel.
2. Select Programs and Features.
3. Select Turn Windows features on or off.
4. Select the Telnet Client option.
5. Click OK.
6. A dialog box will appear to confirm installation. The telnet command should now be available.








Viktor said on October 8, 2008
thanks man.
Bill said on October 14, 2008
I was wondering about this feature . I have been missing it. Thank you, very helpful info!
Sinjin said on October 14, 2008
Sweet thanks alot !! I wondered why it didn’t have it .
Colleen said on October 15, 2008
Good info!
Daplayer said on October 21, 2008
thx
Ferdaus said on October 22, 2008
Very Nice tips, thank you
i don't know said on November 10, 2008
thanks
sajid said on November 12, 2008
thnks dude i was un able to use my cisco simulator without telnet.
anoop said on November 20, 2008
Thanxxx
This is very full me
King said on November 20, 2008
Thank you very much mate.
Nikola said on December 1, 2008
thanks so much it really helped!
mk said on December 4, 2008
thanks, installing
jenny said on December 4, 2008
this feature sucks when you are trying to ping because it gives us the error command not reconized…not good
Chathura Madhusanka said on December 4, 2008
Thank you Very very much,
chathura
McThick said on December 12, 2008
Microsoft is beyond retarded…
aboeldhb said on December 17, 2008
thnxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx vry mach
noname said on December 21, 2008
Thanks alot :)
James said on December 22, 2008
Excellent, helped a lot.
ak said on January 4, 2009
Thank you bud
Imnotgivingmynametoamachine! said on January 7, 2009
cool thanks
Rocky said on January 8, 2009
Thanks Mate!!!!
Works like Charm
Bahram said on January 14, 2009
Very Very Very Thanx
It’s very useful.
linuxstartslookinggood said on January 16, 2009
Thanks Very Much!
How big is the Telnet executable? Can’t see how it can be more than 100kb, but took ages to install! You’ve got to love Vista ….
Hamy said on January 18, 2009
Exacly. nice move m$. again
Patrick said on January 20, 2009
Thanks very much, I thought it was just omitted from Vista…glad to have it back
Aron said on January 26, 2009
lol :D weird …
beavis said on January 27, 2009
Danke!
nxyazilim.com said on January 29, 2009
thanks man
blargh said on February 6, 2009
I hate you Windows. Thanks for this guide.
anonimous said on February 7, 2009
thnks
JANGEL said on February 10, 2009
GOD BLESS YOU ! ! ! !
You don have any idea how much I need telnet and I was using other computers…
THANK YOU ! ! !
David said on February 17, 2009
wow, another reason i hate vista, thnx much >
huh??? said on February 25, 2009
thx
Alex said on March 6, 2009
Thanks, nice and succint
KC said on March 7, 2009
Cheers lad!
MMF said on March 9, 2009
Nice Tip ,
thanks a lot
Drew said on March 18, 2009
Sweeeet thx
James said on March 19, 2009
Thanks… but yeah, taking foreeeeeeever.
bob said on March 21, 2009
thanks
raj said on April 13, 2009
thanks dude
star said on April 20, 2009
hei..
the list wont come out..
ive google the net and found nothing to solve the problem..
would you please help me with this?
btw..
im using vista home basic..
is there any difference?
Gro_ said on April 22, 2009
thx
disaster said on April 25, 2009
than you it help just takes for ever to install the client
fedora _linux said on April 25, 2009
thanks master
i have been looking for a way to restore that
and you give me the magic pro
bradley said on April 26, 2009
activateing and haveing telnet on can be dangerous, not worth it unless you want your computer to start running like shit.
anon said on May 4, 2009
thanks man, even though it’s no good to me, nice to know i wasn’t making a retarded mistake.
Amit said on May 4, 2009
Awesome !
Gernot said on May 14, 2009
excellent, thanks
James said on May 16, 2009
Human Stupidity has no Boundaries (I mean those at MS)
Mark said on May 18, 2009
thanks!
Sputnic said on May 30, 2009
telnet ! I missed you so much :o)
Thanks mate.
LaSnak said on May 31, 2009
Thnx a lot :)
khalid said on June 1, 2009
thank you,, really thank you
jvp said on June 8, 2009
thanks
almohager575 said on June 13, 2009
thank you very much
almohager575 said on June 13, 2009
thank you very much
Jim said on June 17, 2009
Appreciate the research and sharing the info. God, I hate Microsoft!
john said on June 25, 2009
Thanks man now i can play TradeWars again
Shawn said on July 4, 2009
Thanks, I was about to try to just search for a telnet client and download it. To tell the truth..it might have been faster… god I hate vista.
