Enable Remote Desktop For Multiple Users on Windows 10/11 about:reader?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.helpwire.app%2Fblog%2F...

helpwire.app

How to allow multiple Remote

Desktop Connections in Windows 10
or Windows 11
Helga York

9–12 minutos

Can multiple users remote desktop at the same time? This

article will uncover the answer.

NOTE: Our original article targeted Windows 10 users who need

to implement multiple remote desktop connections. Fortunately,
the information we offer here will also work with Windows 11, the
newest version of the popular operating system. Read on to
learn how to get around the limitations of remote desktop on a
Windows system.

For users operating Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise editions

(Home edition is not compatible), they are able to set up the

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remote desktop connections in Windows 10 via the Remote

Desktop Protocol (RDP) Services. However, multiple remote
desktop connections aren’t possible meaning that only one
remote session can run at a time.

If an additional user attempts to run a second RDP session,

they’ll receive a pop-up warning telling to disconnect the
first/previous user session to proceed.

See the exact message below:

“Another user is signed in. If you continue, they’ll be

disconnected. Do you want to sign in anyway?”

Now we’ll cover the most critical limitations of Remote Desktop

Service on Windows 10 (as well as any previous versions).

1. Remote Desktop Protocol is only supported by specific Windows

editions (Pro and Enterprise.) Alternatively, Windows Home
users cannot receive incoming remote desktop connections
(and this can only be solved via the RDP Wrapper Library).

2. Only a single RDP session/connection is allowed at a time, and

if a secondary user tries to run an additional session, they’ll
either be prompted to cancel their connection or proceed and
automatically close the other connection already in use.

3. If users work on a local computer console, newly created RDP

connections will terminate the console session (RDP sessions
can also be forcibly ended if users attempt to log in locally).

In all actuality, the Windows 10 multiple remote desktop

sessions limitations are restricted per license and have nothing
to do with technical limitations.

Thus, the user volume restrictions don’t permit users to create

terminal RDP servers based on a single workstation that could
be used by multiple individuals.

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Microsoft’s policy towards multiple remote desktop sessions is

clear: if users want a Remote Desktop server, then they should
purchase a Windows Server license, RDS CALs, and then
install and configure the role of the Remote Desktop Session
Host (RDSH).

From a technical perspective, any version of Windows running

enough RAM can enable concurrent remote desktop sessions
for multiple users. An average of 150-200 MB of memory is
needed per user session (without accounting for any apps
launched during the session).

Quite frankly, the only limitations surrounding remote desktop

multiple users capabilities, in theory, are based entirely on
computer resources.

Now it’s time to review two methods for Windows 10 to allow

multiple remote desktop connections. This is done via the RDP
Wrapper app, and by editing the “termsrv.dll” file.

Please Note. System modifications described in this article are

considered a violation of the Microsoft License Agreement, and
with all the consequences that come with it. Perform them at
your own risk.

How To Set Up Multiple Remote Desktop

Connections

One option to enable remote desktop for multiple users on

Windows 10 is by using the RDP Wrapper Library. The RDP
Wrapper project permits users to support more than one
simultaneous RDP session on Windows 10 (without replacing
the termsrv.dll file).

RDP Wrapper acts as a layer between the Remote Desktop

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Service, and Service Control Manager (SCM). RDPWrap lets

users enable support for multiple simultaneous RDP sessions,
as well as enabling support of RDP Hosts on previously
inaccessible Windows 10 versions, like Home.

This app doesn’t alter the termsrv.dll file, only loading the
“termsrv” library with the altered parameters necessary for
simultaneous connection. Meaning, RDPWrap will even work if
the termsrv.dll file updates, meaning that users don’t have to
dread Windows updates.

Please note: Prior to the installation of the RDP Wrapper library,

users must ensure they’re using the original (unpatched) version
of the “termsrv.dll” file. If they don’t use the unpatched file, the
app may not function properly or won’t function at all.

Users can download RDP Wrapper from the GitHub Repository

(v1.6.2 is the latest available version of RDP Wrapper Library).

According to the information on the developer page, all versions

of Windows are supported (Windows 10 support is available up
to the 1809 build).

Users will find the following files contained within the RDPWrap-
v1.6.2.zip archive:

• • RDPWinst.exe (RDP Wrapper Library installation/uninstallation

program).

• • RDPConf.exe (RDP Wrapper configuration utility).

• • RDPCheck.exe (Local RDP Checker, RDP check utility).

