Help! Remote Desktop Connection broken

D

dan

While trying to set up my XP, SP2 laptop to access remote applications via
terminal server on Windows 2008, I manage to break the Remote Desktop
Connection program on the laptop. By broken I mean when I click on the RDC
icon, or the program under All Programs, Accessories, nothing happens. What
is the best way to repair this program hopefully without doing a clean
install of Windows XP, SP2? I tried to run the Remote Desktop Connection
installation program from the CD, but it says I already have Remote Desktop
installed so it won't install. I don't see Remote Desktop in Add/remove
programs so I don't know how to uninstall the broken version to reinstall.
Any help would be greatly appreciated- I need RDC for my business.
 
P

Pegasus \(MVP\)

dan said:
While trying to set up my XP, SP2 laptop to access remote applications via
terminal server on Windows 2008, I manage to break the Remote Desktop
Connection program on the laptop. By broken I mean when I click on the RDC
icon, or the program under All Programs, Accessories, nothing happens.
What is the best way to repair this program hopefully without doing a
clean install of Windows XP, SP2? I tried to run the Remote Desktop
Connection installation program from the CD, but it says I already have
Remote Desktop installed so it won't install. I don't see Remote Desktop
in Add/remove programs so I don't know how to uninstall the broken version
to reinstall. Any help would be greatly appreciated- I need RDC for my
business.

You need to provide a little more information:
- Who created the Remote Deskop link for you?
- Is it a direct link or is it based on a Virtual Private Network?
- Do you know the external IP address or the domain name of
your office network?
- Do you use port 3389 in the office or did you change the port
number to something else?
 
D

dan

Pegasus (MVP) said:
You need to provide a little more information:
- Who created the Remote Deskop link for you? I did.
- Is it a direct link or is it based on a Virtual Private Network? Direct
- Do you know the external IP address or the domain name of
your office network? Yes
- Do you use port 3389 in the office or did you change the port
number to something else?
I sue port 3389.

Thanks for the reply Pegasus. I can answer all your questions, but I don't
think that will get us anywhere. I've been using this RDP program to connect
to various servers for many months. It's not that I can't make a connection
now via RDC (no vpn involved), it's that the RDC program doesn't appear to
run at all. I'm not getting the popup window that says which computer to
select, password, etc. While waiting for a reply to my post, I tried to use
a system restore point, and after trying to do the restore, it says no
changes were made to the system since the restore point I chose, but that's
not true either..... I guess I can try one further back in time.
 
P

Pegasus \(MVP\)

dan said:
I sue port 3389.

Thanks for the reply Pegasus. I can answer all your questions, but I don't
think that will get us anywhere. I've been using this RDP program to
connect to various servers for many months. It's not that I can't make a
connection now via RDC (no vpn involved), it's that the RDC program
doesn't appear to run at all. I'm not getting the popup window that says
which computer to select, password, etc. While waiting for a reply to my
post, I tried to use a system restore point, and after trying to do the
restore, it says no changes were made to the system since the restore
point I chose, but that's not true either..... I guess I can try one
further back in time.

Fine, let's run some diagnostics:
- Click Start / Run / cmd {OK}
- Type this command:
telnet aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd 3389 {Enter}
{Does your screen go blank?}
- Close the black screen.
- Click Start / Run / cmd {OK}
- Type this command:
mstsc /v:aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd {Enter}
{What do you see on the screen?}

aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd stands for the external IP address of
your office network.
 
D

dan

Pegasus (MVP) said:
Fine, let's run some diagnostics:
- Click Start / Run / cmd {OK}
- Type this command:
telnet aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd 3389 {Enter}
{Does your screen go blank?}
- Close the black screen.
- Click Start / Run / cmd {OK}
- Type this command:
mstsc /v:aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd {Enter}
{What do you see on the screen?}

aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd stands for the external IP address of
your office network.
Pegasus, thanks for the help. I didn't get a chance to run these diagnostics
because I'd already gone ahead and fixed the problem by reinstalling XP
using the repair option. I'm pretty sure the root cause was I messed up the
mstsc.exe file.
 
P

Pegasus \(MVP\)

dan said:
Pegasus, thanks for the help. I didn't get a chance to run these
diagnostics because I'd already gone ahead and fixed the problem by
reinstalling XP using the repair option. I'm pretty sure the root cause
was I messed up the mstsc.exe file.

If it was a messed up mstsc.exe file then a re-installation would
have been equivalent to replacing your car when it runs out of gas.
This file is readily downloadable from some Microsoft site.
 
D

dan

Pegasus (MVP) said:
If it was a messed up mstsc.exe file then a re-installation would
have been equivalent to replacing your car when it runs out of gas.
This file is readily downloadable from some Microsoft site.

In hindsight, I'm sure you're 100% correct, but when you're desperate to
solve the problem and the sledge hammer is laying there, and you think it
might do the job......
 
S

Sean

I have the same problem. And unfortunately a windows re-install did not work
for me. I have windows XP Home, when I try to run MSTSC.exe, nothing happens
- computer pauses for me and then nothing. If I look in task manager
MSTSC.exe is running under processes (in fact usually multiple copies of
MSTSC.exe as I have usually clicked on Remote Desktop several times in
frustration). Now the strange part if I delete MSTSC.exe and mstscax.dll
from the system 32 folder -- Remote desktop reverts back to an earlier
version which loads fine. However as soon as I do windows update or try to
reinstall RDP 6 from file (WindowsXP-KB925876-x86-ENU.exe) I get the same
problem. I have tried reinstalling windows (repair - not full reinstall) and
Remote desktop 5.1 works fine but as soon as I do a windows update, I am back
to square one. Is there a service that needs to be running? Am I missing
some other system file that RDP 6 requires but not RDP 5? I would like to
have RDP 6 so that I can log on to a Vista machine.

Thanks,
Sean
 

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