Windows Remote Desktop Doesn't Work with Certain Nvidia Video Drivers
Here's a strange reason why a new PC wasn't able to be a Windows Remote Desktop host: it had the wrong Nvidia video drivers.
We recently setup a new Dell Optiplex 360 PC in a client's office. This PC needs to be a Windows Remote Desktop host for an offsite user. The PC has Windows XP Professional and an Nvidia GeForce 9300 GE video card, with 512MB of memory.
Microsoft publishes a series of instructions for how to setup a PC so that it can be a Remote Desktop host. After following these instructions, we were unable to establish a connection to the PC. We tried making changes to the Windows firewall, etc. all without success.
A Google search eventually turned up a posting by someone with a similar problem, which was eventually traced back to an older Nvidia driver.
Updating the PC's old driver with the new driver immediately fixed the problem, and the PC was then able to be used as a Remote Desktop host.
The Nvidia driver that works is Nvidia driver version 6.14.11.9038, dated July 14, 2009. The Nvidia GeForce 9300 GE video card's BIOS is version: 62.98.42.00.06.
