tips and tricks

If you are trying to connect to a Windows 2003 Server in remote administration mode, and you see the error message "The terminal server has exceeded the maximum number of allowed connections", your heart usually stops.  That's because you usually only see it when there's a hung-up session somewhere and you need to forcibly disconnect it.

Well, today is your lucky day.  Normally Windows 2003 Server only allows two connections in remote administration mode.  But you can create a third connection by typing this from a command prompt:

On Vista or Windows 2008 Server, use:

This will connect you to the console session of the machine.  From there you can use Task Manager's User's Tab to disconnect, logoff, or reset any RDP sessions that are running.

Another useful tip relates to this feature.  While Microsoft has made a lot of progress in the reliability of rebooting a Windows machine, third party products, most notably anti-virus software, can still cause a machine to hang before a reboot.  The most reliable way to restart a Windows 2003 Server is to close out all the terminal server sessions, connect to the console using the command above, and use that session to reboot the machine.  This will give you the opportunity to dismiss any pop-ups that may otherwise hang the shutdown process.