Concurrent Remote Desktop Sessions in Windows XP SP2

Submitted by vishnu on Tue, 2004-11-09 09:35.

I mentioned before that Windows XP does not allow concurrent sessions for its Remote Desktop feature. What this
means is that if a user is logged on at the local console, a remote user has to kick him off (and ironically, this can be
done even without his permission) before starting work on the box. This is irritating and removes much of the
productivity that Remote Desktop brings to Windows. Read on to learn how to remove that limitation in Windows XP
SP2

A much touted feature in SP2 (Service Pack 2) since then removed was the ability to do just this, have a user logged
on locally while another connects to the terminal remotely. Microsoft however removed the feature in the final
build. The reason probably is that the EULA (End User License Agreement) allows only a single user to use a computer
at a time. This is (IMHO) a silly reason to curtail Remote Desktop's functionality, so we'll have a workaround.

Microsoft did try out the feature in earlier builds of Service Pack 2 and it is this that we're going to exploit here.
We're going to replace termserv.dll (The Terminal Server) with one from an earlier build (2055).

To get Concurrent Sessions in Remote Desktop working, follow the steps below exactly:

1. Download the termserv.zip file below and extract it somewhere. (You have to be registered to see
the file)
2. Reboot into Safe Mode. This is necessary to remove Windows File Protection.
3. Copy the termserv.dll in the zip to %windir%\System32 and %windir%\ServicePackFiles\i386. If the
second folder doesn't exist, don't copy it there. Delete termserv.dll from the dllcache folder: %windir
%\system32\dllcache
4. Merge the contents of Concurrent Sessions SP2.reg file into the registry.
5. Make sure Fast User Switching is turned on. Go Control Panel -> User Accounts -> Change the way
users log on or off and turn on Fast User Switching.
6. Open up the Group Policy Editor: Start Menu > Run > 'gpedit.msc'. Navigate to Computer
Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Terminal Services. Enable 'Limit Number
of Connections' and set the number of connections to 3 (or more). This enables you to have more than one
person remotely logged on.
7. Now reboot back into normal Windows and try out whether Concurrent Sessions in Remote Desktop
works. It should!

If anything goes wrong, the termserv_sp2.dll is the original file you replaced. Just rename it to termserv.dll, reboot
into safe mode and copy it back.

The termserv.dl_ file is provided in the zip is for you slipstreamers out there. Just replace that file with the
corresponding file in the Windows installation disks.

I've added in extra information from the comments below... thanks for all who researched! :-)

Other links of interest:

• MSFN Board, termserv.dll

• Another related MSFN thread.
• Another similar HOWTO
• An installer for the above

Please note that I haven't tried out any of the links above. YMMV.

If anything doesn't work with my procedure above though, post a comment here and I'll try to help!

» vishnu's blog | 5145 reads

 For me the terminal server se
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 2004-11-21 07:52.

For me the terminal server service won't start, and when I try to start it manually I get:

Could not start the Terminal Services service on Local Computer. Error 193: 0xc1

Are you sure that this old DLL works with the most current update for SP2? Any ideas for a long-term solution to
account for Microsoft's updates?

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Explain...
Submitted by vishnu on Sun, 2004-11-21 12:11.

What do you mean by "most current update"? I have autoupdate turned on and it works for me.

A long-term solution (perhaps) would be to install Win2003. It can support one console session and two remote desktop
sessions concurrently with the default licensing schemes. This after all, is just a hack.

Also, see Terminal Server Client Error 193.

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I must have made a mistake somewhere...

Submitted by circuitfive on Mon, 2005-01-03 23:58.
Hey qhitch, Thanks for the tutorial, it's the easiest and clearest explanatin I've found on the topic. Unfortunately, it didn't
work for me. After going through these steps the behavior didn't change at all. When I make a remote connection the user
sitting in front of the machine gets booted out, and if another person makes a remote connection I'll get booted out (so
basically, the behavior hasn't changed at all). What do you think I should do to determine what I did wrong? Here's what I've
verified so far.. 1) the registry key was updated properly 2) the termserv.dll files were copied properly (timestamps are
updated) ...anything else I can check? Thanks in advance, - j.

