KB ID 0001132

 

Below is not an exhaustive list of connection errors, it’s just a some things that have tripped me up. If you have a nasty error that you have fixed, feel free to drop me a line, send me some screenshots and the fix, and I’ll add them as well.

General Errors

Remote Desktop can’t connect to the remote computer for one of the following reasons;

1) Remote access to the server is not enabled
2)The remote computer is turned off
3)The remote computer is not available on the network

Make sure the remote computer is turned on and connected to the network, and that remote access sis enabled.

Probably the most common (and easiest to troubleshoot) of RDP errors, firstly ensure that the server is actually ‘listening’ for RDP connections, on the SERVER issue the following command;

[box]

netstat -an | find /i ":3389"

[/box]

You should see it LISTENING (Note: Below its listed twice because its listening on IPv4 and IPv6)

If its not, the the service might not even be running, Look in Services, and ensure the following services are running;

• Remote Desktop Services
• Remote Desktop Services UserMode Port Redirector

Make sure that RDP has been allowed on the local firewall of the RDP server, In the past I’ve seen a bug on some versions of Windows when even with the firewall disabled, things didn’t work unless RDP was allowed on the firewall settings. (I know that makes no sense, but I’ve seen it, particularly for remote VPN traffic).

Test RDP Connectivity

From a machine ON THE SAME NETWORK as the target RDP Server, firs see if you can ping the server by both IP address and hostname. (This is more for peace of mind remember the server might ot respond to pings but might be responding to RDP Traffic.

Then test that the machine you are on can get to the the RDP server on the correct port, (TCP 3389*)

[box]

Test-NetConnection {IP-Address-or-Hostname} -Port 3389
OR
Test-NetConnection {IP-Address-or-Hostname} RDP

[/box]

Providing this works, now try the SAME tests form outside you network, i.e. outside the firewall, or on a remote VPN  connection etc.

*RDP Port Note: Normally RDP is on TCP 3389, check on the server just in case someones changed the RDP listening port number. Or the firewall is expecting you to connect on another RDP Port.

Your computer can’t connect to the remote computer because an error occurred on the remote computer that you want to connect to. Contact your network administrator for assistance.

Solution for Windows 10: I struggled with this for a while, all forum posts refer to windows 7/8 and the problem was caused by a windows update (KB2592687), that needed to be removed. But I was connecting with Windows 10? This  was the resolution;

Create/Edit a 32 bit DWORD value called RDGClientTransport in your registry at;

[box]

HKCU > SOFTWARE  >Microsoft > Terminal Services Client

[/box]

Set its value to ‘1’ (one).

Also See Remote Desktop Web Access – Connection Error

Your computer can’t connect to the remote computer because your computer or device did not pass the Network Access Protection requirements set by your network administrator.Contact your network administrator for assistance.

You normally see this error if one (or more), of your Remote Desktop Role servers does not have the correct certificate installed on it, (or the certificate it does has has expired).

Server Manager > Remote Desktop Services > Collection > Task > Select your collection > Task > Edit Deployment Settings > Certificates > Check and reinstall each one as required.

Remote Desktop Gateway Errors

Your computer can’t connect to the remote computer because the Remote Desktop Gateway server address is unreachable or incorrect. Type a valid Remote Desktop Gateway server address.

Your computer can’t connect to the remote computer because the Remote Desktop Gateway server is temporarily unavailable. Try reconnecting later or contact your network administrator for assistance.

The machine trying to connect needs to be able to resolve the ‘public name’ of the Remote Desktop Gateway server. And this may not be the hostname of the server! As you can see in the image above the Gateway server name is set to rdg.smoggyninja.com. The important thing is when I ping this name, it resolves to the correct IP address, (mine responds to pings, yours probably wont if you’re connecting though a firewall.)

In some cases you need to set the public name of the the Remote Desktop Gateway server, in the servers IIS Settings. On the Gateway server > Start > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager > {Server-name} > Sites > Default Website > RDWeb > Pages  > Application Settings > Set ‘DefaultTSGateway’ to the public name of the gateway server. Then from command line run ‘iisreset‘ to restart the web services.

Your computer can’t connect to the remote computer because the Remote Desktop Gateway server’s certificate has expired or has been revoked. Contact your network administrator for assistance.

In most cases this should be easy to fix, if you use self signed certificates make sure your CRL settings and/or OCSP settings are correct. If you use a publicly signed cert make sure your client can contact the publishers CRL (look on the properties of the certificate).

Check the Obvious: It saying the RDG cert has expired, make sure it’s in date! In the Gateway Server Launch Server Manager > Remote Desktop Services > Collections > {Collection-name} > Tasks > Edit Deployment Properties.

Certificates > RD Gateway > View Details > Is it in date?

Everything is OK? But I’m Still Getting This Error? Are you publishing the Gateway with something else like Web Application Gateway? Threat Management Gateway? Load Balancer? Look in that direction.

Also See Remote Desktop Web Access – Connection Error

Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links

NA