• • install.bat, uninstall.bat, update.bat (batch files for install,

uninstall, and updates for RDP Wrapper).

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How to use RDP Wrapper to enabling multiple RDP

Sessions in Windows 10

1. Run the install.bat with the Administrator privileges to install

RDPWrap. The utility will access the GitHub site for the most
recent versions of the “ini” file during the installation.
RDP Wrap will be installed in the C:\Program Files\RDP
Wrapper directory.

2. Once installation is complete, users should run the

RDPConfig.exe.

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3. In the “Diagnostics” section, ensure all elements are green (see

below).

4. Run the RDPCheck.exe, then attempt to start a secondary RDP

session (or connect multiple RDP sessions from remote
computers).

That’s it! Now the Windows 10 machine should permit multiple

users to access different RDP sessions simultaneously.

All Windows editions (Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows

10) are supported by the RDPWrap utility. Meaning that users
can establish a terminal (RDS) server on any desktop instance
of Windows.

Additional noteworthy RDP Wrapper features:

• • The “Hide users on logon screen” option allows administrators

to conceal user lists from the Windows Logon Screen.

• • If users disable the “Single session per user” option, more than

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one simultaneous RDP session will work under the same user
account (the registry parameter “fSingleSessionPerUser = 0” is
set under the key “HKLM\SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSet\Control
\Terminal Server\fSingleSessionPerUser”).

• • Users can edit the Remote Desktop port number from 3389 to
a different number of their choosing.

• • The “Session Shadowing Mode” section lets users reconfigure

the remote control (shadow) connection permissions to
Windows 10 RDP sessions.

Modifying Termsrv.dll File to Allow Multiple RDP

Session

To disable restrictions on the number of concurrent RDP user

connections in Windows 10 without RDP Wrapper, users can
replace the original “termsrv.dll” file (this is the library file utilized
by Remote Desktop Service).

The “termsrv.dll” file can be found in the C:\Windows\System32

directory.

Please note: Prior to editing or replacing the “termsrv.dll” file, we

recommend creating a backup copy as a precaution. That way,
if anything doesn’t work out how you planned, it will be easy to
revert back to the original file configuration.

copy c:\Windows\System32\termsrv.dll
termsrv.dll_backup

Before a user can alter the “termsrv.dll” file, they must become
its owner, and give the Administrators group permission to it.

Using the Command Prompt is the simplest way to achieve this.

Change the file owner from “TrustedInstaller” to a local

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administrators group using the command shown below:

takeown /F c:\Windows\System32\termsrv.dll /A

Users should now grant the local administrators group “Full

Control” permission on the “termsrv.dll” file:

icacls c:\Windows\System32\termsrv.dll /grant

Administrators:F

From there, end the Remote Desktop Service (TermService) via

the services.msc console (as shown below) or from the
Command Prompt:

Net stop TermService

Open the “termsrv.dll” file using any HEX editor. Dending on the
Windows 10 build installed on the machine, users will need to
locate and replace the line

39 81 3C 06 00 00 0F 84 XX XX XX XX

and replace it with

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B8 00 01 00 00 89 81 38 06 00 00 90

The final 4 pairs are unique to each version of Windows, so

remember to replace the entire 12 pairs with the whole string.

Run TermService after saving the edited file.

If anything went wrong, and/or users encounter issues with

Remote Desktop service, end the service and replace the
modified “termsrv.dll” file with the original version of the file:

copy termsrv.dll_backup c:\Windows\System32

\termsrv.dll

The advantage of the method of enabling multiple RDP sessions

in Windows 10 by replacing the termsrv.dll file is that antiviruses
do not respond on it (unlike the RDPWrap, which is detected by
many antiviruses as a Malware/HackTool/Trojan).

The main drawback is that you will have to manually edit the
termsrv.dll file each time you upgrade the Windows 10 build (or
when updating the version of the termsrv.dll file during the
installation of monthly cumulative updates).

Final thoughts on both methods for enabling

multiple remote desktop sessions

The advantage of enabling multiple RDP sessions in Windows

10 by replacing the “termsrv.dll” file is that antiviruses don’t
respond to it (whereas RDPWrap is treated like a
Malware/HackTool/Trojan by many antivirus software).

The most notable disadvantage when using the “termsrv.dll” file

method, is that users must manually edit the “termsrv.dll” file
each and every time they upgrade their Windows 10 build.

They also need to re-edit the file when updating the version of

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the termsrv.dll file during monthly cumulative update

installations.

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