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Win 10 1903 RDP (Remote Desktop) not retaining window positions or task bar positions (multiple monitors)

Anonymous
2019-08-07T23:46:47+00:00

Hello,

I'm unable to figure this out after hours of searching and trying things so I'm hoping someone here can help.

Recently my remote systems were updated to windows 10 1903 and since then every time I reconnect (hit the close button, re-establish a remote desktop session) all of my windows and task bar that I re-locate to my other monitors are all crammed back on the center monitor.  I have three monitors.  Note that this all worked fine before this update.

Setup:

Main computer:

Win 10 (1807, 1903 now since I upgraded thinking it was a comparability issue) 

i7 8700k

nvidia 1060

Remote Computer 1:

Windows 10 (1903)

i7 4770

intel integrated graphics

Remote computer 2:

Windows 10 (1903)

xenon 14...

AMD hd 400 or something (dell)

Remote computer 3:

Windows 10 (1903)

i7 8700

intel HD 600 integrated

Things I've tried:

  • I upgraded my main PC to 1903 thinking maybe if I had it on the same version it might fix it.  This resulted in my third monitor not receiving signal until I unplugged all of them, powered them all down, and plugged them in sequentially.  Separate issue I suppose.
  • I updated the remote pc's with all the latest patches from windows.  Checked graphics drivers are up to date.
  • I tested remoting in from two other computers on windows 10, one with two monitors, one with three, same issue.
  • I looked at the windows logs on the computers and there doesn't seem to be any error logs created by the remote connection event (like a graphics driver crash or similar)
  • I ran sfc and similar to check for corruption and nothing of note came up.

Observations:

  • This seems similar to what happens when you clean install a graphics driver where it bumps from one monitor low res and back.
  • I am aware of the black screen issue with RDP and 1903.  The fix is to use a default windows display adapter which only supports low res and one monitor so its kind of pointless to try that.
  • Given the range of hardware spanning 4 generations it seems unlikely to be a "old computer, not compatible" issue.

Thanks for your time,

"Reload"

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Internet and connectivity

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-01-29T21:04:50+00:00

    The fix appears to be to disable a specific display driver policy:

    Computer Configuration\ Administrative Templates\ Windows Components\ Remote Desktop Services\ Remote Desktop Session Host\ Remote Session Environment\

    set "Use WDDM graphics display driver for Remote Desktop Connections" to disabled

    Steps:

    • Disable the policy described above
    • Restart host computer (one you're remoting into)
    • re-connect via remote desktop
    • re-arrange desktop windows
    • disconnect
    • re-connect to test and verify nothing has been compacted back to primary monitor.

    Credit to TP [] on the technet forums.

    Post this was resolved on:

    https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/756e4469-1b10-4a3a-b5cf-2362b293a39a/win-10-19031909-rdp-remote-desktop-not-retaining-windowtaskbar-positions-on-reconnect-multiple?forum=winserverTS

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-08-29T19:51:46+00:00

    Wanted to chime in and say thank you to the original poster for the description!

    Same problem here and definitely started after the 1903 update. I was actually using Windows via Parallels desktop to RDP into a work machine, so at first I figured it was Parallels, not Windows.

    To test I downloaded a VPN client and installed Microsoft Remote Desktop for Mac, and yup, same issue:

    I have three monitors. I arrange everything across all three, to reproduce simply quite Microsoft Remote Desktop and restart. All windows positions have been lost, and are now just piled up into the, in my case, middle window.

    My saving grace has been this guy:

    https://github.com/adamsmith/WindowsLayoutSnapshot

    I really hope this gets fixed soon! It happens across all types of connections and software configurations, and is a huge time waster :(

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-08-09T10:38:22+00:00

    Hi,

    Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

    This could be an issue with the snap feature. You may want to turn the feature off and see if it helps.

    • Open Settings and navigate to System > Display.
    • On the right pane, turn off the Snap feature.
    • Exit Settings and try establishing a RDP connection to see if the issue persists.

    In case the issue persists, I would suggest you to post your query in the IT Pro TechNet Forums, where we have support professionals well equipped the knowledge on Remote Desktop connections.

    Let us know how it goes.

    Regards,

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-08-09T13:45:06+00:00

    Junaid,

    Thank you for your suggestion but it does not seem to have fixed my situation.

    I turned the Snap feature off on two of my computers and the problem did persist.  I also restarted the PCs and re-tried to connect RDP with the same results.

    I'll do a little research on the 'technet' forum to make sure I'm not posting a duplicate and submit my issue there.

    Thanks for your time.

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  5. Anonymous
    2019-11-19T20:22:13+00:00

    Just to add my 2 cents to the OP.

    We didn't notice all windows moving to the primary monitor when establishing a remote session until we started the upgrade to 1903. For some reason, we didn't notice before but now we are able to duplicate the issue in 1809.

    This happens with machines having two monitors and three monitors. 

    This needs to be fixed ASAP!

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