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Error: Remote Debugger Service is Unable to Connect to This Computer 

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When trying to do remote debugging, you may get the following error message:

Error: The Visual Studio 2005 Remote Debugger service is unable to connect to this computer.

This error means that the Visual Studio Remote Debugger service is running under a user account that does not have permission to connect to the computer you are debugging from (the host computer running Visual Studio).

The following table shows what accounts can access the computer:

LocalSystem account

Domain account

Local accounts with the same username and password on both computers

Both computers on the same domain

Yes

Yes

Yes

Both computers on domains with two-way trust

No

No

Yes

One or both computers on a workgroup

No

No

Yes

Computers on different domains

No

No

Yes

In addition:

  • The account you run the Visual Studio Remote Debugger service under should be an administrator on the remote computer so that it can debug any process.

  • The account also needs to be granted the Log on as a service privilege on the remote computer using the Local Security Policy administrative tool.

  • If you are using a local account access the computer, you need to run the Visual Studio Remote Debugger service under a local account.

To correct this error

  1. Make sure the Visual Studio Remote Debugger service is properly set up on the remote computer. (See How to: Set Up Remote Debugging.)

  2. Run the remote debugger service under an account that has the proper permissions, as shown in the table above.

To add "Log on as a service" privilege

  1. From the Start menu, choose Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, choose Classic View, if necessary.

  3. Double-click Administrative Tools.

  4. In the Administrative Tools window, double-click Local Security Policy.

  5. In the Local Security Settings window, expand the Local Policies folder.

  6. Click User Rights Assignment.

  7. In the Policy column, double-click Log on as a service to view current local group policy assignments in the Log on as a service dialog box.

  8. To add new users, click the Add User or Group button.

  9. When finished adding users, click OK.

Alternative

  • Run the Remote Debugging Monitor as an application instead of a service.

See Also

Tasks

Remote Debugging Errors and Troubleshooting

Other Resources

Remote Debugging Setup