Windows 8 RDP Client

[Aergan]

Hi,

How is everyone finding the new RDP Client(s) in Windows 8?

mstsc.exe

Version: 6.2.8250

Protocol: Remote Desktop Protocol Version 8.0

The metro client app doesn't seem to offer a lot of the configuration options that the full desktop client has and also seems to be profiled separately.

I am having a rather annoying issue where I can't get Aero glass (DWM over RDP) to work at all to any Windows 7 Ultimate/Enterprise hosts nor Server 2008 R2. Any tips/policy changes/reg hacks to resolve this?

[DarkyDan]

My first test of the Metro RDP client was disasterous.. it was from my netbook running Windows 8.. to my PC running Windows 8. I couldn't activate hotspots on the machine I was remoting, only the machine I was remoting from.. it was utterly useless.

Feel free to school me if I'm missing something obvious when remoting from Win8 to Win8 in the fullscreen Metro app. I feel the answer is simply 'use mstsc.exe instead'

[Chsoriano]

Can anyone explain to me how to login to a windows 8 client via the metro RDP app? It tries to logon then just disconnects. It even locks the host machine (my desktop) but just can't seem to start the session on the client (my tablet)

[Aergan]

The metro RDP client doesn't seem to reliably cope with remoting Windows 8 Dev or Comm. Preview hosts very well even when enabled, however the Windows 7 mstsc.exe seems to be fine (Windows Live accounts can be a pain but not impossible to connect with once you know the right details).

To get it to kind of work on a Windows 8 CP host:

1. Enable it via System Properties -> Advanced
   
2. Manually configure the firewall allow for RDP and RDP FX for your network profile
   
3. Create a local user, add to Administrator and Remote Desktop Users groups
   
4. Logon as local user and get through the first run etc
   
5. Should be able to RDP on as that user now from a Windows 7 or Windows 8 client.
   

I think it's certainly an improvement over the Dev client but still needs work. Another thing, both Dev and CP metro RDP clients do not handle screen resolution switching on the client machine very well at all.

[Chsoriano]

Wait, we must use a local account in order to use RDP?

[Aergan]

Wait, we must use a local account in order to use RDP?

No, it just makes it easier to test and get the rest of the OS working for RDP if you are experiencing issues.

[subcld]

that's because all metro apps at the moment a preview still need a lot of work

[DarkyDan]

I've had no issues connecting, although my PC which logs in with my Live credentials did say 'invalid credentials' first try, but the login screen on the remote machine had 3 buttons for different account types and the 3rd one accommodated the Windows Live account and I got in 2nd try.

[MS Bob 11]

Metro apps by design are not supposed to be configurable but the desktop client (mstsc.exe) works for me. There's a cool new "Detect connection quality automatically" setting.

[br0adband]

Metro apps by design are not supposed to be configurable but the desktop client (mstsc.exe) works for me. There's a cool new "Detect connection quality automatically" setting.

Now if you'd just added "yet because this is of course the Windows 8 Consumer Preview and most if not all the Metro apps in the Consumer Preview are just that - previews - of what's to come and when the OS is complete you can be sure the Metro apps included with the OS will offer some basic configurability to match their traditional Desktop application counterparts because if they don't there's no real serious reason to use them in the first place" right after the word "configurable" in your post, it would have been a lot more accurate. ;)

[MS Bob 11]

Ok if you don't believe me, wait till RTM. Metro apps will only offer this much configurability (next to non-existent) as the Consumer Preview offers.

[br0adband]

Ok if you don't believe me, wait till RTM. Metro apps will only offer this much configurability (next to non-existent) as the Consumer Preview offers.

That's up to the developer of the app(s), you do realize that, right? You're making it sound like the actual Metro guidelines have some clause that says "Make your apps idiot-proof and simple because users are stupid" which isn't quite the case.