As I said in a previous remote desktop reboot article, it’s worth getting to know the default Microsoft tools because they’re always around when everything else is crashed or broken. Here are two additional methods of rebooting a remote PC that has been accessed via Microsoft’s Remote Desktop client (RDC).

The easiest method I’ve heard of (even easier than my method of using msconfig to force a reboot prompt) is to click on a blank area of the remote machine’s desktop and then press Alt + F4. Assuming you have Admin rights on the remote PC this brings up the “normal” Windows XP/2000 Shut Down/Reboot dialog. …but there’s a catch - the Remote Desktop window to the remote machine has to be in full screen mode or Alt + F4 will just close something on your own PC. …odds are that if you run an extremely high screen resolution (I do) or have a wide-screen monitor (I have that too), then you’ll have a hard time running the RDC in full screen mode.

There is also a “shutdown” command that I wasn’t aware of. Try entering “shutdown -r -f” on the remote PC’s command line (Start button > “Run…” option > enter in the text box & click “OK”) to force-close open programs and reboot. Other parameters are available for user logoff, shut down, and even logging the reson for shutting down into the event log, see them here: in the online Windows XP documentation. Like the other options it only works if you have Admin rights on the remote PC.

Article tagged: Windows, XP, 2003, Pro, Home, remote+desktop, remote, desktop, RDC, RDP, Windows+XP, managment, admin, administration, shutdown, reboot, logoff, command+line

Managing remote computers (and even local computers only as far away as the office next door) via Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) tools is both incredibly easy and a big time saver. The biggest limitation of using the Remote Desktop Client (RDC) to manage remote PCs is that it disables the ability to restart a remote PC both via the toolbar and the Windows task manager. Administrators all seem to have their own favorite methods to work around this limitation in the RDC. Common methods include using custom RDP clients instead of the built-in RDC, storing “reboot” executables on the network or internet, and all sorts of scripts that are stored on the ‘net or even typed up by hand.

Working with Microsoft systems I prefer to find the fastest method to work around a problem that doesn’t require ANY custom clients or moving data/files across the network. The first option, custom clients, I avoid because I dislike be slowed down when I’m working from an unfamiliar system or even when my own system(s) crash and are waiting for a rebuild (the client’s systems always come first). The second reason, moving data/files across the network, is best avoided because it’s inevitable that a private or heavily filtered network will restrict access to those files when they’re needed most. So, the best option would seem to be scripts that can be typed in from within the RDC or just finding ways to

I do know one administrator who types so fast that he claims he can manually type a reboot script for Windows XP onto the remote client faster than this method. Personally though, without that typing speed and having a memory that always seems to fail when I try to work too fast, forcing a reboot via the GUI on the remote Windows system is my option of choice. And, here it is, just one command and five clicks to remember long:

• Start > Run… > type “msconfig” and click OK
• Go to the “Startup” tab and uncheck the top box on the list, now check the same box again, so there are no effective changes
• Click OK — you’ll be presented with a “System Configuration” popup with a “Restart” option

• After the restart you’ll also get a popup window promtping you to make the changes permanent or go back into the “msconfig” utility - on a remotely supported system I can’t think of many reasons not to check the “Do not show this again” option

I run dual-monitor systems both at home and work and regularly use Remote Desktop for remote connections. Last week I was finally fed up with connecting to remote systems in their single-monitor resolutions. My search turned up Microsoft’s command line switches for the Terminal Services and Remote Desktop clients and the file format of .RDP-format (saved Remote Desktop setting) shortcuts.

The easiest way to open a local Remote Desktop window with 2560-by-1024 dimensions (remote system must support the choosen resolution) is to open the run dialog box and type type “mstsc /w:2560 /h:1024″. The mstsc.exe is the Remote Desktop client in the \system32\ folder and the flags attempt to force the remote system to send screen data at the settings specified. Don’t overdo the resolution requests. If a remote system’s video driver isn’t capable of the requested resolution it steps-down to the closest single-monitor settings. Likewise, beware of where icons are placed on the remote system, as the forced high-res leaves them at the same x:y points and hides them from users logging into a local desktop session.

To save both resolution and connection settings Mstsc.exe commands can be saved to .LNK shortcuts:

• Right-click on the desktop or a folder and choose New > Shortcut.
• In the “Item location…” field add the command-line from earlier, with an additional location flag: “mstsc /w:2560 /h:1024 /v:10.10.10.10:9999″. Replace 10.10.10.10:9999 with your IP, a colon, and the port # of your RDC connection. Leave the colon and port # off if using the default RDC port # 3389.
• Click Next, name the shortcut, and click Finish.

Here is the full Remote Desktop command flags list. Additionally, .RDP files can be edited using the mstsc /edit flag. The complete .RDP file format settings list is here. There is a bug in using mstsc.exe from the command line to access Windows 2003 servers. The bug forces you to enter login credentials multiple times; here is that fix.

Following client-support sessions using Windows Remote Desktop or Remote Assistance I’m often asked by clients to help them do the same thing to and from their home and office PCs. Often they’re surprised to find that the $50 they saved by ordering XP Home will keep them from remotely accessing a home PC, but those office PCs that did get XP Pro are ripe for remote access.

Here is a quick summary of the most common Windows Remote Desktop (RD) client tips and alternate clients:

• There aren’t any easy exploits of RD that I’m aware of, but changing the default RD port from 3389 to something else is much less likely to invite script kiddies in. This Microsoft Support article describes how to change the listening port of the “server”-side of the RD connection.
• Changing the listening port is also a convenient way to allow access to multiple PCs within the office. Just give each PC that needs to be accessed remotely a different listening port. Then configure the firewall (or Linksys router/switch/pseudo-firewall) to reserve the IP of each machine and forward traffic from each port to the corresponding IP. (Just check a list of common IP ports to make sure you aren’t going to interfere with other ‘net services.
• The RD client is built into Windows XP, but it’s lacking from older versions of Windows that are still in use, like Windows 2000 or ME). The client app can be installed on OS’s as old as Windows 95 with this client installer from Microsoft.
• Mac, Linux and other *NIX users don’t have to be left out either. An official Mac Remote Desktop client is available from Microsoft. There is also an X Window-compatible Terminal Services/Remote Desktop client.

Oh, and if you have a server in your office - consider a purchase of Terminal Server or Citrix. They make managing the remote access and security of this type of thing MUCH easier - not to mention the time they can save by reducing patch and software installations to only a few desktop-host servers.

Article tagged: Mac, UNIX, windows, remote, desktop, RDC, client, protocol, window, mode, terminal, services, IP, port