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Things to do
Submitted by vishnu on Wed, 2005-01-05 20:01.
Things to do:

1. Do you have SP2?

2. Try following the steps exactly one more time. May help.

Since this is a hack... I don't know exactly how to debug, just that these steps worked for me.

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Maybe...
Submitted by agga on Mon, 2005-01-10 02:19.
Maybe you should add a note, that you can only start downloads while logged in as a registered user... i searched a while ;-)
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Done :-D
Submitted by vishnu on Mon, 2005-01-10 20:05.
Done :-D

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Re: Concurrent Remote Desktop Sessions in Windows XP SP2

Submitted by splmachine on Mon, 2005-01-17 11:27.
hey does anyone out there know if/ how to allow multiple logins with xp pro without using winconnect? Is it possible to
extract the files from 2003 server or 2k server to allow more than just one login at a time? Thanks

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I thought
Submitted by vishnu on Wed, 2005-01-19 20:17.
I thought that was what I was explaining here :-D

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Dosent work on Windows Media Center for me FIXED! see next msg..
Submitted by JohnWPB on Thu, 2005-01-20 15:35.
I have Windows Media Center installed on my PC I am Remoting into. I have 2 Airpanels in the house to control the lights,
jukebox ect, with the software on that machine. I followed your instructions letter for letter, and also experience the same
thing that circuitfive has, it still boots the first person out when a 2nd connects.
I was under the impression that WMCE was simply XP Pro with SP2 built in, along with the media center software. Shouldnt
this work on a WMCE machine?

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My Mistake!!!!
Submitted by JohnWPB on Thu, 2005-01-20 16:55.
I got it to work fine and I THANK YOU for such a great Hack!!!! Hopefully my stupid mistake will help others: I was using the
SAME account to log into RD as I was using on the machine at the time! You MUST create another account and log into the
server with different user names for this to work. I can't beleive I did this, but it dosent supprise me doing this at 6:30 in the
morning actually :)
On another note, I had my Airpanel, as well as this computer BOTH logged into the server and both connections were working
flawlessly. So it is capable of having two remote machines connected to the server, or having one remote machine, and one
local log on at the same time. You can have no more than 2 consecutive logons at one time to the server machine though.

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You *CAN* have more than 2 users at a time..

Submitted by Marc on Thu, 2005-03-03 02:06.

After doing the hack as instructed here, I found the same thing.. I could have 2 RDC's, or one RDC and one local in use.

Following the instructions at http://profiles.indesolutions.com/paul/tech/archives/000064.html I was able to have

"Administrator" on the console, "user1" and "user2" BOTH on RDC.. Yes, All 3 at the same time.

So, you may want to add the information from the link above here. Specificaly:

d. Open up the Group Policy Editor: Start Menu > Run > 'gpedit.msc' Navigate dow in the tree to: Computer Configuration >
Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Termina Services. Double-click the item in the list on the right entitled
'Limit number of connections'. Enable it, and set the number of connections to 3 (or whatever you need). Click 'OK'.

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Thanks
Submitted by vishnu on Thu, 2005-03-03 19:50.
Thanks! This is interesting, and it works :-)

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Not more than 3 connections are possible

Submitted by Dutchman on Sun, 2005-05-29 15:13.

I tried to increase the number of connections to 10, but only 3 connections at the same time are possible. But i need 6
connections ...

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Frustrated with XP
Submitted by bradw41 on Tue, 2005-05-24 01:53.

I have been unable to get 2 concurrent sessions to work on Windows XP SP2. I have followed the directions exactly. It works
when the computer is in a workgroup. But when I add it to a domain, it no longer works. Any ideas.

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Yes JohnWPB!
Submitted by trulypaladin on Sat, 2005-01-22 01:03.
I was going to post that message that you can't remotely logged onto the computer with the same account. You have to
create a different account for the concurrent session to work. One other thing though, Windows 2002/2003 Server do allow
users with the same account to remotely connected onto the same server at the same time. Why can't XP do the same?
Sheesh.

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Login
Submitted by pkonderla on Tue, 2005-02-01 01:13.
Login under Mozilla(Firefox) is unsuccessful - maybe I may set different security.

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It works for me
Submitted by vishnu on Tue, 2005-02-01 18:13.
I'm using Firefox.

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More helpful tips

Submitted by andykim78 on Tue, 2005-02-01 09:05.
For everybody who couldn't get this to work, here's what I had to do.

