Has anyone else experienced the problem of an active connection REMOTE
DESKTOP window going black without any error message? I suspect this may
happen when someone on the host computer interrupts the connection, but
there may be other reasons also. The problem is that we do not receive any
error message indicated the nature of the disruption?

It could be MTU issue. This search result may help. Please post back with
the result.

remote desktopSolved: Black screen when accessing TS using RDC · Can't
access one of workstations using RWW or RDC · Can't access the server using
RDC after changing IP ...
www.chicagotech.net/rdesktop.htm


--
Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
http://www.HowToNetworking.com


"Blue Max" wrote in message
news
Has anyone else experienced the problem of an active connection REMOTE
DESKTOP window going black without any error message? I suspect this may
happen when someone on the host computer interrupts the connection, but
there may be other reasons also. The problem is that we do not receive
any error message indicated the nature of the disruption?

Thank you, Robert, some of these issues may be linked to ours.

Thanks,
Blue

******
"Robert L. (MS-MVP)" wrote in message
...
It could be MTU issue. This search result may help. Please post back with
the result.

remote desktopSolved: Black screen when accessing TS using RDC · Can't
access one of workstations using RWW or RDC · Can't access the server
using RDC after changing IP ...
www.chicagotech.net/rdesktop.htm


--
Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
http://www.HowToNetworking.com


"Blue Max" wrote in message
news
Has anyone else experienced the problem of an active connection REMOTE
DESKTOP window going black without any error message? I suspect this may
happen when someone on the host computer interrupts the connection, but
there may be other reasons also. The problem is that we do not receive
any error message indicated the nature of the disruption?

Hello Robert,

Thank you for the referrals. We have read most of them, but find that the
subject is getting a little more technical than we are comfortable with and
often refer to versions of Windows other than Windows Vista.

FIRST, we find no definition of MTU, so what does it stand for?

SECOND, changing the MTU settings gets a little technical and requires
registry modifications. Can changing the MTU setting have some seriously
adverse consequences or is it a relatively benign setting?

THIRD, it sounds as if the user has to tweak the MTU setting by trial and
error. Is that true, or is there a standard one-size-fits-all setting for
Windows Vista that we can simply check for and be sure the setting is
correct?

We apologize for our novice status, but only pursue this course out of
necessity. We cannot understand why Microsoft features are so unreliable
and so incredibly difficult to troubleshoot and support. It seems like
standard features of this nature should all work reasonably well with very
little maintenance overhead. Unfortunately, they never do.

Thank you for your help,

Richard

******************
"Robert L. (MS-MVP)" wrote in message
...
It could be MTU issue. This search result may help. Please post back with
the result.

remote desktopSolved: Black screen when accessing TS using RDC · Can't
access one of workstations using RWW or RDC · Can't access the server
using RDC after changing IP ...
www.chicagotech.net/rdesktop.htm


--
Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
http://www.HowToNetworking.com


"Blue Max" wrote in message
news
Has anyone else experienced the problem of an active connection REMOTE
DESKTOP window going black without any error message? I suspect this may
happen when someone on the host computer interrupts the connection, but
there may be other reasons also. The problem is that we do not receive
any error message indicated the nature of the disruption?

On Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:28:48 -0700, Blue Max wrote:

Thank you for the referrals. We have read most of them, but find that the
subject is getting a little more technical than we are comfortable with and
often refer to versions of Windows other than Windows Vista.

FIRST, we find no definition of MTU, so what does it stand for?

SECOND, changing the MTU settings gets a little technical and requires
registry modifications. Can changing the MTU setting have some seriously
adverse consequences or is it a relatively benign setting?

THIRD, it sounds as if the user has to tweak the MTU setting by trial and
error. Is that true, or is there a standard one-size-fits-all setting for
Windows Vista that we can simply check for and be sure the setting is
correct?

We apologize for our novice status, but only pursue this course out of
necessity. We cannot understand why Microsoft features are so unreliable
and so incredibly difficult to troubleshoot and support. It seems like
standard features of this nature should all work reasonably well with very
little maintenance overhead. Unfortunately, they never do.

