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2 users loggid in at same time on MCE 2005 - Concurrent Sessions - Better title

Last post 07-18-2008, 1:29 PM by flamingwoodchuck. 88 replies.
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  •  01-30-2005, 3:18 AM 29917

    2 users loggid in at same time on MCE 2005 - Concurrent Sessions - Better title

    This thread contains the following thread within
    http://www.thegreenbutton.com/community/shwmessage.aspx?ForumID=42&MessageID=89469&TopicPage=&Post=True&AutoApprove=false

    It has been reposted with a better title.......

    I have read with great interest about MCE 2005's ability to allow two concurrent sessions, and have tried it out without success, Paul Thurrot's site makes a big deal out of it too, I have tried the registry hack but that also doesn't help..........

    http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/windowsxp_mce2005.asp

    I need this feature, as I use my main MCE machine housed in the front room as a server for all the other PCs in the house and having to log out of the MCE interface using account to add DVDs or to "administer" the machine is a pain.

    Have found the answer and copied it here....

    I have tried it and it works.........Here is the step by step guide, copied from here: http://profiles.indesolutions.com/paul/tech/archives/000064.html

    This feaure was well talked about prior to the full release of MCE 2005, and the early betas included it, but MS in their wisdom removed it....the feature can be "reinstalled" by using a file from the beta versions of MCE the location of the file is included below in the instructions. As always usage of these instructions is at your own peril, I have had no issues with it whatsoever......

    THE MOST IMPORTANT INSTRUCTION RELATES TO WINDOWS FILE PROTECTION, MAKE SURE YOU "CANCEL" WHEN WINDOWS OFFERS TO REPLACE THE NON ORIGINAL FILE....

    Here's how to get Windows XP to accept multiple Remote Desktop Connections at one time.

    THESE INSTRUCTIONS REQUIRE KNOWLEDGE OF THE WINDOWS REGISTRY AND ARE PROVIDED AS IS, WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY OF DATA LOSS OR TECHNICAL PROBLEMS. DO NOT APPLY THE FOLLOWING SETTINGS TO SERVERS, COMPUTERS IN A PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT, OR COMPUTERS WITHOUT FIREWALL PROTECTION.

    Print this document before you start doing the following:

    1. DISABLE REMOTE DESKTOP CONNECTION (RDC) AND TERMINAL SERVICES

    a. Right-click 'My Computer' on the desktop and select 'Properties'

    b. Click the 'Remote' tab, and make sure that the
    'Allow users to connect remotely to this computer'
    checkbox is UNCHECKED, then click 'OK'.

    c. Start Menu > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services

    d. Scroll down the list to find
    'Terminal Services'
    right-click and select properties. Change the 'Startup Type' drop-down to 'Disabled' (if it is not already), and close the 'Services' window.


    2. DISABLE WINDOWS FILE PROTECTION (WFP) TEMPORARILY

    a. Open the Registry Editor: Start Menu > Run > 'regedit'
    b. Navigate down in the tree to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
    c. Change the value of the 'SFCDisable' key on the right to '1' and click 'OK'
    d. Close the Registry Editor


    3. RESTART THE COMPUTER


    4. REPLACE THE RELEASE VERSION OF THE TERMINAL SERVICES DLL (TERMSRV.DLL) WITH A PRIOR UNRESTRICTED VERSION OF THE DLL.

    a. Save this replacement file to your desktop. This version of termsrv.dll is from Windows XP SP2 RC1, and I have not had any security problems with it personally.
    b. Open Windows Explorer and type in the following location: C:\Windows\system32\dllcache
    c. Rename termsrv.dll to something like termsrv1.dll
    d. Copy the downloaded version of termsrv.dll into the above folder
    e. In Windows Explorer, go up one directory so that you are now looking at: C:\Windows\system32
    f. Delete the termsrv.dll file in this directory. Soon WFP will (most likely) re-copy the file even though we (think we) disabled WFP. If it does not re-copy it after about 10 seconds, go ahead and copy the downloaded version to the above directory just like you did in step D, only to the C:\Windows\system32 folder.


    5. MAKE THE RDC SETTINGS IN THE WINDOWS REGISTRY ALLOW MORE THAN 2 REMOTE CONNECTIONS AT A TIME

    a. Open up the registry editor: Start Menu > Run > 'regedit'
    b. Navigate down in the tree to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\Licensing Core
    c. Add a DWORD Key called 'EnableConcurrentSessions' with a value of 1, then close the Registry Editor.
    d. Open up the Group Policy Editor: Start Menu > Run > 'gpedit.msc'
    Navigate dow in the tree to: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Termina Services. Double-click the item in the list on the right entitled 'Limit number of connections'. Enable it, and set the number of connections to 3 (or whatever you need). Click 'OK'.


    6. RESTART THE COMPUTER


    7. RE-ENABLE RDC AND TERMINAL SERVICES

    a. Go back and check that checkbox we saw in step 1.b, check it, then click 'OK'.
    b. Go back to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services, find the 'Terminal Services' item, right click on it, and change the 'Startup Type' value back to 'Manual'


    8. RESTART THE COMPUTER.


    That's it..........hopefully.


      He who dies with the most toys - WINS !
  •  01-30-2005, 3:26 AM 29918 in reply to 29917

    RE: 2 users loggid in at same time on MCE 2005 - Concurrent Sessions - Better title

    Although I haven't fully tested it I can run a second concurrent version of Media Centre, on my wirelessly connected laptop, while my TV displays another. COOL The main use I see for this is to allow me to update the media stored within the PC without affecting the rest of my family while they use it to watch movies or listen to their music.
      He who dies with the most toys - WINS !
  •  01-31-2005, 6:30 PM 30229 in reply to 29917

    RE: 2 users loggid in at same time on MCE 2005 - Concurrent Sessions - Better title

    Thanks for posting this info - I always wondered why I heard so much about this concurrent remote desktop connection stuff before MCE2005 came out only to find there was no difference when I got it.  I am going to try this method on Wednesday when I have a day off and report back with the results. Cheers!
  •  02-02-2005, 10:43 AM 30535 in reply to 29917

    RE: 2 users loggid in at same time on MCE 2005 - Concurrent Sessions - Better title

    It works!!!!

