Windows 8 RDP Not Working

[mario11584]

I installed an OEM copy of Windows 8 Pro on a CentOS host using KVM. The Windows 8 install was successful and has connectivity to the network. I created a local user, enabled Remote Desktop, and logged into this instance over an IPSec VPN tunnel successfully (from RDP for Mac).

When I came back a few days later to get on the machine I could not RDP into it. I have tried resetting my password, creating a microsoft account and logging in with that, restarting the services, and turned off the firewall, all mostly without luck. What I mean by this is I was able to connect a second time successfully by changing my password but a second attempt with that password failed.

I confirmed that the issue is not with the network because I can telnet to this machine on 3389, as well as ping, and my first connection was successful (as well as the random second attempt).

The event logs are showing that I can't connect because of a bad username or password. I know this is incorrect because I am logging into the local account with that same username and password.

I have tried everything I can think of and I'm not having any luck.

One more thing, I can currently access this Windows 8 instance over the VPN tunnel using VNC, which creates a very frustrating experience and is all I have. I can't use third party apps due to company security purposes.

Any thoughts?

 

[BlitzPuppet]

I installed an OEM copy of Windows 8 Pro on a CentOS host using KVM. The Windows 8 install was successful and has connectivity to the network. I created a local user, enabled Remote Desktop, and logged into this instance over an IPSec VPN tunnel successfully (from RDP for Mac).

When I came back a few days later to get on the machine I could not RDP into it. I have tried resetting my password, creating a microsoft account and logging in with that, restarting the services, and turned off the firewall, all mostly without luck. What I mean by this is I was able to connect a second time successfully by changing my password but a second attempt with that password failed.

I confirmed that the issue is not with the network because I can telnet to this machine on 3389, as well as ping, and my first connection was successful (as well as the random second attempt).

The event logs are showing that I can't connect because of a bad username or password. I know this is incorrect because I am logging into the local account with that same username and password.

I have tried everything I can think of and I'm not having any luck.

One more thing, I can currently access this Windows 8 instance over the VPN tunnel using VNC, which creates a very frustrating experience and is all I have. I can't use third party apps due to company security purposes.

Any thoughts?

haven't really messed around with windows 8, but have you tried typing in the PCname\Username or .\username? This is happening inside as well as outside the network?

 

[mario11584]

Thanks for your reply. I have tried those, but it doesn't live on a domain, and the host name wouldn't work since it's over a VPN tunnel and I don't have a DNS record setup for it. I've tried this on different machines. It has the same problem inside the network and outside. The thing that is driving me crazy is that it has worked twice!!

 

[BlitzPuppet]

Try it from a different computer if you can, it could be a number of issues but if the log says it's the wrong user name/password that's most likely the cause.

Just make sure it isn't something silly like numlock or caps. Have you tried resetting the password/rebooting Windows? Some updates I've run into hose things over until a reboot.

 

[LegneDivad]

I've tried from different machines. I've changed the password to 12345 to ensure I wasn't fat fingering or using caps lock. I've read some other information on different forums where users had this same problem in Windows 7. The fix had nothing to do with the username and password being incorrect. Those fixes didn't work for me though. I have rebooted several times. The only thing I haven't tried yet is a reinstall.

Sorry, looks like I signed back in under a different account. This is mario11584.

 

[BlitzPuppet]

I've tried from different machines. I've changed the password to 12345 to ensure I wasn't fat fingering or using caps lock. I've read some other information on different forums where users had this same problem in Windows 7. The fix had nothing to do with the username and password being incorrect. Those fixes didn't work for me though. I have rebooted several times. The only thing I haven't tried yet is a reinstall.

Sorry, looks like I signed back in under a different account. This is mario11584.

Was confused there for a second, lol.

Okay, when you RDP in do you see any errors from the PC you are using to remote in?

Have you tried deleting your credentials and seeing if you get the login screen to come up on the remote connection?

I'm just curious as to when you hit trouble...does it fail to connect to RDP or does it try to connect but fail because of the reported wrong password? If you delete your password it will at least come up with the prompt for your username/password to be entered.

 

[mario11584]

No, I am not even sure how to view errors on my end (which is a MacBook). I installed Office and it installs an RDP client. This works fine for connecting to our other Windows machines.

I'm not sure what you mean by deleting my credentials and having the remote login screen come up. If I delete my credentials I won't be able to log in. I have deleted my account and created new ones for testing but that was not successful.

When I type in my user name and password I hit connect. I sometimes get a certificate error message and I just have it connect anyway, sometimes I don't get this message. After a minute or two I get user name and password prompt again (just like when I initially log in) that says "Try again the credentials that were used to connect to 10.39.2.23 are incorrect. Please enter your credentials again."

I am not sure how to delete my cached credentials for RDP on my Macbook. I'll look into this some more. I am certain the password I am entering is correct. There is no doubt that is the problem. For some reason the remote machine thinks this is the case.

This sort of thing isn't even what I do on a daily basis and our desktop support guys don't seem to want to touch it. Super lame!

 

[mario11584]

Problem fixed!!! So I feel slightly stupid but at the same time I feel very disappointed in Microsoft (or maybe just Windows 8). When I originally created users I did it through the control panel and the fancy Windows 8 user management window would pop up and that is where I was creating/deleting/changing user accounts. Well, our desktop guys finally caved and looked in to the problem for me. They just went to Computer Management. On the left hand side they expanded Local Users and Groups. In there they created a test user and tested and it worked! When they created a user through control panel it didn't! Seems like a bug to me. Perhaps the underlying issue is my lack of experience with this sort of thing (I'm a network guy!) but I am also beginning to dis-like Windows 8.

Thanks for all the help offered!!