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Remote Desktop not working after restart

In today’s world, connecting to a remote computer has become commonplace, given that many companies have adopted a work-from-home culture. However, this can bring up many technical issues, including common errors such as “remote desktop can’t connect to the remote computer.”

So, how to fix this error? Well, let’s get a bit into the basics first.

Remote desktop is a convenient feature that allows you to virtually connect to other computers running the Windows operating system. With this feature, you can connect to computers located in any part of the world, provided you have the right credentials [username and password] to connect. Also, a good Internet connection is absolutely essential!

If you have the right credentials and the Internet connection and still face this issue, let’s address them.

Top reasons for ‘remote desktop can’t connect to the remote computer’ error

Before you read this section, check if your Internet connection is working fine and if you’re using the right credentials to log in because these are two of the most common causes of this error. Besides these two causes, there are also other reasons for this error.

Windows update

Many times, the Remote Desktop [RDP] functionality may get corrupted after a Windows update or upgrade as one of the newly installed files can interfere with the working of the RDP. You’ll have to manually identify the exact cause and fix it.

Antivirus

Sometimes, antivirus software can block RDP completely or partially, and this leads to the “remote desktop can’t connect to the remote computer” error. The good news about this error is it is easy to identify. Disable your antivirus and see if you can connect now. If you can, you’ve found the root cause of the problem!

If you have a public network profile or a network group, your computer can block the remote desktop functionality as a protective measure. While this is not an exhaustive list of reasons, these are the most common ones. Now comes the big question — how to fix the “remote desktop can’t connect to the remote computer” error.

Fixing the ‘remote desktop can’t connect to the remote computer’ error

There are many ways to fix this error, so you’ll have to try them one after the other until the problem is fixed. This is true, especially when you don’t know the root cause of the error.

Change your firewall settings

This is one of the easiest solutions to the “remote desktop can’t connect to the remote computer” error. Turn off your firewall and see if you can connect to the remote computer, and if you can, you’ve identified the cause.

Here are the steps to fix this problem.

Open the start menu and type “Allow an app through Windows firewall.” Alternatively, navigate to Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Defender Firewall > Allowed apps.
Look for a button called “Change Settings” on the right-hand top corner of the page and click it.

You’ll see the list of apps that were allowed or blocked by your firewall. Scroll through the options until you get to “Remote Desktop.” Check the private and public checkboxes.
Close the window and try connecting. If the firewall was the problem, you should be able to connect to the remote computer now.

Check your permissions

You have to be a member of the local Remote Desktop Users group to access a remote machine through RDP. By default, this group is empty and only administrators have the option to add users. So, check with your admin and see if you have the permission to connect via RDP.

Allow remote desktop connections

Remote Desktop Connection [RDC] is the technology that allows your computer to connect to a remote computer over the Internet. You won’t be able to connect if this functionality is blocked.

To check if this is blocked, and to allow in case of blocked connections,

Go to the Start menu and type “Allow Remote Desktop Connections.”
Look for an option called “Change settings to allow remote connections to this computer.”
Click on the “Show settings” link right next to it.
Check the “Allow Remote Assistance Connections to this Computer.” Click Apply and OK.

These steps will enable the RDC on your computer.

Reset your credentials

When you connect to a computer frequently, you’ll save the credentials. However, the same credentials may be used when you connect to a new computer too, and this could cause problems. So, check if you’re using the right credentials for the right computer.

To reset the credentials,

Open the Remote Desktop Connection. You should find it in the Start menu.
Type the IP address of the computer you want to connect to.
If the credentials are already saved, you’ll have the option to edit or delete it.
Make the necessary changes.

This will reset or change your credentials.

Verify the status of RDP services

The “remote desktop can’t connect to the remote computer” error can be because RDP services are not enabled either on the local or on the remote computer.

Check if the following services are running on both computers.

Remote Desktop Services [TermService].
Remote Desktop Services UserMode Port Redirector. Look for UmRdpService.