Darryl said on July 9, 2009
Really appreciate the tip. thanks
Anonymous said on July 18, 2009
Many Thanks Wonderful Job Keep it up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous said on July 24, 2009
thx man your the best !!
Anonymous said on July 28, 2009
Really usefull. Thanks Mate
James said on July 31, 2009
Thanks for helping me find this.
Anonymous said on August 3, 2009
thanks for the stuff its really cool i was missin telnet in ma vista based notebook.i ws goin 2 install xp for that bt thanks 2 u i can use it without doin so.
Dru said on August 6, 2009
Seriously guys, having telnet not installed by default was a wise decision by MS – one of the few they’ve made – telnet is a deprecated (and insecure) service that has been replaced (for the most part) by SSH. There are few of us who still use it (admins, and those studying networking.)
Now had they completely removed it from Vista it would have been a bad idea (although alternative clients like PuTTy are overall better options.)
allan said on August 8, 2009
you da man
Anonymous said on August 10, 2009
Kuddos to you
Kuddos down to vista.
Vista sucks.
tel said on August 11, 2009
why worry about the client?
concerned about security, then ship with a native command line ssh client
Anonymous said on August 17, 2009
Thanks :)
Anonymous said on August 19, 2009
Excellent post!
Bryan said on August 19, 2009
Seriously! I was forced to INSTALL telnet…and now I have to reboot?!! WTF M$?
Greg T. said on September 10, 2009
Thanks. This one was a myster to me. I couldn’t imagine Telenet not being part of Windows anymore.
Adrian said on September 24, 2009
Thanks, thought it was weird that I couldn’t use that feature
Anonymous said on October 8, 2009
tnx , it is veru useful ,
ksitij said on October 23, 2009
cool very helpful site
Anonymous said on October 23, 2009
thank’s . I have a friend who wants to install de telnet feature and your tactic It’s really succesful. xD
Purna said on October 28, 2009
Thanks a lot man
cheap phones said on November 1, 2009
I was having problems with this and being a non-techy didn’t know what to do. This solution worked perfectly for me. Much appreciated.
Anonymous said on November 5, 2009
how to use telnet to access remote pc
Anonymous said on December 1, 2009
Thanks. I was thinking that this is how I will be able to have it.
Jatin said on December 5, 2009
Thank You. Appreciate it.
Anonymous said on December 9, 2009
Thanks for this tips.
Ankit said on December 30, 2009
Thanks…you are a real life saver
m said on January 4, 2010
Thanks! Microsoft hid this feature so well that I’d never have found it without your instructions.
Nokiemens said on January 10, 2010
Thanks, man. ^.^ without this i would never have found it. Dem’ maikrosoft basterdz hid it too well >.>
Avishek Roy said on January 29, 2010
thax a lot…
Anonymous said on February 3, 2010
I have a commercial software which needs telnet to verify the license.
Before find this info, I almost give up to use that software. Thanks a lot.
This info is very useful.
Lee said on February 3, 2010
Thanks that was very helpful
Anonymous said on February 12, 2010
TELNET
i can not loggin to my ip 192.168.1.64 but i get an error
Failure in initializing the telnet session. Shell process may not have been launched.
please help me
stuart.hallows@hotmail.com
Anonymous said on May 2, 2010
Is it supposed to take forever?
theodore said on May 26, 2010
thanks guys ,perfect
Fredrik said on June 10, 2010
Tyvm! looking 4 this one!
Chuck Norris said on July 21, 2010
Right on! Many thanks!
Ericsilmalis said on August 2, 2010
thankyou, i kind of thought telnet would be missing from vista like loads of other stuff that is on previous versions of windows
Somebody said on August 11, 2010
thx
Abdelazimf said on August 19, 2010
thank you very much
Mr X. said on September 3, 2010
Sweet.
Sidakadjpoison said on October 18, 2010
thankxxxx man !!!!
Leavemealonebox said on January 4, 2011
OMG i did that 1 month ago now what. good by!
Plano, TX said on March 15, 2011
Danke
Good Grief said on March 27, 2011
It takes FOREVER for the Microsoft widget to install Telnet.
Good grief.
What gives?!?
Kiddo said on October 26, 2011
Takk
jkljdgjhlkgndfgq said on December 30, 2011
THANXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX A LOTTTT !!!!
u have no idea . . . u have done such a big help
Orcbighter said on January 27, 2012
Thanks for that.
Another little bit of required software tucked away by Microsoft.
And how slow is the Microsoft widget?
I checked the box, went and had lunch, had a relaxing bath before goin out to a movie, came home just in time to see it complete.
Honestly, I have seen bills passed in Parliament fastaer than this thing moves.