Remote Desktop can t connect to the remote computer Windows 7

Verify the network connectivity ^

Every admin should be familiar with this RDP error. The most common cause of a failing RDP connection concerns network connectivity issues, for instance, if a firewall is blocking access.

You can use ping, a Telnet client, and PsPing from your local machine to check the connectivity to the remote computer. Keep in mind ping won't work if ICMP is blocked on your network. The main advantage of Telnet and PsPing is that you can connect via TCP, and you can check whether the RDP port 3389 is open.

The Telnet client isn't enabled by default. Use this command to enable Telnet from a command prompt:

dism /online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:TelnetClient

And use this one from a PowerShell console:

Install-WindowsFeature -name Telnet-Client

Use PsPing if you have problems enabling the Telnet client. PsPing also lets you test the connectivity to a specific TCP port. It is portable, so no installation is required.

First, try to ping the remote computer's hostname or IP address.

The remote machine connection timed out with PsPing

As you can see in the screenshot above, I was unable to ping the remote machine, and the port was not reachable as well.

If this works, and you are unable to ping the machine using the FQDN name, check whether DNS resolution is working properly. Sometimes the hostnameis pointingto another machine on DNS that is either offline or not in use.

If you can't connect at all, a local firewall [Windows Firewall or third-party security software] or a network firewall might be blocking the port. The PowerShell command below lets you display the Windows Firewall state on the remote machine.

Invoke-Command -ComputerName [ComputerName] -ScriptBlock {netsh advfirewall show allprofiles}

Remote computer firewall status

For testing purposes, you can disable Windows Firewall on the remote computer with this command:

Invoke-Command -ComputerName Win7 -ScriptBlock {netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state off}

Note that you should enable PSRemoting on the remote computer to execute the above command. If not, you can use PsExec to enable PowerShell remoting with the command below:

psexec \\RemoteComputer -u administrator -p PASSWORD netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state off

General Remote Desktop connection troubleshooting

• Article
• 12/23/2021
• 8 minutes to read
• 8 contributors

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In this article

Use these steps when a Remote Desktop client can't connect to a remote desktop but doesn't provide messages or other symptoms that would help identify the cause.

Troubleshoot Remote desktop disconnected errors

• Article
• 12/09/2021
• 19 minutes to read
• 4 contributors

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This article helps you understand the most common settings that are used to establish a Remote Desktop session in an enterprise environment, and provides troubleshooting information for Remote desktop disconnected errors.

Applies to: Windows Server 2012 R2
Original KB number: 2477176

Note

This article is intended for use by support agents and IT professionals.

What Causes the Remote Desktop Can’t Connect to the Remote Computer Error?

This error may occur because of multiple reasons:

• The host computer must have Remote Desktop enabled. This feature is only available on Windows 10 Pro and above versions.
• Outgoing and incoming connections can be affected by the presence of antivirus on your machine. Check if your firewall is blocking the RDP connection and add it to the whitelist if required.
• Check if your account has sufficient permission to start the connection from the source computer.
• You have an incorrect configuration of listening ports, corrupt RDC credentials, or some network-related issues.

Now that you know the potential causes, let’s explore a few fixes you can follow to resolve this error on your PC.

1. Enable Remote Desktop on Your PC

Before attempting any fixes in this article, make sure that Remote Desktop is enabled on your PC.

To enable Remote Desktop in Windows 10:

1. Go to Start > Settings > System > Remote Desktop.
2. Toggle the switch under Enable Remote Desktop to enable the service.

Follow our guide on how to enable and set up Remote Desktop Connection on Window 10 for further instructions.

If the Remote Desktop is already enabled, then turn it off and restart your PC. As the PC restarts, turn on Remote Desktop again and check for any improvements.

2. Check Your Firewall Rules

Depending on how you have configured your firewall’s policy, it may block some inbound and outbound communications. Check your Windows Defender Firewall settings to see if Remote Desktop Connection is blocked. If yes, add the app to the allowed list.

To unblock Remote Desktop in Windows Defender Firewall:

1. Type Windows Defender in the Windows search bar and click on Windows Defender Firewall.
2. In the window that appears, click on Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall.
3. Click on Change settings to add or change apps permission. It will show a list of apps and features that are allowed for inbound and outbound connections.
4. Scroll down and check the Remote Desktop box for Private and Public columns.
5. Click OK to apply the changes.

RDP error: This computer can’t connect to the remote computer

Allowing RDP in Windows Firewall

There you will see a list of applications or features that have been allowed or not allowed in Windows Firewall.

Scroll down until you see Remote Desktop and check the checkbox in front of it [Private one].

Enabling Remote Desktop in Firewall

Close the window and you are done with allowing Remote Desktop through Windows Firewall.

Solution 2: Allow Remote Desktop Connections if not allowed

Another thing you need to check is whether the Remote Desktop connections are allowed in your Windows or not. If that functionality is blocked, even if you allow Remote Desktop through Firewall, Remote Desktop connections would not work. To check that, do the following:

1. Type ‘Allow Remote Desktop Connections’ in Start Menu.
2. Then, click on the first selection.
3. A window will appear; scroll down until you see the heading Remote Desktop. Click on ‘Show settings’ in front of ‘Change settings to allow remote connections to this computer’.
   Allowing RDP Connections
4. Make sure the option ‘Allow Remote Assistance Connections to this Computer’ is checked. Click on Apply and then OK to close the window.

