Install and Enable Remote Desktop in Windows XP Home Edition
Windows XP Home Edition (HE) does not come with or support Remote Desktop, or Terminal Services feature. There is Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) client which allows user to connect to remote host, but now accepting any remote desktop connection to the Windows XP Home PC. However, there is way to install and enable Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) in Windows XP using the trick below.
Note that if you just want to be able to remote control the desktop of the computer running on Windows XP Home Edition, it may be easier and wiser to use the free VNC as alternative instead. One such VNC server and client is UltraVNC.
To run Remote Desktop Terminal Services (server component) in Windows XP Home Edition, the operating system must first made to recognize itself as Windows XP Professional Edition. To do so, follow the guide to convert Windows XP Home to Windows XP Professional.
Confirm that the OS is now Windows XP Professional Edition by going to System Properties, by right clicking on “My Computer” and select “Properties”. Then download and install DevCon (direct download link to devcon.exe), a command-line utility functions as an alternative to Device Manager.
devcon.exe is a self-extractor executable. Execute “devcon.exe” and choose a folder to unpack the content. devcon.exe will create two folders inside the selected path – i386 and ia64.
Open a command prompt window (Cmd), and the change directory into the i386 folder extracted by DevCon. Then run the following command to reinstall rdpdr driver:
devcon.exe -r install %windir%\inf\machine.inf root\rdpdr
Restart the computer after running the command.
At this stage, Windows XP ‘Professional’ which is converted still does not have the necessary Terminal Services related settings in the registry to run the Remote Desktop. To reinstall and enable Terminal Services in Windows XP Home turned Professional OS, download and run the enable_tsxp.bat batch script (also support enable TS in Windows 2000), which will create a .reg file to merge the required Terminal Services values to registry and bootlog. Reboot after patching the registry.
After reboot, the Terminal Services is running and ready to accept incoming Remote Desktop Connection session. To verify the Terminal Services is actually running, go to Control Panel -> Administrator Tools -> Services, and locate the “Terminal Services” entry. If the service is not started, start it manually. There won’t be a “Remote” tab in System Properties, and ensure that the port 3389 (the default port for Remote Desktop) is open in firewall.
Sometimes, it may be useful to patch termsrv.dll with a cracked version which allows multiple RDC sessions and users to fix some problems such as disconnection issue. It’s also good for testing by allowing connect remote desktop to localhost.
Note that the registry settings enable the automatic logon feature, where the system will auto login administrator on local console on every system startup without prompting for password, nor allowing user to select account to log on. To disable this feature, run Registry Editor (regedit), and navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Change the value data for “AutoAdminLogin” from “1″ to “0″.
Related Articles
- Turn On or Enable Remote Desktop on Windows Vista
- Enable Multiple Concurrent Remote Desktop Connections or Sessions in Windows XP
- Freeware to Turn On and Enable Remote Desktop on Another Computer Remotely
- How to Remotely Enable Remote Desktop (Terminal Services or RDP) via Registry in Windows 2000/XP/2000/Vista/2008
- Trick to Enable and Allow Windows XP and Vista Remote Desktop Login Without Password (or With Blank Null Password)
- Easily Maintain Multiple Remote Desktop Connections with visionapp Remote Desktop (vRD)
- Connect to Remote Computer using Specific Non Standard Port using Remote Desktop Connection Client
- Remote Desktop Connection (RDP) Client 6.0 for Windows XP and 2003
- Workaround for Remote Desktop Client to Connect to Localhost (Local Terminal Server Service)
- How to Remote Desktop to Connect And Access Console Mode Session
Entries (RSS)
November 11th, 2008 23:07
Thanks a loot
i just needed this
after hours i got it
thanks once more
November 3rd, 2008 07:53
Works great(just working remotely at this time).The only problem was that i had to create myself a password for my account(i had it blank), didn’t work without it.
November 2nd, 2008 20:39
A mirror for enable_tsxp.bat is here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/159921999/enable_tsxp.zip
November 2nd, 2008 18:51
I can’t reach the websites for enable_tsxp.bat, for an example. Does anyone else have a mirrored site or any information regarding it?
