Multiple Windows XP Remote Desktop Connections TWEAK / HACK
Some say that you need a 'Server' version of Windows (e.g. Windows 2000, 2003 Server w/ Terminal Services) to allow more than one Remote Desktop Connection session to run at the same time.
My wife and I have a new computer. I bought it because it's fast and can do everything I've thought of trying so far. It backs up a single 700mb CD in under 2 mins. It pulls in DV from my Sony Handycam. It burns DVDs in about 20 mins. And it runs faster than my thought processes (that's fast, believe me, I develop software using at least two computers all day long).
So why can't Windows XP Professional allow me to remote in and use my computer WHILE my wife uses it when she stays home? We should both be able to use it at the same time. It's fast enough, however Windows XP is shipped with the limit of ONE Windows login session at a time.
Psh. Not neccessarily true.
So enough about my personal life. Here's how to get Windows XP to accept multiple Remote Desktop Connections at one time.
THESE INSTRUCTIONS REQUIRE ADVANCED KNOWLEDGE OF THE WINDOWS REGISTRY AND ARE PROVIDED AS IS, WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY OF DATA LOSS OR TECHNICAL PROBLEMS. DO NOT APPLY THE FOLLOWING SETTINGS TO SERVERS, COMPUTERS IN A PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT, OR COMPUTERS WITHOUT FIREWALL PROTECTION.
Print this document before you start doing the following:
1. DISABLE REMOTE DESKTOP CONNECTION (RDC) AND TERMINAL SERVICES
a. Right-click 'My Computer' on the desktop and select 'Properties'
b. Click the 'Remote' tab, and make sure that the 'Allow users to connect remotely to this computer' checkbox is UNCHECKED, then click 'OK'.
c. Start Menu > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services
d. Scroll down the list to find 'Terminal Services', right-click and select properties. Change the 'Startup Type' drop-down to 'Disabled' (if it is not already), and close the 'Services' window.
2. DISABLE WINDOWS FILE PROTECTION (WFP) TEMPORARILY
a. Open the Registry Editor: Start Menu > Run > 'regedit'
b. Navigate down in the tree to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
c. Change the value of the 'SFCDisable' key on the right to '1' and click 'OK'
d. Close the Registry Editor
3. RESTART THE COMPUTER
4. REPLACE THE RELEASE VERSION OF THE TERMINAL SERVICES DLL (TERMSRV.DLL) WITH A PRIOR UNRESTRICTED VERSION OF THE DLL.
a. Save this replacement file to your desktop. This version of termsrv.dll is from Windows XP SP2 RC1, and I have not had any security problems with it personally.
b. Open Windows Explorer and type in the following location: C:\Windows\system32\dllcache
c. Rename termsrv.dll to something like termsrv1.dll
d. Copy the downloaded version of termsrv.dll into the above folder
e. In Windows Explorer, go up one directory so that you are now looking at: C:\Windows\system32
f. Delete the termsrv.dll file in this directory. Soon WFP will (most likely) re-copy the file even though we (think we) disabled WFP. If it does not re-copy it after about 10 seconds, go ahead and copy the downloaded version to the above directory just like you did in step D, only to the C:\Windows\system32 folder.
5. MAKE THE RDC SETTINGS IN THE WINDOWS REGISTRY ALLOW MORE THAN 2 REMOTE CONNECTIONS AT A TIME
a. Open up the registry editor: Start Menu > Run > 'regedit'
b. Navigate down in the tree to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\Licensing Core
c. Add a DWORK Key called 'EnableConcurrentSessions' with a value of 1, then close the Registry Editor.
d. Open up the Group Policy Editor: Start Menu > Run > 'gpedit.msc'
Navigate dow in the tree to: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Termina Services. Double-click the item in the list on the right entitled 'Limit number of connections'. Enable it, and set the number of connections to 3 (or whatever you need). Click 'OK'.
6. RESTART THE COMPUTER
7. RE-ENABLE RDC AND TERMINAL SERVICES
a. Go back and check that checkbox we saw in step 1.b, check it, then click 'OK'.
b. Go back to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services, find the 'Terminal Services' item, right click on it, and change the 'Startup Type' value back to 'Manual'
8. RESTART THE COMPUTER.
Then you should be all set. Just remember that you have to explicitly ALLOW OTHER USER ACCOUNTS TO REMOTE IN. You can do this where you see the checkbox from step 1.b and above in step 7.a.
No need to thank me. Really. Even though I just saved you from having to buy a copy of Windows Server, wiping your computer, and reinstalling the Server version and all your apps. I'm not cocky, I just know how to use google and compile my findings...for YOU!
Posted by paul at January 26, 2005 07:18 PM