Richard,

a few thoughts. MTU is the Maximum Transmission Unit, the
maximum length of an IP packet. The standard figure is around
1,500 bytes, but there are quite a few details, several layers
of headers, etc., which makes the issue a bit convoluted. A very
safe, conservative, but a little less than perfectly efficient
figure would be 1,400 bytes. I would call that a benign setting,
certainly suitable for a test.

The problem is that it may be something else, and your MTU
settings may be perfectly allright.

Now for the more philosophical question. Microsoft is in the
market to make money. The combination of little competition,
very tolerant, often clueless buyers, and over-enthusiastic,
young, inexperienced programmers leads to a product with many
unreliable functions.

I'm sure that almost all of these functions work in the lab and
out of the box, but as soon as the computer gets years of
real-world use and third-party software installed, some Windows
functions become unreliable. We all know this. Something works
for a long time, but suddenly stops working.

Sometimes an expert can manage to find the cause and repair the
function, sometimes he can't. In the latter case your best bet
is to install yet another third-party program. In your
particular case I would propose first to try UltraVNC or perhaps
RealVNC, and there are several other programs that would also
fit the bill.

Hans-Georg
--
No mail, please.

Thank you for your reply Hans-Georg. On the philosophical side, Amen to
your thoughts! Virtual monopolies seldom breed very good products. One
day, however, Microsoft will be seriously challanged. We'll see if that
prompts better designs and reliability (i.e., a product that actually does
what is says it will).

As to the MTU issue, thank you for the explanations and recommendations. We
will look into the other product options you suggest. Interestingly, we
have now adopted third-party solutions for internet security, remote
desktop, remote assistance, faxing, data backup, folder synchroniziation,
and performance monitoring. We're beginning to wonder why we payed for
Windows Vista in the first place?

Thanks again,
Blue

*********
"Hans-Georg Michna" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:28:48 -0700, Blue Max wrote:

Thank you for the referrals. We have read most of them, but find that the
subject is getting a little more technical than we are comfortable with
and
often refer to versions of Windows other than Windows Vista.

FIRST, we find no definition of MTU, so what does it stand for?

SECOND, changing the MTU settings gets a little technical and requires
registry modifications. Can changing the MTU setting have some seriously
adverse consequences or is it a relatively benign setting?

THIRD, it sounds as if the user has to tweak the MTU setting by trial and
error. Is that true, or is there a standard one-size-fits-all setting for
Windows Vista that we can simply check for and be sure the setting is
correct?

We apologize for our novice status, but only pursue this course out of
necessity. We cannot understand why Microsoft features are so unreliable
and so incredibly difficult to troubleshoot and support. It seems like
standard features of this nature should all work reasonably well with very
little maintenance overhead. Unfortunately, they never do.

Richard,

a few thoughts. MTU is the Maximum Transmission Unit, the
maximum length of an IP packet. The standard figure is around
1,500 bytes, but there are quite a few details, several layers
of headers, etc., which makes the issue a bit convoluted. A very
safe, conservative, but a little less than perfectly efficient
figure would be 1,400 bytes. I would call that a benign setting,
certainly suitable for a test.

The problem is that it may be something else, and your MTU
settings may be perfectly allright.

Now for the more philosophical question. Microsoft is in the
market to make money. The combination of little competition,
very tolerant, often clueless buyers, and over-enthusiastic,
young, inexperienced programmers leads to a product with many
unreliable functions.

I'm sure that almost all of these functions work in the lab and
out of the box, but as soon as the computer gets years of
real-world use and third-party software installed, some Windows
functions become unreliable. We all know this. Something works
for a long time, but suddenly stops working.

Sometimes an expert can manage to find the cause and repair the
function, sometimes he can't. In the latter case your best bet
is to install yet another third-party program. In your
particular case I would propose first to try UltraVNC or perhaps
RealVNC, and there are several other programs that would also
fit the bill.

Hans-Georg
--
No mail, please.