Workaround to Run VNC Server in Windows Vista
There is no built-in Remote Desktop feature in Windows Vista Starter, Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Basic N, and Windows Vista Home Premium editions of Windows Vista operating system. So in order to be able to remote control and access or take control of a Windows Vista PC from another computer, a desktop sharing system or remote control server has to be installed and running on Windows Vista machine. One of the popular desktop sharing system is VNC (Virtual Network Computing) in the flavors or variants of RealVNC, UltraVNC, TightVNC and etc. However, when you try to install and run the VNC Server as a service mode in Windows Vista, there will be problem trying to connect and remote control to the Windows Vista computer from another computer by using VNC client.
In the Event Viewer after failed while attempting to gain access control to remote Windows Vista computer, user can see the following error:
Unable to connect session to Console. Access Denied. or Connection closed unexpectedly. or No connection or connection reset by peer (10054).
Beside, on the Windows Vista machine which users try to install VNC Server (from RealVNC, UltraVNC or any other VNC based server), Windows Vista will display a few symptoms or error messages as below:
Access Denied if you’re not running or installing or configuring VNC server as an Administrator.
VNC Server (Service) icon in the Notification Area displays the message ‘Not Accepting Incoming Connections’ error message.
VNC Server (Service) icon in the Notification Area (system tray) does not display the server’s assigned IP address.
When trying to execute and run VNC server in user mode, same error message of ‘Not Accepting Incoming Connections’ appeared.
The problems are caused by Windows Vista new security feature called Session 0 Isolation. Previous versions of Windows ran system services in the same login session as the locally logged-in user (Session 0). In Windows Vista, Session 0 is now reserved for these services, and all interactive logins are done in other sessions, causing VNC server unable to accept incoming remote control connection request.
So in order to make VNC server on Windows Vista works properly, the workaround resolution (at least until the VNC developers to come out with proper fix or update to address the new security constraint in Windows Vista) is to run VNC server in user mode.
- Ensure that you have the exceptions to allow incoming connections to winvnc4.exe or to port 5900 (or any other port number that you want to allocate to VNC server listening port), or simply turn off firewall.
- VNC server is detected as potentially unwanted behaviour in integrated Windows Defender. Create a rule to ignore this warning.
- If you want to newly or fresh install VNC server, do not install the VNC Service by not checking or selecting the “Register VNC Server Service” option, or else you will have “Not Accepting Connections” error even when trying to run the VNC Server in User Mode.
- If you have already install VNC Service (register VNC Server as a service to start automatically when Windows Vista starts), unregister the VNC Service.
- If you want to configure settings of VNC Server, right click on “Configure VNC Server” menu item and select “Run as” for administrative privileges so that the VNC configuration tool can access to the relevant parts of the registry.
Then start VNC Server in User Mode (may need to Run as Administrator too), and you will be able to connect, remote control and access to Windows Vista computer desktop from another computer properly.
Some users reported that RealVNC Personal Edition and Enterprise Edition (both need payment) supports Windows Vista, while RealVNC Free Edition still waiting for workarounds. And UltraVNC has released Vista supported and compatible VNC server/client.
On the other hand, check out solution for those who facing black screen on remote VNC connection to Vista.
Related Articles
- Workaround for Remote Desktop Client to Connect to Localhost (Local Terminal Server Service)
- Workaround to Run eMule in Windows Vista
- Install and Enable Telnet Server Service in Windows Vista
- How to Enable Concurrent Half-Open TCP Connect Attempts Limit in Windows Server 2008 and Vista SP2 or Windows 7
- Workaround to Install Windows PowerShell on EFS Disabled Vista
- Workaround to Install Microsoft AppLocale Utility in Windows Vista
- Common Errors and Problems when Activating Windows Vista with KMS Server
- Workaround Fix to Install Virtual PC Additions on Windows Server 2008 Core
- Vista Remote Desktop Connection Client Slow Delay or Disconnect When Connect to Windows Server 2003 SP2 x64 Edition RDP
- Download Key Management Service (KMS) 1.2 for Windows Server 2003 for Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 Volume Activation
Entries (RSS)
November 7th, 2009 06:10
Figured this out too, but its just a poor workaround. Any task that creates a security window will lock out vnc sessions till the prompt times out (a min or two).
Thanks for trying
September 18th, 2009 01:01
Seriously, I’ve read this article so many times and it just irritates me!! Its not a workaround. It is a completely different tactic. Its like saying, “My favorite Ice Cream place is closed. How can I get that ice cream? I Know! I will go to the store and buy ice cream from there!”
Yes, it IS better than nothing, but it is NOT a work around.
September 3rd, 2009 05:41
Ok, all that worked great, but as soon as the workstation is locked, VNC Viewer won’t accept incoming traffic. I cannot leave my workstation on, logged-in and unattended when I am not there, so I must set the screensaver to lock the workstation after a certain period of inactivity.
In previous versions of windows, VNC would allow you to log into a locked workstation. Maybe this was because it was service-mode. Does anyone have a workaround?
May 22nd, 2009 04:32
thank you so much for the workaround. finally its working now on my vista machine as well. thank you once again for the great tip.
March 17th, 2009 13:07
[...] running under Vista, you need to run VNC server in user mode rather than server mode. You can click here for full details, but basically you need to unregister the VNC service if it’s running (there’s an [...]
March 10th, 2009 07:39
[...] Workaround to Run VNC Server in Windows Vista My Digital Life Or you could get RealVNC Enterprise edition that officially supports Windows Vista. Screenshots from my Nokia 5800 XM: (Fullscreen 1680×1050 –> 640×360) … … And the link to the application, of course: Code: [...]
January 26th, 2009 03:45
Thanks. Now it works nicely.
December 26th, 2008 07:12
Excellent work around, followed it to the letter and it works a dream. Thanks a bunch. I was really starting to get pissed off having to walk next door, and now i dont have to ! Excellent !
November 7th, 2008 09:06
After using this workaround I’ve also just managed to setup VNC Server (RealVNC in my case) to start automatically in Vista (Home Premium) like this:
Start Button > All programs > RealVNC > VNC Server 4 (User-Mode)
Right-Click “Run VNC Server”
Choose “Pin to Start menu”
(or you could just create a shortcut on you desktop)
navigate to:
“C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup” directory where username is your user logon.
Start Button
drag “RunVNCserver” into the directory (or the shortcut you created)
It should now start automatically when you reboot.
Hope it helps someone else
Maggie
November 7th, 2008 07:59
Great workaround. Thanks. I’ve been wanting to use this on Vista for quite a while but gave up a few months ago. Just decided to have another google and found your page; it’s now working great. Keep up the good work.
(I had no problems moving around your page)
October 20th, 2008 11:30
[...] Details on the workaround can be found here. [...]
July 18th, 2008 06:06
Something is seriously wrong with this page. If I try to use the arrow keys or page up/page down I get thrown to the bottom of the page.
July 17th, 2008 23:07
i really like that stripper`s photo on right side.
thanks much