XP Pro / Windows Server 2003: Remotely Enable Remote Desktop (RDP)

Contributor Icon Contributed by AlexTheBeast Date Icon June 21, 2005  
Tag Icon Tagged: Windows networking

You want to control a computer on your network through RDP? Here’s how to enable it without ever leaving your computer.


This happens all the time. You need to access a system on your network but remote desktop (DRP) in not enabled on that system. If you can access that machine’s registry, you can enable it remotely.

Steps:

    1. Open regedit
    2. In the File menu click Connect Network Registry
    3. The select computer search box will open. Browse to or type in the server location. Click OK
    4. Browse to this key:
    HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server

    5. Double click on fDenyTSConnection
    6. Change value to 0 and click OK
    7. Close regedit
    8. Reboot the remote system
    [list] – Run this from the run box: shutdown -m \\remoteserver -r
    – remoteserver is the name of the server to be rebooted

9. Connect using remote desktop connection

    – Run this from the run box: mstsc
    – When it opens, enter the name of the server and the admin password
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  • CrazyPC
    This worked great. My server was 600 miles away. 8O
  • Matt Hanley
    Just to point out, on Windows XP the reboot is unnecessary. Instead of rebooting, open Computer Management, go to Action->Connect to another computer. Enter the IP or Name of remote computer. Once connected, go to Services and Applications->Services. Find the "Remote Desktop Help Session Manager" service and start/restart it. You will be able to connect to RDP immediately.
  • Michael
    Genius Matt!
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