    I followed your instructions and it works a treat.  I logged in as a second user using Remote Desktop and the local user was not logged out - amazing!

  •  02-02-2005, 11:19 PM 30667 in reply to 29917

    RE: 2 users loggid in at same time on MCE 2005 - Concurrent Sessions - Better title

    I think this feature is essential now, and I'm dead surprised there hasn't been more interest......I use it to upload movies and music without worrying about the MCE interface shutting down.........I too think it's great!
      He who dies with the most toys - WINS !
  •  02-09-2005, 4:13 AM 31703 in reply to 29917

    RE: 2 users loggid in at same time on MCE 2005 - Concurrent Sessions - Better title

    Can someone confirm if this solution works with your MCE box as a member of a DOMAIN (no fast user switching) ??????????????

    I'm updating my MCE box several times a day and having to kill to main display to do it is becoming a pain.

    TIA

    Jas

  •  02-09-2005, 4:44 PM 31861 in reply to 29917

    RE: 2 users loggid in at same time on MCE 2005 - Concurrent Sessions - Better title

    I can confirm it DOESN'T work in a domain, at least with my configuration.

    The only thing I did differently from the above instructions was change the Terminal Services service back to Automatic instead of manual. I'd change it to manual and try it, but of course, I'd have to kick the wife off the TV to do it....


    • Dell Dimension 4600 base
    • Intel 865PE based board
    • P4 2.4 Ghz non-HT 533 FSB
    • 2 x 80 GB Maxtor IDE hard drives
    • 2x128 PC2700 base, added 2x256 PC2700, total 768
    • ATI e-home wonder
    • ATI HDTV Wonder
    • MX440 base, replaced with eVGA nvidia 6600GT 128MB
    • Onboard Intel NIC and sound
    • LiteOn Airboard wireless keyboard mouse
    • Mitsubishi 55" projection HDTV, DVI connection
    • Old Technics 110 watt stereo
  •  02-10-2005, 8:29 AM 31973 in reply to 29917

    RE: 2 users loggid in at same time on MCE 2005 - Concurrent Sessions - Better title

    I can confirm that this works in a normal workgroup setting.  It's definitely helpful, but I have to admit I'm a bit nervous about using that replacement DLL.  I made the swap using safe mode so it wasn't necessary to turn off Windows file monitoring.

    Does anyone know how to allow two users to share the same Media Player library?  I'd like to manage my music library remotely, but I can't login a second time using the main MCE user.

  •  02-11-2005, 10:07 AM 32171 in reply to 29917

    RE: 2 users loggid in at same time on MCE 2005 - Concurrent Sessions - Better title

    Simpy use the same folder, networked or otherwise to store the music in and use the add new music feature for the second user.....
      He who dies with the most toys - WINS !
  •  02-13-2005, 1:09 PM 32480 in reply to 29917

    RE: 2 users loggid in at same time on MCE 2005 - Concurrent Sessions - Better title

    The reason I wanted to share the database was so that I never had to log in under my home theatre account to add/manage the files for that account. 

    Fortunately, my database is on the home theatre's local drive so I have configured my media player to monitor the folder... thus when I add music using the other account, my home theatre's media player should pick it up.

  •  02-13-2005, 2:07 PM 32489 in reply to 29917

    RE: 2 users loggid in at same time on MCE 2005 - Concurrent Sessions - Better title

    That's basically what I do........
      He who dies with the most toys - WINS !
  •  02-17-2005, 2:36 PM 33213 in reply to 29917

    RE: 2 users loggid in at same time on MCE 2005 - Concurrent Sessions - Better title

    Thank you for this tip!  This worked for me and solved one of my biggest issues.  Now, if I can just get my rear projection TV to diplay MCE correctly, I'm set. 
    MCE 2005
    Mitsubishi 65 inch RP HDTV monitor (via DVI)
    A7N8X-E Deluxe
    AMD ATHLON XP 2600+ Barton
    1 GB PC2700
    RADEON 9600
    Hauppauge PVR-250BTV Roslyn
    Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-150
    Seagate 200GB 7200RPM SATA
    NVIDIA Video CODEC 4.0.58.0
  •  02-20-2005, 11:56 AM 33626 in reply to 29917

    RE: 2 users loggid in at same time on MCE 2005 - Concurrent Sessions - Better title

    Wow, I was trying last night to figure out if I could connect 2 sessions and was disapointed that I could not (with native MCE 05).  This thread is a lifesaver!

    Thanks!

  •  02-20-2005, 1:43 PM 33644 in reply to 29917

    RE: 2 users loggid in at same time on MCE 2005 - Concurrent Sessions - Better title

    .....excellent,
      He who dies with the most toys - WINS !
  •  02-21-2005, 1:24 AM 33719 in reply to 29917

    RE: 2 users loggid in at same time on MCE 2005 - Concurrent Sessions - Better title

    I can't seem to get this to work at all

    I am trying to connect my XP Home machine to my MCE box. I have all the boxes ticked to allow a connection etc and when I try it connects and comes up with the login prompt but then tells me that I can not log in due to account restrictions. I have tried the tips in this thread and have tried to leave my MCE box logged out but its always the same!

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