Remote desktop windows 2008 R2 sessions ends abruptly with Protocol error

When you try to remote control another session on a Windows 2008 R2 terminal server you may receive the message.

Change the RDP Compression setting on the server to “Balances memory and network bandwidth” (recommended) or “Optimized to use less memory” using Group Policy. If using Windows Server 2008 R2 you may also choose “Do not use an RDP compression algorithm”. An alternative workaround is to use a different Remote Desktop Connection Client version than those mentioned above, however, this may not be practical. Below are instructions for making the change to the local group policy; if preferred you can use a domain group policy instead.

Windows Server 2008 R2

1. Logon to the Remote Desktop Services Session Host computer as an administrator
2. Start–Run gpedit.msc
3. In the left pane, under Computer Configuration, navigate to following:

Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Remote Desktop Services\Remote Desktop Session Host\Remote Session Environment

4. In the right pane, double-click on Set compression algorithm for RDP data
5. Select Enabled, and choose Balances memory and network bandwidth
6. Click OK to save the change

Windows Server 2008 (SP1 or SP2)

1. Logon to the Terminal Services computer as an administrator
2. Start–Run gpedit.msc, click Continue if prompted by UAC
3. In the left pane, under Computer Configuration, navigate to following:

Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Terminal Services\Terminal Server\Remote Session Environment

4. In the right pane, double-click on Set compression algorithm for RDP data
5. Select Enabled, and choose Balances memory and network bandwidth
6. Click OK to save the change

Regards,

Brendan King