[May 15, 2008: If you found this article from a search on XP SP3, please see XP Service Pack 3 -- Remote Desktop Change. Regardless, the answer to the following post can be found in the comments: Try /admin instead of /console]
Back in August, I wrote about how you can use Remote Desktop to connect to the console of a Windows 2003 server. It can be a helpful little trick, especially when using the “admin” mode of terminal services (2 seats) and you need a third seat for a quick look at something on the server.
Today, however, I noticed something quite odd. The /console option doesn’t seem to work from my Vista machine! I’ve tried via the command line (as in the tip above), the Royal TS Client and the Vista Remote Desktop Gadget. No luck with any of those.
How could I be sure I wasn’t getting on the console? Well, I had the physical monitor connected to the server in front of me — and I made sure Task Manager was up and on display. If I’m “remoting” into the console on that server, I’d expect to see Task Manager, right? I never do when connecting from Vista.
However, it works just fine from my XP workstation. I see the same thing in my remote session as I do on the monitor connected to the server.
If I try to connect to the 2003 server’s console twice from the XP machine, the first connection is dropped. If I try to connect to the server’2 console twice from the Vista machine? Well, I get two separate sessions. Neither of which is the “real” console.
Now why would this be? I did some web searches, but haven’t found anything that would show this to be a common issue. Granted, how many people even give a dump about remote desktop to a server’s console — but I do! For example, with some apps that’s where the error dialog shows up.
Something to note: the XP machine is not running the optional upgrade of Terminal Services Client 6.0. Maybe that matters? I may have to do some experimenting next week.
Possibly Related posts:
Have you tried with administrative permissions. It probably won’t work, but it is worth a try. Type in cmd on the start search bar, then right click on the command prompt and select run as administrator.(I learned how to do this while trying to do an ipconfig /release /renew on Vista) Then run the command from the CLI. Also, I am not sure that the version of the TS client should effect that. I thought the console option worked on the XP SP2 version of RDP also. Hmm.
Hey Nathan – yep, ran cmd as admin before firing up mstsc. No change.
As for your last part – the console option works great with the XP SP2 version of the client. There’s that optional upgrade that I’m going to hold off on, since what I have works.
If only it worked from Vista. I’m still distressed.
I had the same problem and found the answer: Use the /admin switch instead. This is a change in Vista SP1.
Eric – Bingo! Thanks for that.
It does seem to go after the console, but the /? output doesn’t really specifically say that… odd, but oh well. It works!
Eric thanks that work.
I have another question. I’m running Vista SP1 and I have installed the 2003 server RC2 Adminpak and I want to use the Remote Desktop MCC snap-in. However when I use it I cannot connect to my 2003 servers in console mode. Any ideas?
Geeze, I have the same Admin pack on Vista sp1 and never noticed the remote desktop thingy. I’ll have to give it a shot tomorrow when I’m in the office.
When it works, is it like Royal TS?
On XP SP2 and before, I would always edit the Connect command via File Types and add /console. I RDP to a few VPSes and it helped prevent getting myself locked out on disconnects and need support to help me.
I have Vista SP1 now and was very happy to find this post and fix my problem of not being able to connect to the console.
But in Vista, I could not figure out how to change it permanently in the OS. Default Programs doesn’t appear to have any way to get to the Advanced settings the way you could before (XP SP2 File Type assoc).
For those brave enough to go the RegEdit route, you just drill down to
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\RDP.File\shell\Connect\command
and change the (Default) value to
mstsc.exe /admin “%l”
So the new question is – how do you do this thru the GUI? It is hard for me to believe it is just gone. Thanks – Jeremy
I’ve found the ultimate RDC GUI, you should check RoyalTS this is by far the Best Terminal Server Admin MMC I’ve ever used. All my Admins love it. Here is a Link if I can post http://code4ward.net/CS2/Default.aspx
[...] This makes it very similar to using Remote Desktop with Vista, as I discovered earlier this year when I couldn’t get console access from Vista. [...]
It seems the new RDP (XP SP3) uses /admin instead of console and this could be the problem
@Jeff – yep, I love Royal TS. Thanks for the link.
@Drewskie – That is correct. An earlier comment points that out — as does the pingback article comment just before yours. That flag change sure has caught a lot of folks by surprise!
Thanks Drewskie that was exactly my problem. I was using the /console switch for years and after upgreading to SP3 I was no longer getting the console session. using the /admin switch instead worked like a charm. however the help files with sp3 still say to use the /console. Microsoft needs to fix this.
What a waste of system resources – running a gui on a server! Try running a *real* server (read: *nix) and ssh to it with ease, even from a (shudder) Windoze PC.
@Tim – you sought out a 5 month old post specifically to leave a troll’ish comment?
I’m curious: Did you think that would convince folks to re-platform their enterprise architecture to *nix?
Thanks Chris, I agree talk about having nothing to contribute.
the /Admin flag works, so either change your shortcut properties to end in /admin or run mstsc /admin
Thanks Tim for enlightening me. I have been foolishly typing my searches in the little search box and hitting enter. It is clear to me now that typing
find . -type f -iwholename ‘*foo.php*’ -exec ls -l \{\} \;
is so much easier.
TY for your tips…. that admin option realy helped me to….
Jeff Brewer mentioned on February 28th, 2008 that if you use the adminpak for server 2003 it still uses the console option rather than admin. Did anyone find a fix/update for this or was the fix RoyalTS?
PS: off to look at RoyalTS
What do you do with the remote console MMC this only has the console check box? Any ideas? or do we have to all use the mstsc /admin option now.
Alan if you can get your hands on RoyalTS then yes I beleive that then only way to get to into console mode is to add the /admin switch.
I would like to thank Eric Jorgensen for sharing this bit of knowledge with us. I need to connect to the console quite often and have been looking for this answer. You are my hero for the day! Thank you sir!
-Mark-
P.S. instead of typing this in every time, add the /admin switch in the “Target” section of the RDP shortcut properties. This will save some typing.
Ditto to the August 21 comment… I finally got MMC RD loaded on my Vista 64 machine (using MMC /32) and now the console box doesn’t work.
Glad I can set up shortcuts to mstsc separate programs, but did they really break the MMC plugin console option?