You can’t connect to a remote computer if the UmRdpService was disabled through a central Group Policy. Start these services if you have admin privileges or request the admin to start them for you. Also, you may have to reboot the machine after this service starts.

Sometimes, Windows won’t allow you to connect to those hosts whose IP address is not saved in your hosts file. So, if you’re connecting to a computer for the first time:

Open the command prompt. Go to Run and type cmd to open it.
Type cd C:/Windows/System32/Drivers/etc. This will list down all the hosts saved on your computer. If you don’t find the IP of the computer you want to connect to, open this file in notepad and manually add the new IP.

To do this, type notepad hosts.
Once the file opens, add the IP address at the end of the file, save, and close it.

Now if you check, you should see the IP hostname in your hosts file.

Check the Group Policy

A possible cause of the “remote desktop can’t connect to the remote computer” error can be incorrect Group Policy settings.

To verify and change [if needed]:

Open the Run window [Windows key + R] and type gpedit.msc.
Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Connections.
Look for the “Allow users to connect remotely by using Remote Desktop Services” option.
If this setting is disabled, change it to Enabled or Not Configured setting.

Add the RDGClientTransport Key

This is a technical fix, so watch out while doing it.

In this option, you’ll be tweaking the registry key to force the RDP to use RPC/HTTP connections instead of HTTP/UDP connection.

To do this,

Press Windows + R to open run and type Regedit. Press the Enter key.
Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Microsoft > Terminal Server Client.
Navigate to the right-hand pane, right-click, and choose New > DWORD [32-bit value].
Name this option as “RDGClientTransport.”
Double-click this newly-created file. Its properties will open, and here, look for an option to set the value data. Enter the value 1. Click OK and close the Windows registry.

Check the RDP listener port

Next, check the RDP listener port. By default, Remote Desktop service will use port 3389 unless you change it. If some other application is using the same port, you won’t be able to connect.

To check the remote desktop port that’s being used:

Type Windows + R and in the dialog box, type Regedit
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > System > CurrentControlSet > Control > Terminal Server > WinStations > RDP-Tcp.
Look at the right-hand pane and check the value of “PortNumber.”
If the value is 0x00000000d3d, it means the default port is configured and its value is 3389.
Change it to 3388 and try connecting to the remote computer in the new port.

Change the network properties

The cause of the connectivity problem could be the network settings as sometimes, Windows may block public networks as a security measure. So, change the settings to private and see if it works.

To do that:

Navigate to Control Panel > Network and Internet.
Open the Status.
Click the “Change Connection Properties” option. Look for this on the right-hand pane.
When this window opens, choose the “Private” radio button, and close.

Try connecting now to see if it works.

Overall, the “remote desktop can’t connect to the remote computer” is a common error, but it can have many fixes as the cause may vary greatly. Though it can be a little arduous, your best bet is to run through each solution until you find the one that fixes your problem.

Thanks for reading and share with us the fix that worked for you. If you know any other solutions, please share that too with our readers.

Featured image: Shutterstock

Remote Desktop is one of the best functions of Windows 10 which enables remotely located computer devices to connect. With the help of an internet connection, users can share their desktop screen with any other computer device located remotely. It is very useful for business organizations that have their teams located in different locations as they can easily integrate their work without any physical boundaries.

However, sometimes this Remote Desktop Feature won’t work for you because of multiple different reasons such as –

Remote Desktop not connected to the computer
Windows 10 RDP client not working
Remote Desktop won’t be working after the update
The feature won’t connect over the internet and many more

But, lucky for you Windows 10 Remote Desktop not working can be easily fixed on your computer. You just need to be a little attentive and have to use the following solutions to fix the remote connectivity problem.

Before get started check and make sure the remote desktop option is enabled on both source and the destination computer.

Pro Tip : if your computer is not properly connected to the internet, you won’t be able to use this feature.

How to enable Remote Desktop on Windows 10

Open Control Panel.
Click on System and Security.
Under the “System” section, click the Allow remote access link.
Under the “Remote Desktop” section, select the Allow remote connections to this computer option.
Also, check the ‘Allow Remote Assistant …’ checkbox under Remote Assistance.
Click the Apply button to the OK.