Solution 3: Reset your Remote Desktop Credentials

Most of the time, when you have saved the credentials for a specific remote computer and you want to connect to another remote computer, then you will get an error because the credentials are not matching. It is because you have saved the Remote Desktop credentials and the other computer with whom you are connecting to, has different credentials.

In order to reset or remove RDP credentials in Windows 10, perform the following actions:

1. Type Remote Desktop Connection in Start Menu.
2. Then click on the first selection which is “Remote Desktop”.
3. Type in the computer IP address. If there are any credentials saved for this specific computer, you will be given the option to either edit or delete
4. Click on delete to remove the credentials.
   Deleting Saved Credentials

Solution 4: Add the Remote Computer’s IP address to your hosts file

One more thing that you can do is to add the remote computer’s IP address to your hosts file. Some users have problems when they want to connect to a remote computer whose IP address is not in their hosts file. To do that, do the following:

1. Press Windows Key + X and select Command Prompt [Admin] from the list to open an elevated command prompt.
2. Once in cmd, type this command:cd C:/Windows/System32/Drivers/etc
3. Afterward, type this command:notepad hosts
4. Editing the hosts File
5. Once the hosts file opens in notepad, add the IP address of the Remote computer to the end of the file. Finally, click on close button and when asked to save changes, click on Save.

Solution 5: Adding the RDGClientTransport Key

Some users have been able to fix their problem with Remote Desktop Connections in Windows by doing a registry tweak. You will have to create a new DWORD key in the Windows Registry which will force the RDP to use RPC/HTTP connections instead of HTTP/UDP. Here’s how to add the key:

1. Press Windows + R to open the Run
2. Type regedit and press enter.
3. Next, navigate to the following path in registry editor by pasting it in the address bar:HKEY_CURRENT_USER/SoftwareMicrosoft/Terminal Server Client
4. Once there, right click on the right side of the pane and click on New→ DWORD [32-bit Value] and name it RDGClientTransport.
   Adding RDGClientTransport Key
5. Then, double click on this new key which has been created to open its properties. Now you will see an option to set value data. Set it to 1. Then click on OK and close the Windows Registry.

Solution 6: Changing Network Properties

In some cases, the error might be triggered due to the network that has been set up as Public. Therefore, in this step, we will be changing it to private. For that:

1. Press “Windows” + “I” to open settings.
2. Click on the “Network and Internet” option and select “Status”.
   Selecting “Network and Internet” Options
3. Click on the “Change Connection Properties” option.
   Selecting “Change Connection Properties”
4. Select the “Private” option.
   Selecting “Private”
5. Check to see if the issue persists.

Remote Desktop connection not working /can’t connect [Fixed]

by Ivan Jenic

Troubleshooting Expert

Passionate about all elements related to Windows and combined with his innate curiosity, Ivan has delved deep into understanding this operating system, with a specialization in drivers and driver troubleshooting. When he's not tackling... Read more

Updated: Nov 8, 2021

Posted: January 2021

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• Remote Desktop is a very useful feature, which allows us to control our computer from another device.
• Some factors can cause Remote Desktop to stop working but read the article below to find plenty of solutions.
• We wrote a lot more about Remote Desktop Connection so it would be useful for you to bookmark the page.
• If you experienced any other Windows 10 errors you have to check out our Windows 10 errors hub.

Remote Desktop is a very useful Windows 10 feature, which allows us to control our computer from another device.

Of course, it requires an internet connection to work, so if your computer is not properly connected to the internet, you won’t be able to use this feature.

However, even some other factors could cause Remote Desktop to stop working, and we’re going to talk about these issues and solutions for them in this article.

Speaking of issues, many users reported the following problems:

• Remote Desktop can’t connect to the remote computer for one of these reasons Windows 10
  • Sometimes you might get this error message on your PC. If you encounter this problem, be sure to try all the solutions from this article.
• Windows 10 RDP client not working
  • Sometimes RDP client won’t work at all on your PC. This can be due to your system configuration. To fix that, make sure that you’re using a private network.
• RDP this computer can’t connect to the remote computer
  • This is another common problem with RDP. To fix this issue, be sure to check both your antivirus and firewall.
• Remote Desktop not working after Windows 10 upgrade
  • Sometimes issues with Remote Desktop can occur after installing a Windows update. To fix the issue, simply remove the update and the problem will be fixed.
• Unable to connect to remote PC, please verify Remote Desktop is enabled
  • This is another common problem with Remote Desktop. However, you should be able to fix the problem using one of our solutions.
• Windows 10 Remote Desktop credentials did not work
  • If you encounter this error on your PC, you might be able to fix it simply by removing your saved credentials.
• Remote Desktop cannot connect error, certificate expired invalid, in the time allotted
  • There are various errors that can appear while trying to use the Remote Desktop feature. However, you should be able to fix them using one of our solutions.
• Remote Desktop won’t connect over the Internet
  • This is another problem related to the Remote Desktop feature. If Remote Desktop can’t connect, be sure to check your firewall and antivirus settings.

The remote desktop can’t connect to the remote computer for one of these reasons:

• Remote access to the server is not enabled
• The remote computer is turned off
• The remote computer is not available on the network

These can be caused by a limited network connection, not enough memory, and wrong firewall settings.

So, if you can’t connect to Remote Desktop in Windows 10, make sure your computer doesn’t have any of the above-mentioned issues.