because of a protocol error this session will be disconnected. please try connecting to remote computer again
Hi, When i remote desktop to a terminal server from windows 7 RC and run terminal services manager and remote control a terminal server session (which i do quite a bit, as i am an IT Administrator) it connects to the session for a split second but then disconnects and displays the following error: because of a protocol error this session will be disconnected. please try connecting to remote computer again It does this every time i try and connect to a terminal server session.... annoying much! Anyone had a similar problem or is this alreadya known problem, i have search the forum but could not find anything related. Please could anyone help. Thanks.
May 7th, 2009 11:06am

After three whole days of slamming my head in the car door, I have come to the conclusion that the problem is the mstscax.dll and mstsc.exe in the system 32 file and the other two files in the en-US or your language folder, that is the culprit, that is giving the unstable connection, reason being is that I switched that file with a known good working rdc in vista and it works flawlessly in windows 7, let me know if you need any help!!
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
May 10th, 2009 3:26pm

I'm having a similar problem.We use XP SP3 machines to connect to a 2008R2 RDS farm. If i'm remote controlling another user all goes well untillIstop remote controlling the user. When I stopi get exactly the same error on bothsides (the session I was controlling and my own session).If i'm connected to the RDS farm from a 2003 machine the problem only exists on the clint side thats using XP.Edit:admin -> RDS -> remote controlledclintXPSP3-> RDS -> XP SP3(Both sides get the error)XP SP3 -> RDS -> 2003 (Only XP SP3 gets the error, when ending remote control)2003 -> RDS -> XP SP3 (Only XP SP3 gets the error, but this time when starting the remote control session, NOT when ending it)Any solution yet? EDIT: I didn'tnotice this is in the Windows 7 thread :/
October 21st, 2009 10:16am

Sorry javy.k i dont have access to any 2008 servers to test! we are running 2003 which works fine! AJ.
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
October 21st, 2009 1:28pm

I have this exact problem. Windows 2008 R2 Terminal server and every time I stop remote controlling a session the user is disconnected. Unfortunately I don't have the option of running RDP 7.0 on them as most of the clients are Thin Terminals. This used to work fine in 2003 but since we have migrated to the new R2 server we have experienced this problem. Clients are not happy!
November 6th, 2009 7:33am

i have the same problem today. as soon as they accept the session it comes up with the error im going to copy some of the defected files from vista to my windows 7. Even though i hate windows 7 it does have some uses.
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
November 30th, 2009 5:56pm

This sollution helps for me, all credits for the authorSYMPTOMSWhen a user remote controls another user's session using Remote Desktop Services Manager or Terminal Services Manager on a Windows Server 2008-based computer, and then stops remote controlling, one or both sessions are disconnected with the following error:Remote Desktop DisconnectedBecause of a protocol error, this session will be disconnected. Please try connecting to the remote computer again.CAUSEThis problem occurs if Remote Desktop Connection Client version 6.0.6001 or 6.0.6002 is used with the highest RDP Compression setting. Windows Server 2008 SP1/SP2 defaults to a lower RDP Compression setting, and thus will only exhibit the above symptoms if the setting has been changed to "Optimized to use less network bandwidth", which is the maximum. Windows Server 2008 R2 defaults to the maximum RDP Compression setting.WORKAROUNDChange the RDP Compression setting on the server to "Balances memory and network bandwidth" (recommended) or "Optimized to use less memory" using Group Policy. If using Windows Server 2008 R2 you may also choose "Do not use an RDP compression algorithm". An alternative workaround is to use a different Remote Desktop Connection Client version than those mentioned above, however, this may not be practical. Below are instructions for making the change to the local group policy; if preferred you can use a domain group policy instead.Windows Server 2008 R21. Logon to the Remote Desktop Services Session Host computer as an administrator2. Start--Run gpedit.msc3. In the left pane, under Computer Configuration, navigate to following:Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Remote Desktop Services\Remote Desktop Session Host\Remote Session Environment4. In the right pane, double-click on Set compression algorithm for RDP data5. Select Enabled, and choose Balances memory and network bandwidth6. Click OK to save the changeWindows Server 2008 (SP1 or SP2)1. Logon to the Terminal Services computer as an administrator2. Start--Run gpedit.msc, click Continue if prompted by UAC3. In the left pane, under Computer Configuration, navigate to following:Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Terminal Services\Terminal Server\Remote Session Environment4. In the right pane, double-click on Set compression algorithm for RDP data5. Select Enabled, and choose Balances memory and network bandwidth6. Click OK to save the changeSTEPS TO REPRODUCEWindows Server 2008 R2 x641. Install 2008 R2 Standard (Full Installation) x64 from DVD using defaults2. Upon first logon, scroll down the initial configuration tasks window and click on Enable Remote Desktop3. Choose Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop (less secure), click OK4. Open up Computer Management and create a test user, make them a member of the Remote Desktop Users group, on the Remote Control tab, uncheck "Require user's permission"5. Connect from a PC using Remote Desktop Client version 6.0.6001 or 6.0.6002 to the server, logon as administrator6. Connect from a PC using Remote Desktop Client version 6.0.6001 or 6.0.6002 to the server, logon as the test user7. In the administrator's session, open up Remote Desktop Services Manager, right-click on the test user and choose Remote Control, click OK8. After you are viewing the test user's desktop, press Ctrl-Tab to end the Remote ControlWindows Server 2008 x641. Install 2008 Standard (Full Installation) x64 from DVD using defaults2. Upon first logon, scroll down the initial configuration tasks window and click on Enable Remote Desktop3. Choose Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop (less secure), click OK4. Open up Computer Management and create a test user, make them a member of the Remote Desktop Users group, on the Remote Control tab, uncheck "Require user's permission"5. Change RDP Compression algorithm to "Optimized to use less network bandwidth" using instructions above6. Connect from a PC using Remote Desktop Client version 6.0.6001 or 6.0.6002 to the server, logon as administrator7. Connect from a PC using Remote Desktop Client version 6.0.6001 or 6.0.6002 to the server, logon as the test user8. In the administrator's session, open up Terminal Services Manager, right-click on the test user and choose Remote Control, click OK9. After you are viewing the test user's desktop, press Ctrl-Tab to end the Remote ControlNOTE: This problem may occur when connecting to a Windows Vista or Windows 7 host under similar conditions. I have not tested this theory, however.As always I welcome your comments/questions/corrections/suggestions/etc.Thank you for reading.-TP sjoerd Posts: 166 Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2008 6:27 am Private message
December 8th, 2009 10:37am

