Remote Access and Wait Cursor Colour

Question

Hello

I have two issues I would like to ask about.

We run an Active Directory domain on our premises with two domain controllers, synching with Microsoft 365.

I have set up a VPN using the tools buit in to Windows Server 2019. There is an Organisational Unit that hosts all the desktops in our charity's office and it is set to allow remote access to those on-premise desktops.

I create a VPN adaptor on a client machine (e.g. laptop) and staff can connect using the adaptor from their home to our network. They can then use Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) to connect to a desktop in our office (or they access the data server shares via a UNC path). Generally, this works fine.

However, there is one machine that exhibits the following behaviour:

After it is restarted e.g. after updates are installed, it will not accept connections from RDC - either from the member of staff's home, or from within the office. We have to restart it again before it works. As luck would have it, this dektop is used by a senior manager - luckily, he is quite relaxed about it, but when his machine is restarted he leaves the office early so he can initiate a VPN connection, then run RDC, then phones the office to request a restart after which he can access his machine.

I have tried restarting twice before he connects but it seems that the first RDC connection attempt fails anyway.

Does anyone know why this might be happening, please? I have used services.msc to set the change the startup state of the Remote Desktop Services and Remote Desktop Services UserMode Port Redirector services startup type from Manual to Automatic. Where this connection failure has happened randomly on (3) clients in the past, changing these services resolved the issue. But, this one machine stubbornly refuses a connection request unless restarted again. When I check the status of the client it can be shown as being online or offline (via Ping). The option to keep the machine on is set to on so that it does not go to sleep/hibernate (I usually disable hibernation anyway).

It is a Windows 10 machine and is less than a year old. SFC shows no corruption. I have scoured the net for solutions and while there are quite a few tweaks that can be applied I appear to have run out of options.

My second issue is on the same machine. On rare occassions when the Lock Screen is displayed, pressing Enter or clicking the mouse does not cause the sign-in screen to appear. It just turns black. Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del will bring up the blue screen with the usual options, but selecting these causes the black screen to reappear. The solution is to force a shutdown then wait 10/20 seconds and power up the client after which it is happy, but then we may or may not encounter the RDC issue after the manager tries to connect from home.

As an aside, last week I saw something I have never seen before. This same machine was displaying a light blue screen with a very pale blue wait cursor. Again, ctrl+alt+del did not work and a forced shutdown was required.

I am reluctant to reinstall Windows from scratch as this machine is used to manage Sage Accounts etc and setting this up, while not difficult, can be time consuming and this manager is always busy.

If anyone has any further troubleshooting tips I can try I would be grateful if you could share them.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello PK,

Thank you for your question and for reaching out with your question today.

For the first issue with Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) not working after a restart on a specific Windows 10 machine, here are a few troubleshooting steps you can try:

1. Update Network and Graphics Drivers:
   • Ensure that the network adapter driver and graphics driver on the problematic machine are up to date. Outdated drivers can cause compatibility issues and affect RDC functionality.
2. Check Remote Desktop Settings:
   • Open the "System" settings on the Windows 10 machine by right-clicking the Start button and selecting "System."
   • Go to the "Remote Desktop" section and verify that the option "Allow Remote Connections to this Computer" is enabled.
   • Click on "Advanced settings" to check if any specific settings are configured that might be causing the issue. You can try resetting the settings to their default values.
3. Firewall and Antivirus:
   • Temporarily disable the Windows Firewall and any third-party antivirus software on the problematic machine to see if they are causing any interference with RDC connections. If RDC works with the firewall and antivirus disabled, you may need to configure appropriate rules or exceptions to allow RDC traffic.
4. Network Connectivity:
   • Check the network connectivity on the problematic machine. Ensure that it has a stable network connection, and there are no network-related issues like IP conflicts or DNS resolution problems.
5. Group Policy Settings:
   • Verify if any Group Policy settings are applied to the problematic machine that might be affecting RDC. You can use the Group Policy Management console to review the applied policies and their settings.
6. Event Viewer:
   • Check the Event Viewer logs on the problematic machine for any relevant error messages or warnings related to Remote Desktop. Look for any clues or error codes that might provide insights into the cause of the issue.

For the second issue with the black screen on the Lock Screen, you can try the following steps:

1. Check Power Settings:
   • Ensure that the power settings on the Windows 10 machine are properly configured to prevent any issues with the Lock Screen. Check both the "Power & sleep" settings and the advanced power settings to ensure the machine is not going into hibernation or sleep mode too quickly.
2. Update Display Drivers:
   • Make sure that the display drivers on the problematic machine are up to date. Outdated or incompatible display drivers can sometimes cause issues with the Lock Screen.
3. Disable Screensaver:
   • Disable any screensavers on the Windows 10 machine and see if that resolves the black screen issue. Screensavers can sometimes interfere with the display behavior.
4. Disable Fast Startup:
   • Fast Startup is a feature in Windows 10 that can cause issues with some system functions. Disable Fast Startup and check if the black screen issue persists:
     • Open the Control Panel and go to "Power Options."
     • Click on "Choose what the power buttons do" from the left sidebar.
     • Click on "Change settings that are currently unavailable."
     • Scroll down and uncheck the "Turn on fast startup (recommended)" option.
     • Save the changes and restart the machine.

I used AI provided by ChatGPT to formulate part of this response. I have verified that the information is accurate before sharing it with you.

If the reply was helpful, please don’t forget to upvote or accept as answer.

Answer 2

Hello, Limitless Technology(!)

It is a Dell Desktop. I run Dell Command Update on a regular basis on all our computers to help mitigate against issues like this. When I started investigating this computer over a month ago making sure drivers/firmware are up to date was one of the first things I checked.

Remote Desktop settings are configured to allow connections to the computer and follow Microsoft's recommended guidelines.

We use ESET to manage all our machines from a single online console. The same rules apply to all. I think that if it was a firewall/AV setting it would affect far more computers.

Network connectivity is fine. We have a 1Gb Ethernet network. The affected client never has problems accessing the network/Internet.

Group Policy is not disabling/affecting Remote Access Connection requests.

Hibernation, as mentioned above is diasbled. It is disabled via Group Policy.

Display drivers are updated as part of Dell Command Update.

I have checked the registry and found that Fast Startup was enabled! I have disabled it (HiberbootEnabled = 0)

It might have been Fast Startup that was causing the issue so I will wait and report back if the issue is resolved or occurs again.

Thanks again.