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Can I stop Remote Desktop from locking host?

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SonicForce

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Sep 21, 2007, 4:10:03 PM9/21/07
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Is there any way that I can stop Remote Desktop from locking the host
machine, or perhaps get it to automatically unlock the host after the remote
access?

I'm trying to run automated regression tests (using HP's "QuickTest
Professional") on the host machine, but people around the world need to be
able to remote into the machine and then just close the Remote Desktop window
when they're done. If they do this, the host has the locked message up on
the screen and GUI tests then fail because the windows aren't able to show on
the screen.

One solution to this is using VNC, but there are security flaws that make
this an unwise choice (according to our Info Security dept).

Another solution is to use "PC Anywhere", but this (according to Symantec)
doesn't work with virtual machines, which is something we're moving towards.

Another solution is to use WebEx's "Access Anywhere", but for the way that
we want to use our connections, this could be an expensive solution.

Another solution is to use a ShareWare product I've found called "Remote
Desktop Control", but I don't know how keen our company would be to use
'unknown shareware'.

Another solution is to use NetMeeting, but it's clunky and requires a
username, password and domain name to be typed each time you connect.

One thought I had was to write something in VBScript that unlocks the host,
since I know what the username and password is, of course, but I can't work
out how to do that, even after a day of researching the web.

So..... any ideas anyone please?!

Thanks,
Graham

Nepatsfan

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Sep 21, 2007, 5:56:47 PM9/21/07
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In news:FE640A3E-2209-45ED...@microsoft.com,

I don't know how you can work this into your situation, but
I'll pass it along. The following command can be run on the
remote computer and it will leave the system unlocked with the
account that was used during the remote session logged on.

tscon.exe 0 /dest:console

I connect remotely to my XP Pro system using the credentials of
the main account on that machine. I created a batch file that
runs that command and placed it in the C:\Windows folder of the
remote computer. The batch file is named Disconnect.bat. I then
put a shortcut to the batch file in the All Users\Desktop
folder. I also changed the shortcut's icon to match the one for
"Turn Off Computer" on the Start menu.

Instead of closing the remote desktop connection on my local
computer, I double click the shortcut on the remote computer to
end the session.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

SonicForce

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Sep 21, 2007, 6:40:01 PM9/21/07
to

Sir (or Madam?!)... you are a GENIOUS!

Thanks, that works perfectly.

All the best,
Graham

--------

Nepatsfan

unread,
Sep 21, 2007, 6:49:15 PM9/21/07
to
I'm a sir, but can't claim to be a "GENIOUS"! I first learned
of that command on this very newsgroup. Glad to hear it worked
for you.

Nepatsfan

In news:CA09F4C6-E5FF-4798...@microsoft.com,

grahamengland

unread,
Feb 12, 2010, 8:21:58 PM2/12/10
to
Imagine this... reopening the conversation after all this time! LOL!
The "TSCON.exe 0 \dest:console" solution has served me well for a long time, but now I have to use virtual machines in Atlanta that have to have Server 2003 on them (instead of XP Pro). When I tried this approach to disconnect I found that an error is returned...
***
Could not connect sessionID 0 to sessionname console, Error code 7045
Error [7045]:The requested session access is denied.
***
I've spent the past three weeks (on and off) trying to find any kind of solution to this. I've discovered some related DOS/Windows commands QWINSTA, RWINSTA, TSDISCON), but none of these have given me any insight into what's wrong.
Help me... anyone... please!!!

Nepatsfan wrote:

I'm a sir, but can't claim to be a "GENIOUS"!

21-Sep-07

I am a sir, but cannot claim to be a "GENIOUS"! I first learned


of that command on this very newsgroup. Glad to hear it worked
for you.

Nepatsfan

Previous Posts In This Thread:

On Friday, September 21, 2007 4:10 PM
SonicForc wrote:

Can I stop Remote Desktop from locking host?

Thanks,
Graham

On Friday, September 21, 2007 5:56 PM
Nepatsfan wrote:

Re: Can I stop Remote Desktop from locking host?

I don't know how you can work this into your situation, but
I'll pass it along. The following command can be run on the
remote computer and it will leave the system unlocked with the
account that was used during the remote session logged on.

tscon.exe 0 /dest:console

I connect remotely to my XP Pro system using the credentials of
the main account on that machine. I created a batch file that
runs that command and placed it in the C:\Windows folder of the
remote computer. The batch file is named Disconnect.bat. I then
put a shortcut to the batch file in the All Users\Desktop
folder. I also changed the shortcut's icon to match the one for
"Turn Off Computer" on the Start menu.

Instead of closing the remote desktop connection on my local
computer, I double click the shortcut on the remote computer to
end the session.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

On Friday, September 21, 2007 6:40 PM
SonicForc wrote:

Sir (or Madam?


Sir (or Madam?!)... you are a GENIOUS!

Thanks, that works perfectly.

All the best,
Graham

--------

"Nepatsfan" wrote:

On Friday, September 21, 2007 6:49 PM
Nepatsfan wrote:

I'm a sir, but can't claim to be a "GENIOUS"!

I am a sir, but cannot claim to be a "GENIOUS"! I first learned


of that command on this very newsgroup. Glad to hear it worked
for you.

Nepatsfan


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buffmf...@gmail.com

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Mar 28, 2013, 9:25:24 AM3/28/13
to
I don't know if this is still an issue, but I wanted to complete the circle. This post got referred to by another, which had the fix for the "access denied error.

Fix:
"I managed to make it work by trying different session numbers. The session number is different every time I use remote desktop. So I wrote a small script to try out 10 session numbers: for %%i in (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9) do ( tscon %%i /dest:console ) It should be executed as administrator. – yossis Dec 9 '09 at 20:44"

Original:
http://superuser.com/questions/80334/remote-desktop-connection-without-locking-the-remote-computer

buffmf...@gmail.com

unread,
Mar 28, 2013, 9:29:27 AM3/28/13
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OR apparently use "tscon %sessionname% /dest:console", which grabs your session name.
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