Event ID 260 — Remote Desktop Session Host Listener Availability

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2

The listener component runs on the RD Session Host server and is responsible for listening for and accepting new Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) client connections, thereby allowing users to establish new remote sessions on the RD Session Host server. There is a listener for each Remote Desktop Services connection that exists on the RD Session Host server. Connections can be created and configured by using the Remote Desktop Session Host Configuration tool.

Event Details

Resolve

Fix port assignment conflict

This problem could indicate that another application on the RD Session Host server is using the same TCP port as the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). The default port assigned to RDP is 3389.

To resolve this issue, determine which application is using the same port as RDP. If the port assignment for that application cannot be changed, change the port assigned to RDP by editing the registry. After editing the registry, you must restart the Remote Desktop Services service. After you restart the Remote Desktop Services service, you should confirm that the RDP port has been correctly changed.

To perform these tasks, refer to the following sections.

Determine which application is using the same port as RDP

You can run the netstat tool to determine if port 3389 (or the assigned RDP port) is being used by another application on the RD Session Host server.

To use netstat:

1. On the RD Session Host server, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. At the command prompt, type netstat -a -o and then press ENTER.
3. Look for an entry for TCP port 3389 (or the assigned RDP port) with a status of Listening. This indicates that another application is using this port. The PID (Process Identifier) of the process or service that is using that port appears under the PID column.

To determine which application is using port 3389 (or the assigned RDP port), use the tasklist command-line tool along with the PID information from the netstat tool.

1. On the RD Session Host server, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. Type tasklist /svc and then press ENTER.
3. Look for an entry for the PID number that is associated with the port (from the netstat output). The services or processes associated with that PID will appear on the right.

Change the port assigned to RDP

You should determine if this application can use a different port. If you cannot change the application’s port, you will have to change the port assigned to RDP.

Important:  Microsoft does not recommend changing the port assigned to RDP.

If you have to change the port assigned to RDP, you must edit the registry.

To perform this procedure, you must have membership in the local Administrators group, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

To change the port assigned to RDP:

Caution:  Incorrectly editing the registry might severely damage your system. Before making changes to the registry, you should back up any valued data.

1. On the RD Session Host server, open Registry Editor. To open Registry Editor, click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.

2. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Yes.

3. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations

   Note:  RDP-TCP is the default connection name. To change the port for a specific connection on the RD Session Host server, select the connection under the WinStations key.

4. In the right-pane, double-click the PortNumber registry entry.

5. Type the port number that you want to assign to RDP in the Value data box. PortNumber is entered as a hexadecimal value.

6. Click OK to save the change, and then close Registry Editor.

Restart the Remote Desktop Services service

For the RDP port assignment change to take effect, stop and start the Remote Desktop Services service.

To perform this procedure, you must have membership in the local Administrators group, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

To stop and start the Remote Desktop Services service:

1. On the RD Session Host server, open the Services snap-in. To open the Services snap-in, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Services.
2. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Yes.
3. In the Services pane, right-click Remote Desktop Services, and then click Restart.
4. If you are prompted about restarting other services, click Yes.
5. Confirm that the Status column for the Remote Desktop Services service displays Started.

Confirm that the RDP port has changed

To confirm that the RDP port assignment has been changed, use the netstat tool.

To use netstat:

1. On the RD Session Host server, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. At the command prompt, type netstat -a and then press ENTER.
3. Look for an entry for the port number that you assigned to RDP. The port should appear in the list and have a status of Listening.

Verify

To verify that the listener on the RD Session Host server is working properly, use any of the following methods.

Note:  RDP-TCP is the default connection name and 3389 is the default RDP port. Use the connection name and port number specific to your RD Session Host server configuration.

Method one

Use an RDP client, such as Remote Desktop Connection, to establish a remote connection to the RD Session Host server.

Method two

Use the qwinsta tool to view the listener status on the RD Session Host server.

To use the qwinsta tool:

1. On the RD Session Host server, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. At the command prompt, type qwinsta and then press ENTER.
3. The RDP-TCP session state should be Listen.

Method three

Use the netstat tool to view the listener status on the RD Session Host server.

To use the netstat tool:

1. On the RD Session Host server, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. At the command prompt, type netstat -a and then press ENTER.
3. The entry for 0.0.0.0:3389 (TCP port 3389) should be Listening.

Method four

Use the telnet tool to connect to the RDP port on the RD Session Host server.

To use the telnet tool:

1. From another computer, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.

2. At the command prompt, type telnet servername 3389, where servername is the name of the RD Session Host server, and then press ENTER.

   If telnet is successful, you will receive the telnet screen and a cursor.

   If telnet is not successful, you will receive this error:

   Connecting To servername...Could not open connection to the host, on port 3389: Connect failed

Related Management Information

Remote Desktop Session Host Listener Availability

Remote Desktop Services