Cannot connect to Windows 8.1 with Remote Desktop.

Question

I just updated from 8 Pro to 8.1 Pro on a machine I use as an "entertainment center" which I call "Theater".  In my office I use 7 and I want to access the 8.1 machine using the Office 7 machine.  I successfully use the Office 7 machine to establish RD with two other 7 machines on my network.  I have set up the 8.1 using the MS online help file. I can see the Theater machine on the network, can access the public files no problem, but when I try to access using Remote Desktop I get an error message:  "Remote Desktop can't connect to the remote computer for one of these reasons:...."

The reasons are:

1)  Remote access to the server is not enabled.  (It IS - using the methods in the MS help file)

2)  The remote computer is turned off.  ( It IS ON!)

3)  The remote compute is not available on the network.  (It IS - I can see it and I can interact with it)

I have checked and set users on the 8.1, made sure the firewall will allow Remote Desktop, made sure port 3389 is allowed through the firewall, and checked services and Group Policy settings - everything should be in order to allow the connection.  No matter what I have done it still fails.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks

CJ Henderson

Answer 1

My mstsc or RDP Win8 app got stuck in the "initializing" phase... After reading this thread, I noticed, that my WiFi network location type had changed to "public" and the firewall denied access for RDP connections on public networks.

I followed these instructions: http://www.wincert.net/tips/microsoft-windows/windows-8/3342-how-to-change-network-location-type-in-windows-8

to change the WiFi location type back to "private"

hope this helps anyone =)

Answer 2

I'm having the same problems, only my error is:

You cannot connect to the remote computer because an error occurred on the remote computer that you want to connect to. Contact your network administrator for assistance.

Now, my problem with this is that I have to connect to this for work. It's not something at home. The system I'm connecting to is in Canada.

On my previous Win7 laptop, I didn't have to set anything up. They gave me the address to use and it was good to go. No having to allow my computer or anything. They didn't even know it was being used on my personal computer for the longest time, in fact.

Now with my new Win 8.1 laptop, I've all the credentials in the same, I've allowed it through the firewall, done the troubleshooting, and still it will not connect.  Just not sure what's going on

Answer 3

Dooh! I found out what it was, the new machine came preinstalled with Win8, but regular, not Pro, when I upgraded it to 8.1 Pro the remote desktop started working! Thanks for the advice above, good to know.

Answer 4

Oh BTW, I don't think Teamviewer is a solution to this problem. I used it out of desperation but it's nowhere near as fast or responsive as remote desktop and adds all sorts of bells and whistles, running processes, registration hoops, etc. It's ok but it can't beat the ability to remotely run your PC natively. That's all I want....to be able to stop and start programs, move files around, basically use my remote PC as if it was right next to me. RDS does that way, way better than Teamviewer in my opinion. They're not even close

Answer 5

I have the same problem on a brand new machine. I noticed that the Remote Desktop Service (and others weren't running as they are on another 8.1 machine. I tried manually starting it and the process terminated. Not sure how to proceed.

I tried running through the various fixes to get RDS and the other services it needs up and running, and only got into more trouble. I eventually fixed it by doing a repair install, so I still can't say what was wrong but whatever it was, this fixed everything.

However, it's not as straightforward as it should be if you don't have the Win 8.1 installation disk (which in your case it seems you do). If you do then try a refresh or repair upgrade and it should fix your problem. But before you that do keep a copy of all your personal stuff especially settings for email and other applications just in case

If you have a retail copy of Win 8 and upgraded to 8.1 online then you can't do a refresh, only a win 8 reinstall which solves nothing since it's the upgrade from win 8 to 8.1 that causes the problem. You HAVE to have the full Win 8.1 installation disc which MS won't officially let you download.

Here's what I did and it worked for me.....

Go to http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/upgrade-product-key-only where you can get a copy of Win 8.1.

For instructions on how to download Win 8.1 go to http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/windows-and-office/get-the-iso-you-need-to-create-your-own-windows-81-dvd/

Once you've burned the Win 8.1 disc you should be able to use it to perform any maintenance you want and most definitely a refresh and other things that are impossible without it. In using it I don't recall having to use my product key at all which concerned me slightly (but keep a record of any product key numbers that come up just in case) but after repairing Windows and checking my key in the PC it's the same as my original Win 8. In my case because I had a system image backup I didn't care that much since I could always revert back to it but based on my experience this workaround works and there's not a lot that can go wrong I don't think.