Remote Desktop Requirements

F

frewys

New Member
Hi
I have been trying to make a minimal media server with no success in getting the remote desktop to work. I get a black screen and the attached error message. I have been looking around for a guide for remote desktop but have had no success.

Mod note: Redacted user passwords & license key.
Thank you for redacting the password license key. I checked through the XML and it looked like it was hidden
 

Attachments

  • RemoteConnection.png
    RemoteConnection.png
    27.6 KB
  • MediaServer.xml
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garlin said:
This might be RDP requiring NTVDM, or your firewall blocking connections.
Click to expand...
That looks like a x86 16bit dos legacy subsystem. Is that really needed for RD?
I was more thinking it had something to do with hyper-v
Firewall is open for remote desktop
 
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Network stuff has an equally good chance to be unrelated to Windows. It would probably save you substantial time to go back to troubleshooting basics, by installing a default Windows and seeing if it even works in that environment. If not, it may be a sign that it is an outside factor, like your ISP blocking ports, or your router not configured for the traffic (firewalls, UPnP, etcetera). Also look into other related topics, such as DNS, VPNs, and Proxies.
 
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Hellbovine said:
Network stuff has an equally good chance to be unrelated to Windows. It would probably save you substantial time to go back to troubleshooting basics, by installing a default Windows and seeing if it even works in that environment. If not, it may be a sign that it is an outside factor, like your ISP blocking ports, or your router not configured for the traffic (firewalls, UPnP, etcetera). Also look into other related topics, such as DNS, VPNs, and Proxies.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reply. I'm not using it externally it's on a LAN on the same router at home. It works with a clean install but something is missing. as I strip it. I tried to restore logical pieces after going through the list several times and trying. Now I'm on to "weird stuff" like the NTVDM. I don't want to run an untouched NTLITE OS at this point so might be forced to use a RD alternative :/
 
Here's an idea to try, for a guess and check method, which is something I did on W10 recently for another project:
1) Install an unmodified Windows (not in a VM) and create a local account. Once you reach the desktop disable Defender's realtime scanning (in a permanent way), switch to the high performance power plan, turn off hibernation, and then shut down the computer. There's several reasons for this; defender slows down NTLite, the power plan increases speeds, and hibernation causes some devices to forcibly hibernate when you click shutdown or reboot (rather than actually rebooting), which causes problems because real reboots are required in troubleshooting.

2) Before turning the computer on, unplug from the internet to eliminate background interferences, then load your live installation into NTLite. Take the list of components from your XML preset and paste them into a notepad to help you keep track of your progress.

3) Go down the notepad list in groups of 10, and copy/paste each item into the search box of the NTLite component removal section, then select those components for removal on the live installation. After 10 are added, process it, mark where you left off in your notepad and save it, exit NTLite, then reboot and test if Remote Desktop still works.

Keep repeating step #3 until you narrow it down to a group of 10 suspects, then you can find the culprit easier from there, and it's much faster than trying to make images to install and test. I edited your XML preset and put it into a new txt document that I attached here as an example.

Note: keep in mind that some items are subcomponents of others, so there may be times where the 10th item you removed makes it so after a reboot when you go to start removing the next set of 10 that some of them may be greyed out and already uninstalled. Also, you can cheat a lot during this process by grouping up large amounts of extremely similar items, such as language removals, instead of breaking them into sets, so it won't take as long as it seems to get through the list.
 

Attachments

  • RDP.txt
    23.3 KB
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Hellbovine said:
Here's an idea to try, for a guess and check method, which is something I did on W10 recently for another project:
1) Install an unmodified Windows (not in a VM) and create a local account. Once you reach the desktop disable Defender's realtime scanning (in a permanent way), switch to the high performance power plan, turn off hibernation, and then shut down the computer. There's several reasons for this; defender slows down NTLite, the power plan increases speeds, and hibernation causes some devices to forcibly hibernate when you click shutdown or reboot, rather than actually rebooting, which causes problems because real reboots are required in troubleshooting.

2) Before turning the computer on, unplug from the internet to eliminate background interferences, then load your live installation into NTLite. Take the list of components from your XML preset and paste them into a notepad to help you keep track of your progress.

3) Go down the notepad list in groups of 10, and copy/paste each item into the search box of the NTLite component removal section, then select those components for removal on the live installation. After 10 are added, process it, mark where you left off in your notepad and save it, then reboot and test if Remote Desktop still works.

Keep repeating step #3 until you narrow it down to a group of 10 suspects, then you can find the culprit easier from there, and it's much faster than trying to make images to install and test. I edited your XML preset and put it into a new txt document that I attached here as an example.