Thanks Sjouwert. That fixed the problem for me (Server 2008 SP2).
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 13th, 2010 7:23pm

to fix this issue with SBS 2003, What I did is I extracted the registry file from a working server 2003. Registry file is located on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CURRENTCONTROLSET\CONTROL\TERMINALSERVER\WINSTATION I exported the file. then backed up the registry in the server in question and then applied the exported registry. Tested okay for me. Hope this helps. Fernando
February 10th, 2010 12:28pm

I have the same problem with RDP connection to Win 2008 r2. The problem occurs with windows xp sp3 and windows 7 as a RDP client..
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
March 8th, 2010 12:50am

Hi, When i remote desktop to a terminal server from windows 7 RC and run terminal services manager and remote control a terminal server session (which i do quite a bit, as i am an IT Administrator) it connects to the session for a split second but then disconnects and displays the following error: because of a protocol error this session will be disconnected. please try connecting to remote computer again It does this every time i try and connect to a terminal server session.... annoying much! Anyone had a similar problem or is this alreadya known problem, i have search the forum but could not find anything related. Please could anyone help. Thanks. I am experiencing this exact same problem when remoting in from my Windows 7 Professional Retail 64 bit workstation to a Windows 32 bit 2003 Terminal server. The only way i can get this to work is to remote into one terminal server and from there remote in to the other one. Than it will work. This is really a pain when you have to do this all the time. Any fix for this -Ian
April 9th, 2010 6:35pm

I ran into this same error from a Win7 client to an x86 Windows 2003 R2 host. Short answer: disable bitmap caching. (use bitmapcachepersistenable:i:0 in an RDP file) Note: I've verified this only via. 1 client, but it was very consistent... toggling this ONE setting triggered the error every time. I tried a number of things to diagnose: ProcessMonitor to identify what was running at the time of the "error". I subsequently tried to disable all startup apps because it appeared to drop the connection after/during some of those apps were initiated. I also disabled all domain-level startup scripts. At first, this actually seemed to work, however after re-enabling all these apps, I was still able to connect. Tried to use WireShark sniff the packets & find any protocol flags/differences... there aren't any (that I could find) parsers for the RDP protocol, though. And it's also encrypted/compressed... tried turning that off, but this looked like a dead-end. Co-worker suggested enablecredsspsupport:i:0. This DID work, at least for the 1st connection. Subsequent connections failed... this is what made me think of the caching-setting. ** edit ok, this bitmap caching gave us some other ideas... what bitmap was causing the problem? As it turns out, this Dell server had it's default wallpaper file renamed/removed. DellWall.bmp located in the win\system32 folder. The registry, however, still referenced this file under: hkey_users\.default\Control Panel\Desktop\Wallpaper When we put this file back, the protocol errors went away regardless of the bitmap caching setting!
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
August 16th, 2010 11:32pm

ok, technet gets farbled up when I attempt to re-edit my prior post. That said, restoring this wallpaper image DID resolve it for one user, but not for my account... however, when I disable this caching setting, it DOES still resolve the problem regardless of background image settings.
August 17th, 2010 1:37am

I just had this error with a Windows7 workstation trying to connect to Server 2003 Terminal server. i was able to get the error resolved by remoting in as the user to the TS from the DC and logging off, then was able to log in to the Term server from the users workstation without any errors.
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
July 11th, 2011 7:17pm

Can you help please? Which file did you switch? The user is connecting via a thin client.
July 14th, 2011 12:20pm

This topic is archived. No further replies will be accepted.

Other recent topics Other recent topics