I've run into a problem connecting to my remote computer via Remote Desktop. I think it is a network configuration problem but am not sure what to check (or more appropriately, have the system guys check). Here is the situation:
When I try to connect to the remote computer from the main wired network at work I get the following error:
The network is not blocking outbound connections. From the wireless network here, I don't even get the error message, it just sits there trying to connect but doesn't do anything. I get the same effect if I use the IP address of the computer instead of the name.
I know that the computer I'm trying to connect to is properly configured to accept Remote Desktop connections since I was able to connect to it just fine last night from a third network (and a different computer) not associated with work and I'm the only one who connects to it. That rules out possibilities 1, 2, & 4 from the error message.
Any ideas on what the network problem could be that is causing this error?
Best Answer
Are you getting any event log messages on the computer hosting the remote desktop connection (the "server")?
This article references a problem that I see fairly frequently with Windows XP machines hosting RDP: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/323497 Ignore that the article mentions Windows 2000-- I've absolutely seen this occurring on Windows XP-based computers more times than I can recall.
The classic symptom is an event ID 50 message, sourced from "TermDD", with the description "The RDP protocol component "DATA ENCRYPTION" detected an error in the protocol stream and has disconnected the client."
I've gotten so used to dealing with this (I'd love to know the exact circumstance that causes it) that I have the command to take care of it memorized:
Run that, reboot, and you'll find that the machine will correctly accept incoming RDP connections.