1. The registry file provided in the zipfile makes a new entry at:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Terminal Server\Licensing Core
Instead of the ControlSet001, use CurrentControlSet
2. Make sure that you don't have a copy of termsrv.dll in your dll cache directory (ie. C:\windows\system32\dllcache) and if
you do, just delete it.

I was surprised when it actually worked, but it does work!

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Very useful, could be more so?

Submitted by yde on Tue, 2005-02-01 22:36.
Thanks for a concise procedure to implement concurrent remote desktops. Another site
(http://profiles.indesolutions.com/paul/tech/archives/000064.html) published a similar procedure but also recommended
modifying the group policy. So far this does not seem to be necessary. One limitation is that if multiple sessions are running
they have to be for different users. Is there a way to remove this restriction? I was recently working with a Windows2003
server that allowed this. In fact, I could start a "remote desktop" session on the server itself, thereby have two competely
different sessions for the same user on the same machine at the same terminal and keyboard! As you can imaging, this can be
very useful. Thanks

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Hmm
Submitted by vishnu on Mon, 2005-02-14 23:57.
I don't think this can be done :-(

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Great Post, Media Center audio mapping???

Submitted by lee on Mon, 2005-02-14 23:42.
Hi, I was wondering if this solution allows for audio mapping. I would like to use thin clients in a custom application, but need
to have audio. Does this work?? I would like to also be able to use my PVR over RDP ie watch live tv change channels watch
recorded shows. I have a fast network so that's not a problem with the video. Any knowledge on the subject would be great.
thanks in advance aaron

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Think so
Submitted by vishnu on Tue, 2005-02-15 00:00.
Yes, audio can be mapped over. See the Remote Desktop Connection properties.

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One more thing...

Submitted by lee on Mon, 2005-02-14 23:44.
Is there another registry hack to allow more than 2 incoming connections? Also, if no one is logged onto the "server" can you
have 3 incoming connections or still just 2? thanks aaron

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No
Submitted by vishnu on Mon, 2005-02-14 23:59.
This isn't possible with the current hack.

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Yes
Submitted by xlynx on Mon, 2005-05-02 10:18.
I have confirmed you can get 1 more session, making a total of 3 remote sessions or 2 remote and one console. Run
gpedit.msc and navigate to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Terminal
Services. Change "Limit the number of connections" to Enabled and set the value to 3 or more.

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Yup possible
Submitted by vishnu on Tue, 2005-05-03 02:32.

That was an outdated reply, the above article has already been changed to reflect this information.

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Concurrent local and remote connection by the same user

Submitted by dczajko on Wed, 2005-02-23 20:39.
Concurrent local and remote connection by the same user might be possible in XP: Anyone every used ntSwitch.exe (simple
registry change). It’ll change win 2k Prof to 2k Server, and it’ll change XP Prof to XP Server (Whistler) and back. I tried it
myself, and in Whistler, you can have ‘bob’ logged in locally, and ‘bob’ connected remotely without having to kick one of
them off. Whistler doesn’t function properly so I ended up switch back to XP, however, this proves that the original sp2
“termserv.dll” can do what we want it to do (identical users connected simultaneously locally and remotely) when in Whistler
mode. There has to be a way to get it to work in XP if it works in Whistler. Anybody care to figure out how to enable it?
Here’s a link to NTSwitch in case anyone wants to play with it www.3dnews.ru/documents/1143/ntswitch.zip

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Still not working...:-) I really want it to!

Submitted by jonatj on Sun, 2005-02-27 05:12.
Just like circuitfive, I've verified that: 1. the registry key for Licensing Core is in CurrentControlSet and ControlSet001 has the
EnableConcurrentSessions enabled 2. the older termsrv.dll file is in %windir%\system32 and %windir%\ServicePackFiles\i386 3.
the offical sp2 version is deleted from \dllcache 4. a new user was created, and put into Remote Desktop Users access list
One question I have is, what does using Firefox have to do with Remote Desktop? Is it necessary to use TSWeb or can the
Remote Desktop Connection program be used? Anyway, I'm out of ideas. Any suggestions would be welcome. Thanks in
advance. Jon

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Same here. Tried everything,

Submitted by cenk66 on Sun, 2005-02-27 19:17.

