Remote RDC Hung Up, any way to Restart Remotely?

[CyborgSam]

2 machines both running XP Pro and Timbuktu Pro, both are
totally updated, both behind NetGear routers. The remote
PC was working AOK. I'd love to press reset, but the PC is
3000 miles away...

Suddenly the remote PC won't let me log in using either RDC
or Timbuktu. In RDC when I type a username & password the
login window reappears after a couple of seconds. If I
deliberately type a bad username/password, I get an error.
So the remote PC knows the username & password are OK.
The user is an administrator.

In Timbuktu I get a black screen that is not the normal
display size, it is the size last used in RDC. For yucks I
tried RDC at the same time, the RDC login window is visible
in Timbuktu.

Is there a way for a remote administrator to force a
restart if they can't log in using RDC?

Please be specific, I'm mainly Mac/*nix & am not well
versed with all the Windows commands, etc.

TIA,
Sam

 

[Bill Sanderson]

The only way I know to do this is to create a VPN (or other standard
network) connection to the target, and use the command line tsshutdn command
to force a restart. The target machine must be tested to ensure that such a
reboot brings it back up to a point where the RD connection is possible.

 

[Samuel Herschbein]

Thanks Bill,

But this won't work right now because access to the PC at the other end
is necessary to configure the NetGear router at the other end to allow
VPN access to that PC...

Any other suggestions?

 

[Samuel Herschbein]

The PC I can't into has the problematic nVidia Display Services on. Is
there any way to get into the hung RDC that doesn't require physically
being at the PC?

I'd really like to get some work done on it before Monday...

TIA,
Sam

 

[Bill Sanderson]

I don't know a way to do this without network access. As you say--this
would require you to configure the router, and if the router isn't set for
remote configuration......

For servers I administer, I try to set up dialin access, but you probably
don't have that either.

I worked with some HP servers awhile back that had a separate hardware card
with a modem that could manage the box even when the OS was hung or not
available--but that's not something you find on the average XP box.

 

[Jeffrey Randow (MVP)]

Not that it could be done now, but that is why I install a SSH server
on most machines (for shell access).
http://sshwindows.sourceforge.net/

Jeffrey Randow (Windows Networking & Smart Display MVP)
(e-mail address removed)

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