Remote desktop not working windows 10

Well, the Remote desktop feature is enabled on both ends but still you are unable to connect to the remote computer? Or getting an error like

Remote Desktop Disconnected.

This computer can’t connect to the remote computer.
Try connecting again. If the problem continues, contact the owner of the remote computer or your network administrator.

Don’t worry here we have different solutions help to fix Windows 10 Remote desktop connection problems.

Go through your internet connection

It is common knowledge that the Remote Desktop Feature entirely depends upon Internet connectivity. So, foremost, you need to check your internet connection and make sure that everything is working properly between your device and the local internet connection. You can check the network status from your computer if the connection isn’t right, then you can check your internet router and other cables. If you don’t find any problem with your connection, then you can contact your internet service providers as sometimes the server of a data providing company is down.

Pro tip: Press Windows + R, type google.com -t and click ok if you are getting replay like the image shown below then there is no more problem with an internet connection. But if you are not getting a replay then you must check and fix your internet connection problem first.

Allow remote desktop from firewall settings

Sometimes your Windows firewall settings won’t let you establish a Remote Desktop connection freely. If the Remote Desktop is blocked by your firewall settings, then you won’t be able to establish a remote connection even if your internet connection is up to date. To check the status of your firewall settings for Remote Desktop, you have to follow these steps –

Navigate to Search and type firewall in the box and let Windows Defender Firewall open.
Now, open Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall.
And, click to change the settings.
Next, you have to find Remote Desktop and check it and press Ok to save the changes instantly.

Here, you can try to connect Remote Desktop and it should be working now. You need to keep one thing in your mind that Remote Desktop is not enabled by the firewall by default so if you are using this feature for the first time, then you have to enable it on your own.

Apart from the Windows firewall settings, you need to also make sure that your antivirus isn’t blocking the Remote Desktop feature. Some antivirus programs interfere with the system settings and protect your computer, it is a good feature but became trouble if they block the Remote Desktop feature.

If this is your case, then you might have to uninstall the interfering antivirus program to use the Remote Desktop feature. However, you can install the antivirus program which won’t block Remote Desktop to save yourself from all the trouble.

Check RDP service running

If due to some reason remote desktop service has not started or stopped you may encounter problems with remote connection. Check and make sure the service is running state by following the steps below.

Press Windows + R, type services.msc, and click ok,
scroll down and locate remote desktop service,
Right-click remote desktop service and select properties
Here check its startup set to automatic and its running state otherwise change it.
Also the same for remote produce call [RPC] service.

Some users have reported that Remote Desktop won’t connect problems that occur with their credentials. So, you can try to remove your credentials from the Remote Desktop feature to test this theory. For this –

You have to press the Windows key with the S key and type remote settings in the search bar and near click on the Remote Desktop Connection.
When the Remote Desktop Connection window opens, go to the Advanced tab and click on Settings.
Now, just press on Delete Credentials and this will definitely fix the problem for you.

Disable IPv6 protocol

A number of users report disable IPv6 [internet protocol version] help them to fix out this remote desktop issue. By default, Windows prefers IPv6 over IPv4. So if you are having problems using IPv6 to connect to the servers, you can force your computer to use IPv4 only.

Press Windows + R, type ncpa.cpl and click ok
Right click on the active network adapter and select properties.
Look for the checkbox which says Internet Protocol Version 6 [TCP/IPv6], uncheck it.
Click on OK, and restart your computer.
Now try to connect to the remote computer.

If you are not able to fix the Remote Desktop feature even after changing your device settings, then you can take help from third-party tools. There are plenty of different great third-party tools available that can help you in connecting remotely with another device. Moreover, these tools have a better interface and numerous other features to assist you.

So, you can now freely try to establish remote connections with other computer devices and make your work more efficient with better connectivity. The Windows 10 Remote Desktop, not working problem will not trouble you anymore, just follow the instructions.