Remote Desktop Connection after Windows 11 Reinstallation

Question

Hello, I have a desktop computer with Windows 11 Pro and a laptop with Windows 10 Pro. Normally, I connect from the laptop to the desktop using RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol). Both computers are connected to the same Microsoft account. I had to reinstall the desktop, and I reconnected it to my Microsoft account. However, I am unable to connect via RDP. My port forwarding settings haven't changed, and my local IP remains the same. I haven't changed the Microsoft account password, and my credentials are correct—they are stored in my password manager, and I can log in without any issues. The "Remote Desktop" option is enabled in the system settings of the desktop computer. My Microsoft account email is listed as having access to this computer below the option to add users. I've tried using the external IP (which is redirected by my router to my desktop), the local IP directly, the computer name, which is the same as the one registered in my Microsoft account. I've also attempted to connect from the sandbox of my host PC and from a computer that has never connected to the host PC before, but I get the same result. I've even tried removing the computer from my Microsoft account, switching to a local account, restarting, then linking back to my Microsoft account, but the issue persists. Can someone confirm that all I need to have is the computer name, Microsoft account email, and Microsoft account password? Are these the correct pieces of information to provide? Is there a way to check logs on the machine trying to connect or on the host machine to precisely understand where the problem is coming from? I don't receive a specific error message like "incorrect password" My microsoft account seems to be accepted, my name is found. I just get a message saying the connection couldn't be established. If anyone could help me verify each step to resolve my issue, I would greatly appreciate it. I'm running out of ideas. Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello, First, you need to check the status of your rdp service if it is running. If the service is all good, try to check your port with the command "netstat -ano". Even try to rdp to itself (1. open mstsc 2. connect to 127.0.0.1), even though there may be an error "another console connection has been connected" or something. If you cannot even use rdp on itself, try to update your server to latest version, most broken components will be fixed when you update your server.

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