Troubleshooting Remote Desktop

This section contains troubleshooting information for Windows XP Professional Remote Desktop.

You Get a Server-Name Not Found Error Message

If the remote computer cannot be found, the following message appears:

The specified remote computer could not be found. Verify that you have typed the correct computer name or IP address, and then try connecting again.

The problem may be in the computer name or IP address that you are using to connect. To solve this problem, verify that you have the correct computer name for the remote computer and that you have typed it in correctly. The correct computer name can be obtained from the Terminal Services administrator. If you have the correct computer name and are still unable to connect, try to connect using the actual IP address of the computer. This information can be obtained from the Terminal Services administrator.

You Cannot Open a Specified Program

If you are having problems opening a specified program on the host computer (on the Programs tab of the Remote Desktop Connection), then you may be connecting to a computer running Windows XP Professional. Specified programs will open only when connecting to a terminal server, not when starting a Remote Desktop session. Remote Desktop provides access to the actual console session of the remote computer. You cannot specify programs that open in a Remote Desktop session.

You Cannot Log On to the Remote Computer

If you do not have the correct permissions to access a remote computer running Windows XP Professional, the following message appears:

The local policy of this system does not permit you to log on interactively.

You must add yourself to the Remote Desktop Users Group (or to a group with administrative rights) so that you can use Remote Desktop.

Your Session Ends with a Data-Encryption Error Message

If the data encryption error prevents your client computer from communicating properly with the remote computer, the following message appears:

Because of error in data encryption, this session will end. Please try connecting to the remote computer again.

Try again to connect to the remote computer.

Note 

You cannot use the version of the Administrators Tools Pack (ATP) included with Windows 2000 on a computer running Windows XP Professional. Remove this version of ATP before upgrading to Windows XP Professional. To remotely manage Windows 2000 servers from a Windows XP Professional based computer, use Terminal Services to connect to a Windows 2000 based computer running the Administrators Tools Pack. Check the Microsoft Web site for updates to ATP that are compatible with Windows XP Professional.