How to Kill Remote Desktop Sessions
By Mikhail Polenin
Your copy of Windows only allows a certain number of clients to connect via Remote Desktop to your server. Sometimes you actually end up with a “ghost session” from a previous session that didn’t close properly and prevents you from making a new session. To kill this session, you must acquire privileges on the Microsoft server you run remotely and kill the process using the command line.
Step 1
Go to your "Start" menu and click “Run.”
Step 2
Write “cmd” and press “Enter” on your keyboard.
Step 3
Write “net use \server_ip /USER:your_name password.” This logs you in to the remote server without using RDP, or Remote Desktop protocol. Replace “server_ip” with your server’s IP, “your_name” with your user name and “password” with the password you use to log in.
Step 4
Write “query session /server:name.” Replace “name” with the server’s name. You get the session ID here.
Step 5
Write “reset session id /server:server_ip,” replacing “server_ip” with the server’s IP. Do not replace anything else, as all the rest is part of the command. This terminates the active session on your remote server. Try connecting now through Remote Desktop to the new server.
Writer Bio
Mikhail Polenin has been working with computers since 1997. His experience also expands to astrophysics, masonry, electricity and general appliance repair. He's written about various different subjects regarding astrophysics and electrical circuits for various online publications. Polenin attended the New World School of the Arts and the University of Florida.