I hate Remote Desktop 6.0, but love Remote Desktop’s earlier version with XP.
Primarily:
- Annoying security prompt (which you have to disable on each connection)
- Clipboard transfers not working
- mstsc /console command not working (just gives an ordinary desktop, not console)
- The way it saves passwords
If you have gotten the new version with update KB925876, just go to the control panel, make sure “show updates” is checked, and uninstall the update.
But since my PC was just reloaded with XP and I decided to use SP3 instead of cluttering everything up with individual updates, Remote Desktop version 6 cannot be uninstalled that way.
Fortunately, it’s easy to revert. Do a search for mstsc and you should see something like the screen shot below:
The files marked with the .new extension are the version 6 files of mstsc that I don’t want so I renamed them. You can then either expand the old files from C:\i386 (or your CD) into the locations of the similarly named newer versions. What I did was just copy the files from the $NTServicePackUninstall$ directory (.chm to the Windows Help directory, the other two to System32.
Seems to work fine. If I find any other steps are needed or any gotcha’s, I’ll update the post.
What do you think about the new Remote Desktop? Please feel free to leave a comment.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi,
Great of you to write this. I really hate the new version of remote desktop as well. Since we’re about 40 people randomly connecting to our servers, i keep getting full sessions. As you say, /console won’t work, so I was unable to login on the console session to disconnect any idle users.
I did something similar as you. I installed the SP3 pack (not single updates) and got stuck with the new version. To fix it, i searched for “mstsc” with windows search and found some files, “mstsc.chm, mstsc.exe and mstscax.dll” in “c:\windows\$NtservicePackUninstall$”. I copied these to c:\windows\system32, tried running “mstsc /console” from run and voila!
Thanks for sparking my idea
Guys, mstsc /console does work in new version of Remote Desktop. Switch for this is changed to mstsc /admin
Great tip- thanks!!
Yeah the new version is horrible. By the way /console was just changed that’s all. It’s /admin now… they like doing stuff like that.
Changing something for NO good reason. The change itself is not only unsolicited but it’s unnecessary and clearly unwanted. I think they do it just so it’s impossible to grow to like M$.
Also you will run into compatibility problems. There’s a server I cannot connect to (2K TS) and it’s because of the built in FIPS security requirement in the mstsc applet. If you use the older version it goes right in no problems. This new one can’t rdp to the older server and it gives an error about the reasons why.
by the way, I can’t get it to downgrade. Any attempt to change the filename or overwrite it with the older or flat out delete it just results in windows replacing the file automatically.
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