Same here. Tried everything, not allowing multiple users. I am running MCE 2005 SP2. Not sure if that makes a difference.

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I haven't tested this hack wi

Submitted by vishnu on Sun, 2005-02-27 22:03.

I haven't tested this hack with MCE, since I don't have a copy of the OS to test it on. To my knowledge, only one person has
reported success installing the hack on MCE.

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Firefox isn't related to this

Submitted by vishnu on Sun, 2005-02-27 22:01.

Firefox isn't related to this at all... that guy was talking about login issues with this website (I blv) I do not know why this is
not working for you, it's working for many people... try following the steps above EXACTLY once more with a CLEAN install.
On one system, I had to reboot twice for this to take effect :-/
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I did. Several times. Not wor

Submitted by cenk66 on Mon, 2005-02-28 01:35.
I did. Several times. Not working ! System is logged in as userA, I am trying to log in as userB and it warns me that userA will
be logged off and it does. No multiple sessions. Thanks.

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Not sure if it matters, but i

Submitted by vishnu on Mon, 2005-02-28 11:46.

Not sure if it matters, but is your Windows an English language version?

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I figured it out! This will probably help a lot of people...

Submitted by jonatj on Tue, 2005-03-01 02:06.
The reason Remote Desktop Connection was prompting me to log off the other user is, I didn't have Fast User Switching
turned on. qhitch, please add that note to your directions and I bet that will help a lot of people. I guess it makes sense that
if you don't have FUS on, then Windows can't use multiple sessions. Thanks again for your help!

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Some additional info from other sites and detailed instructions.

Submitted by jonatj on Tue, 2005-03-01 03:39. A link to another hacked termsrv.dll and other files for RDP
concurrent logon:
http://www.msfn.org/board/lofiversion/index.php/t23719.html

Thread of other users who figured out the RDP concurrent logon:

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=23619

Patch file created for the RDP concurrent logon:

http://www.sala.pri.ee/#termiserv

Here are detailed instructions I put in my readme.txt file:

How To enable concurrent Remote Desktop Sessions in Windows XP SP2

Thanks to qhitch (http://sig9.com/node/110) for instructions

Prerequisites:

Windows XP Professional SP2

Get termsrv.dll version 2055 from SP2 beta

Make sure Fast User Switching is enabled and machine is not apart of a domain

Make sure you have at least 2 users(besides Administrator) setup in Windows

Steps:

1. Reboot into Safe Mode

2. Replace %windir%\system32\termsrv.dll with version 2055

3. Replace %windir%\ServicePackFiles\i386\termsrv.dll with version 2055 (if needed)

4. Delete %windir%\system32\dllcache\termsrv.dll

5. Apply registry tweak:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Terminal Server\Licensing Core]

"EnableConcurrentSessions"=dword:00000001

6. Reboot into Windows

7. Login with one user

8. From remote machine do a Remote Desktop Connection to target system and login with credentials from 2nd user

Congratulations, it shouldn't prompt you with the "need to logoff other user" message anymore!

P.S. What HTML tags should I use to get hyperlinks to work when posting?

Use a?
Submitted by vishnu on Thu, 2005-03-03 19:53.
Shouldn't <a> work?

Your installer looks interesting. I haven't tried it out yet though.

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in a domain ?
Submitted by 4lexandra on Sat, 2005-03-12 02:57.
Do you know if there is a way to do this when in a domain?

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Nope
Submitted by vishnu on Sat, 2005-03-12 12:35.
I haven't tested this, but from the reports I've received, no.

