Article ID: 281307 - Last Review: December 3, 2007 - Revision: 3.6

Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Are Not Advertised as Terminal Services Servers

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This article was previously published under Q281307
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SYMPTOMS

When you browse for computers by using the Remote Desktop tool or the Terminal Services Client tool, Windows XP-based and Windows Server 2003-based computers with Remote Desktop enabled may not appear in the list of available computers. Additionally, Windows XP-based and Windows Server 2003-based computers with Remote Desktop enabled may not appear in Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services Manager.
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CAUSE

By default, only Windows Server 2003-based Terminal Services servers and Windows 2000-based servers with Terminal Services installed in either Application Server mode or in Remote Administration mode advertise themselves as Terminal Services servers. This behavior makes the browse list in Remote Desktop and Terminal Services Client more usable, and makes sure that only Terminal Services servers appear in Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services Manager.
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RESOLUTION

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

To cause a computer that is running Windows XP Professional or Windows Server 2003, but is not configured as a Terminal Services server, to advertise itself as a Terminal Services server:
  1. Start Registry Editor (Regedit.exe).
  2. Locate and then click the following registry key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server
  3. Change the value of the
    TSAdvertise
    DWORD value from 0 to 1.
  4. Quit Registry Editor.
  5. Restart the computer.
Note Windows Server 2003-based computers that are configured as Terminal Services servers, and Windows 2000 Server-based servers or Windows 2000 Advanced Server-based servers with Terminal Services installed in either Application Server mode or in Remote Administration mode already have the
TSAdvertise
registry value set to 1. Therefore, these servers advertise themselves as Terminal Services servers.
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STATUS

This behavior is by design.
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APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional
  • Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
  • Microsoft Windows XP 64-Bit Edition Version 2002
  • Microsoft Windows XP 64-Bit Edition Version 2003
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, 64-Bit Datacenter Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (32-bit x86)
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (32-bit x86)
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Web Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 Premium Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 Standard Edition
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Keywords: 
kbenv kbinfo KB281307
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