Hi I recently did an upgrade of my Windows 2000 Domain Controller to Windows Server 2003 Standard R2. My DC was also the Terminal Server and Licensing Server and also DNS, DHCP, WINS. Everything seemed to go straight forward with upgrade. I now only have the other 2K DC to upgrade next week. 1. adprep /forestprep - OK 2. adprep /domainprep - OK 3. Upgrade - OK 4. ON insertion of CD2 it complained the schema hadn't upgraded, so re-ran adprep /forestprep which said it had updated schema, this then allowed CD2 to continue upgrade. all seemed fine. Then had issues installing TS CALS via phone, so uninstalled TS Licensing and re-installed then activated via web and all OK. Now when I try and Remote Desktop, it hangs for ages on 'initiating remote connection' (At least 30 secs), I've looked at Termial Server,DNS and can't see anything wrong? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My other 2K DC and other 2003 servers all connect via remote desktop almost immediatley. Thanks Wayne

Hi, According to your description, I would like to confirm the following question to narrow down this issue: 1. Can you successfully logon to the Terminal server after it hangs for a long ages? 2. Do all clients encounter the same issue? If not, please help to check RDC client version on the problematic client. 3. Can you temporarily disable all firewall to check if this issue can be resolved? 4. Can you find any Event log on your server side that might help use to find the root cause related with this issue? Thanks.

Hi, Answers below: 1. Can you successfully logon to the Terminal server after it hangs for a long ages? - YES 2. Do all clients encounter the same issue? If not, please help to check RDC client version on the problematic client. - NO, Remote Desktop V7 3. Can you temporarily disable all firewall to check if this issue can be resolved? - Firewall Not enabled 4. Can you find any Event log on your server side that might help use to find the root cause related with this issue? NO, Oddly internally RDC seems to work ok, it seems to be from outside when using RDC via VPN. My real problem now is when it's booting up as it hangs on 'Preparing Network Connections' for at least 5 minutes, then Applying Computer Settings for a around 2 mins before reaching the logon screen. I've seen many people talk about DNS, but thats' configured OK??

Hi, The “Preparing Network Connections” might be caused by the following reasons: 1. DNS problem Please run the “IPConfig /all” to check if there is a conflict on the DNS, and you should have a look on the DNS, DHCP and switch to make sure there is no misconfigure. 2. Check the following DNS GPO: Computer configuration -> Administrative templates -> Network -> DNS client 3. You may assign to many GPOs to this server, please move this problematic server into another OU to check if this issue persists. 4. The third party software is a possibility to cause this issue, I would perform the clean boot to isolate it. 1) Run MSCONFIG.EXE. (MSCONFIG is a built-in tool for Windows XP\2003 systems.) 2) In the Services tab, click "Hide All Microsoft Services" and click "Disable All". 3) In the Startup tab, click "Disable All". Click OK. (This will temporarily prevent third-party programs from running automatically during start-up.) 4) Restart the computer. Does the problem still persist? If the problem does not occur, it indicates that the problem is related to one application or service we have disabled. You can use the MSCONFIG tool again to re-enable the disabled item one by one to find out the culprit. Thanks.

Hi I have ran IPCONFIG /ALL and no conflict exists No DNS GPO configured Ran MSCONFIG and disabled all non-microsoft services Still hangs for ages Regards

Hi, Please help to confirm the following things for the further research: 1. Does this issue happen when you logon to the server via console? 2. Do you set the roaming profile for users? 3. Does other Windows 2003 server encounter the same issue? 4. Have you check all available updates and install it on the problematic server to check if this issue can be resolved? 5. Can you try to upgrade the RDC client below to check whether this issue still persists? Description of the Remote Desktop Connection 7.0 client update for Remote Desktop Services (RDS) for Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP1, and Windows Vista SP2 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/969084 6. Have you set an additional NIC on the server? If so, please disable it to check this issue? Thanks.

Hi The 'Preparing Network Connections' sits ther for at least 5 mins after a reboot. The issue is not RDP anymore but the 'Preparing Network Connections' hang as mentioned earlier. No additonal NIC, No roaming profile, using RDP V7.0 Yes the other Windows Server 2003 server have the same issue and hang at 'Preparing Network connections' Thanks