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Remote Control
Submitted by lee on Sat, 2005-03-19 21:25.
Hey everyone this a great hack, and a great thread. I have got 2 remote users and the administrator account (for a total of 3
sessions) all running on the same PC using two wyse 1125se thin clients off of Windows Media Center 2005...very cool. My
wife unfortunately isn't nearly as computer savy and when she has a problem...I've got to get off the couch. I've noticed that
by going to System Security and selecting the Users tab I have the ability to send messages to other users, I can disconnect
them if I like and I also have the ability to control their sessions remotely, much in the same way that I do on a daily basis at
work on a 2003 server. I can do everything but remote control. I get the following error Session (ID 4) remote control failed.
I've tried changing the policy in group policy editor but it's still a no go, anyone have any ideas? This is also great if I'm at
work and she needs help with something, I can just rdp in and then take control of her session and fix it for her. thanks again
ghitch for this great thread aaron
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Fixed it.
Submitted by lee on Sat, 2005-03-19 21:44.
I had it right the first time with group Policy editor, I simply forgot to have the other user log off and then log back on, the
policy is instated on logon. Just open up group policy editor (gpedit.msc) and select \computer configuration\administrative
templates\windows components\terminal services\ and the value is "Sets rules for remote control of terminal services user
sessions, edit that value to whatever you want. I set it to control without permission, and the next time my wife gets on I'm
going to mess with her a little bit: ) ok ok i know it's a little mean but it sure will be funny....lol be sure to log off and log
back on after you change the policy!!!!

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Where is "System Security"

Submitted by jpimentel on Thu, 2005-05-05 08:44.
I would like to do the same thing but I can't seem to find where the control is located. Can you give me a clue? Thanks....

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Media Center Extender functionality

Submitted by lee on Sat, 2005-03-19 22:30.
I currently have this on a media center pc, my pc is in the entertainment center connected directly to the tv and I have two
wireless thin clients (1125se's) that connect to the pc. I was considering putting a Media Center Extender in another portion
of the house, since media center extenders essentially create another session much like RDP only with limited functionality
(only the media center module)I wonder if this is affected with the swapping of sp2 beta files. Anyone have any insight??

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Is only sp2 require ??

Submitted by fartsimple on Sun, 2005-03-20 18:06.
i tried all this with xp and sp1 .. but all in vain .. is it necessary to install sp2 ?

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Yes, SP2 is required

Submitted by vishnu on Tue, 2005-03-22 20:53.
SP2 is required, yes. It's a free download.

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Thanks SO MUCH...
Submitted by mads0078 on Thu, 2005-03-24 08:39.
This is great work with no probs

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Fast User Switching?

Submitted by avester27 on Wed, 2005-03-30 01:00.
Is it possible to enable fast user switching on XP Pro connected to a domain. Last I knew that was not possible. I don't see any
way to enable it thus would I be correct this is not possible?

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Yes, it is possible! 1. Fo
Submitted by seaVgull on Wed, 2005-03-30 20:12.
Yes, it is possible! 1. Follow the steps described in this howto above. 2. Set the "Fast User Switching Compatibility" service to
start _automatically_. 3. Every time your system starts you have to set [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon] "AllowMultipleTSSessions"=dword:00000001 You can make it via domain polices or whatever you
like. Personally I use a task for nncron scheduler: #( TSS Time: START-TIME Action: START-APP: regedit.exe /s "C:\Program
Files\TSS.reg" )# where TSS.reg consists of the above registry key. 4. Enjoy! :v))) p.s. By the way, concurrent connections
from the _same_ user are also possible. Go to Start Menu > Run > 'gpedit.msc' > Computer Configuration > Administrative
Templates > Windows Components > Terminal Services > Restrict Terminal Services Users to a single remote session. Set it to
"Disable". Do not forget to read the explain of this parameter. Also I recommend to learn other policies in this template. You
may find lots of useful things :-)

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I tried to use this as listed

Submitted by biff_biffman on Thu, 2005-03-31 06:14.
I tried to use this as listed above on my domain. Could not get it to work. Any ideas?

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How do you set AllowMultipleT

Submitted by seaVgull on Thu, 2005-03-31 14:31.
How do you set AllowMultipleTSSessions? Please note that win will set it to "0" _every_ time your computer starts (if it is in a
domain). So you have to set that key to "1" _after_ win has set it to "0". At _every_ startup. I guess there is more win-native
solution (templates, polices) but for now I do not have it. The solution with nncron task works fine in my domain.

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Not working in my domain

Submitted by ccutrer on Sun, 2005-05-01 21:22.
I follow your steps, and when I'm not joined to the domain, it works, and when I join to the domain, that registry value gets
set to 0, so I set it back to 1. But when it's when, I can't log in at all. No matter how I try to log in (remote, local), it
authenticates me, then shows up the login screen again. I have to change it back to 0 (I access a network registry from
another computer is the easiest way without going into safe mode), and I can log in again. Any ideas?