RDP Blank desktop and no start button

Question

I have a user with a very strange problem.

we work in an AD enviorment.

also there are a few Remote Desktop servers of which a few are in a collection.

when the user connect to one of the servers in the collection everything works fine.

but when logging to a specific server one of the user (and only that one) is having a weird issue.

they log all right with no errors but the desktop is just empty - no icons or anything. also the start button is not responding at all. i can right click and refresh the screen and see the icons and run things but the start button stays unresponsive.

if the user minimize anything they connot get back to it only pressing ctrl+tab.

in task manager i see an empty screen as well.

i tried to restart the explorer.exe and the issue remains. when logging with a different user to the same server there is no issue.

has anyone encountered this issue?

Answer 1

Hello there,

This may occur when the membership of the local Users group is changed from the default settings. By default, the local Users group should contain the Interactive account and the Authenticated Users group.

By default, User Account Control (UAC) is enabled. At logon, the standard user access token is built, and if the Users group is missing the default members, the user will be unable to interact with the desktop, resulting in the blank desktop being displayed.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-client/shell-experience/windows-logon-process-failed-spawn-user-app

Hope this resolves your Query !!

--If the reply is helpful, please Upvote and Accept it as an answer--