November 2nd, 2008 12:36
Good tips, liked it.
SpikeX is dead wrong, shared folders and printers are unaffected. I wish people would research what they’re talking about before spouting off at the mouth.
November 2nd, 2008 04:38
I used the above process and it worked great… cool stuff. Thanks!
I also validated my Windows and it checked out just fine.
I don’t know what the person above means by breaking shared folders though, that’s not true. I’m looking at files in, viewing pictures from, and listening to music in a shared folder right now. My shared printer is also unaffected.
November 2nd, 2008 02:39
vorrei sapere come fare per inserire nella barra degli strumenti l’icona del desktop al fine di richiamarlo anche quando sono sono su internet ovvero sto lavorando su file.
grazie.
October 30th, 2008 22:05
Has anyone else experienced this issue that SpikeX is experiencing? I haven’t tried this myself yet, but breaking Windows SMB is a big deal, probably a deal killer on many computers.
October 21st, 2008 17:55
This will BREAK any Windows SMB you might want (Microsoft File and Printer Sharing).
Basically, with this hack, forget about ever sharing a folder or a printer. It breaks it.
October 14th, 2008 00:32
Thanks for the guide. I completed it but i can’t find my username and password. Where can i fing them? Also how can i change them? Thanks!
October 9th, 2008 11:10
worked perfectly.
Dont have to hookup the monitor and keyboard for my Asus Eee notebook anymore
Cheers
October 7th, 2008 12:32
For some reson my MS Acces web applications stopped working. I am not able to link the webpage to the database. How can I get it work again. I re-installed Office XP, but it didn´t fix it.
By the way, the RDC works fine. Thanks
How do I get MS Access to work again?
Regards,
October 5th, 2008 18:49
Wow….works great..well done you big brained person.
September 29th, 2008 03:54
pow OLHA sÓ eu QUERIA saber o numero da chave de ativação do windows
pq eu naum to consegindoooo ativar
me respondeeeee
VLW
aew GALERA da VJ
amoo VCS
September 7th, 2008 07:15
Thanks for that.
Question: Does anyone know how this affects the Windows Authentication tool? Considering that the system thinks it is Windows XP Professional with a XP Home license key. Does it invalidate (e.g. the next time you try a Windows update, it will say you are running an illegal copy?
August 20th, 2008 10:28
Doesn’t work for me. Is there a way to undo all the steps above? Is it a good idea?
July 23rd, 2008 06:55
succhia succhia …
July 16th, 2008 23:23
[...] Windows XP Professional that Windows XP Home lacks of, such as Remote Desktop Server (see guide to install Remote Desktop on XP Home) and Group Policy Editor (GPedit) utility tools, which has been removed on Windows XP Home edition. [...]
July 16th, 2008 21:57
Well, that tweak works great but how to turn back to home edition. Is there any chance ?
July 6th, 2008 18:32
@DJML
You have to give it a lot of time. It took me about 15 minutes before I got an acknowledgement that it was ready to download.
Also, I followed your steps and while running enable_tsxp.bat, the bat file couldn’t find zclientm.exe on the xp home cd. This is a problem on my end, I think. This has happened before where the bat file was unable to find a file on the xp home cd. Any suggestions?
June 29th, 2008 00:21
The link to enable_tsxp.bat takes me to a download site, but the download isn’t working. Any help?
June 18th, 2008 17:28
[...] Via | Tip and Trick [...]
June 16th, 2008 16:00
[...] Via | Tip and Trick [...]
June 15th, 2008 15:17
[...] Windows XP Professional that Windows XP Home lacks of, such as Remote Desktop Server (see guide to install Remote Desktop on XP Home) and Group Policy Editor (GPedit) utility tools, which has been removed on Windows XP Home edition. [...]
June 14th, 2008 00:19
[...] Windows XP Professional that Windows XP Home lacks of, such as Remote Desktop Server (see guide to install Remote Desktop on XP Home) and Group Policy Editor (GPedit) utility tools, which has been removed on Windows XP Home edition. [...]