Terminal Server no Windows XP

Todos sabem que o windows XP é um S.O mono-usuário, que não permite múltiplas conexões simultâneas, como no win 2000 e no 2003 server. Porém é possível fazer com o que o windows passe a aceitar múltiplas conexões via Terminal Server. Existem produtos muito bons como o BeTwin e o XP Unlimited, porém existe uma outra alternativa, livre de qualquer produto de terceiro.

Conheça o Terminal Server Patch

A versão beta 2055 do XP-SP2 PRO deixá permitia duas ou mais sessões (uma no console local e outras via área de trabalho remota) concomitantemente.

No entanto, esta funcionalidade foi removida na liberação final do update. Este patch irá permitir que duas ou mais sessões concorrentes em Windows XP PRO Service Pack 2 (SP2) ou posterior trabalhem sem afetar a outra.

Para isso você deve ter ativo a opção de “Troca de Usuário” e não pode estar em um domínio.

Após instalar o patch, é incluido um desistalador no painel de controle, caso queira remover.

Screenshot
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* Update em: 08/04/2009

Vejam este texto:

Remote Desktop is awsome. I use it constantly. However, 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 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 XP SP2 build (2055).

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

#1 Download the “termserv.zip” file and extract it somewhere.

#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.

#4 Delete “termserv.dll” from the dllcache folder: “%windir%\system32\dllcache”

#5 Merge the contents of “Concurrent Sessions SP2.reg” file into the registry

#6 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.

#7 Open up the Group Policy Editor: Start Menu > Run > ‘gpedit.msc’

#8 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.

#9 Reboot back into normal Windows and try out whether Concurrent Sessions in Remote Desktop works.

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.

If you aren’t so daring as to attempt the procedure above give the Sala Source Terminal Server Patch a try. This free installer should automate the steps above, complete with an uninstall should you want to remove it.

Notes: 1) You MUST be running Windows XP SP2 PRO
2) Fast User Switching MUST be enabled
3) The computer CAN NOT be a member of a domain

Once you are done, using one of the two methods above you should now be able to have someone on the console of your computer, and two people connected via RDP. I have found no method of getting more then three people on a single Windows XP SP2 machine so far, but if you have a need to, and your pockebook allows, you can always purchase WinConnect Server XP which allows you to have upto 21 users connected to a single Windows XP SP2 machine.