Note: keep in mind that some items are subcomponents of others, so there may be times where the 10th item you removed makes it so after a reboot when you go to start removing the next set of 10 that some of them may be greyed out and already uninstalled. Also, you can cheat a lot during this process by grouping up large amounts of extremely similar items, such as language removals all together, instead of breaking them into sets, so it won't take as long as it seems to get through the list.
Click to expand...
Wow. This is extensive! Not sure I have the time to do this and blown away by the possible need for components that in my mind should not have anything to do with RD. Almost rather use a 3rd party at this point and strip all of this stuff out. But if I find a weekend I will for sure give it a shot. Or sooner if I get the desire to prod at my installation
Thank you for taking the time. Keeping you posted when and if I get to it
 
I know it seems overwhelming, but you could get through it in a few hours. There's additional ways to cheat as well, to speed this up, it's just hard to cram all this information into a post without confusing people. For example, NTLite has 4 built-in templates in the component removals section, you could apply those to an image 1 by 1 until remote desktop stops working, then diffmerge the removals to narrow down the culprit. I'll explain in more detail:

Apply the "Privacy" template, then process it, reboot and see if Remote Desktop still works. If yes, move to the next step. Keep going down the list as long as Remote Desktop keeps working, and then do the "Gaming" template, then the "Lite" template, and finally if you make it this far, do the "Not recommended" template.

If remote desktop still hasn't broken, then you can take that last template called "Not recommended" export it to an XML file, then diffmerge it against your custom XML file and see what you added to yours that isn't in these other templates, and that's likely where the culprit is.

If remote desktop breaks during one of the templates, perhaps the "Lite" one, then export that and compare it to the "Gaming" template and see what components got added in the "Lite" template that weren't in the previous ones. Now you have a smaller list of components to guess and check through and find the culprit.

Anywho, I know it all feels like a lot, but you'll also be gaining a ton of hands-on NTLite experience, familiarity, and computer knowledge in the process, especially if you've never had to use a tool to compare files before, and you'll be able to apply this knowledge to future troubleshooting issues.
 
frewys said:
...Almost rather use a 3rd party at this point and strip all of this stuff out...
Click to expand...
You could check out the optimized image guide (link). I haven't tested if Remote Desktop will work, but I don't see why it wouldn't. All the dependencies are still there, you would probably only need to enable the remote desktop settings via the Windows settings page and then be good to go. The guide was written for W10, but you can use your W11 license on W10 interchangeably, or spend some time adapting the guide to W11.
 
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Hellbovine said:
I know it seems overwhelming, but you could get through it in a few hours. There's additional ways to cheat as well, to speed this up, it's just hard to cram all this information into a post without confusing people. For example, NTLite has 4 built-in templates in the component removals section, you could apply those to an image 1 by 1 until remote desktop stops working, then diffmerge the removals to narrow down the culprit. I'll explain in more detail:

Apply the "Privacy" template, then process it, reboot and see if Remote Desktop still works. If yes, move to the next step. Keep going down the list as long as Remote Desktop keeps working, and then do the "Gaming" template, then the "Lite" template, and finally if you make it this far, do the "Not recommended" template.

If remote desktop still hasn't broken, then you can take that last template called "Not recommended" export it to an XML file, then diffmerge it against your custom XML file and see what you added to yours that isn't in these other templates, and that's likely where the culprit is.

If remote desktop breaks during one of the templates, perhaps the "Lite" one, then export that and compare it to the "Gaming" template and see what components got added in the "Lite" template that weren't in the previous ones. Now you have a smaller list of components to guess and check through and find the culprit.

Anywho, I know it all feels like a lot, but you'll also be gaining a ton of hands-on NTLite experience, familiarity, and computer knowledge in the process, especially if you've never had to use a tool to compare files before, and you'll be able to apply this knowledge to future troubleshooting issues.
Click to expand...
I used to play with nlite back in the day. Have some experience but haven't done it in like 14 years or so
Even remember when Nuhi went MIA for a while and nlite sort of faded. I think he got hired by Microsoft if I remember correctly at the time. But back to the point. I am not the same nerd I once was. I'm more about paying for it to work. Want peace of mind these days. I lose sleep as I get too excited with this stuff and troubleshooting. It's fun but not worth it for me anymore lol
But it comes in waves. And I very likely might get back to it. I like the simplicity of the last one and am more likely to do that sooner or later
 
So after some research, I decided to skip Win11pro for home single language without a remote desktop and use RustDesk which fills my needs and then some. More streamlined server with better features.

RustDesk | Open source remote desktop software | The Open Source TeamViewer Alternative

Discover RustDesk, open source remote desktop software, open source TeamViewer alternative, control your desktop remotely. You have full control of your data, no concerns about security.
rustdesk.com rustdesk.com

Thank you all for chipping in
 
frewys said:
Hi
I have been trying to make a minimal media server with no success in getting the remote desktop to work. I get a black screen and the attached error message. I have been looking around for a guide for remote desktop but have had no success.
Click to expand...
Hi,

thanks for the report. It was the 'Mixed Reality' removal, fixed in next.
 
May i know if this was resolved? i'm running win 11 from ntlite latest using gameros template which still excludes mixed reality, and rdp is not working. i have manually installed and enabled the mixed reality feature, but it doesn't appear to have made a difference.
 
ndroftheline said:
May i know if this was resolved? i'm running win 11 from ntlite latest using gameros template which still excludes mixed reality, and rdp is not working. i have manually installed and enabled the mixed reality feature, but it doesn't appear to have made a difference.
Click to expand...
GamerOS removes many RDP features by default.
Re-post your question on the GamerOS thread, and explain if you're using it as a client or server. This discussion is about a different preset.
 
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