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Windows Operating Systems Software

Fast User Switching on Windows XP with VNC? 86

Posted by Cliff from the why-doesn't-it-work dept.
A not-so Anonymous Coward asks: "I have searched the web for links on how to make VNC work with Windows XP fast user switching, and all I have seen is people saying that they cannot get it to work. I would now like to ask the Slashdot community to give it their shot, and see if they cannot find a way to make your standard VNC utilities cooperate with Windows XP fast user switching. For those who don't know what the problem is; when using fast user switching, if you switch users (without logging out) from the first user to log on then VNC comes up with a blank screen. Hopefully someone can come up with a fix for this." It sounds like (and I might be way off base here)Windows isn't necessarily running multiple desktops for its fast user switching, and once the switch occurs from the user running the VNC process, that VNC then somehow loses rights to the desktop. It would be interesting to note if VNC sessions will work once the desktop is switched back. Has anyone else tried getting this to work? Have you run into the same problems, or were you able to find a solution?
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Fast User Switching on Windows XP with VNC? More

Fast User Switching on Windows XP with VNC?

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  • Makes me wonder (Score:2, Interesting)

    by $exyNerdie ( 683214 )
    Makes me wonder if I can load VNC on PocketPC yet... cause if I can, I would be able to use WinXP wirelessly from:

    Windows in your hands [sprint.com]

  • Lastest Version (Score:5, Informative)

    by Deleted ( 301806 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @06:58PM (#6363595) Journal
    I was having the same problem on one of my WindowsXP machines. Upgrading to the latest realvnc seemed to fix it up just fine though.

    Maybe you should upgrade your software before you whine to /. about it..
    • If this is true, mod this guy up. Why is he 0:Informative?

    • Re:Lastest Version (Score:5, Informative)

      by reynaert ( 264437 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @08:15PM (#6363961)
      No, on my system the latest version of RealVNC (3.3.7) still has this problem. Maybe you're using a different VNC server?

    • Re:Lastest Version (Score:3, Informative)

      by chrismg2003 ( 687481 )
      This machine was using the latest version. my guess is that you were logging out and not using fast user switching. If you check the help site for RealVNC you will find that they expressly state that RealVNC does not work with fast user switching. Thus far the only app I have been able to find that works with fast user switching is PCAnywhere and that program is too bloated for my tastes (not to mention it is not free).
  • Could it be because the overlay is already occupied by the other user that's logged in, would explain the blank screen. Of course I'm just assuming since some remote desktop access apps have an issue when you're using them while using another app with overlay (TV Player, DVD, etc)
    • Seems to me that if you had VNC in the startup for each session then you'd have different instantiations of VNC for each session. You'd need them on different ports of course but I don't see why that would be a problem.
      The drawback to this of course would be that you couldn't get into the machine unless at least one session was already running (bye-bye remote reboots).
      On the other hand you could have it start as a service and then just have a batch file or something that terminated the service on l

  • I don't use XP, but... (Score:4, Informative)

    by GiMP ( 10923 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @07:02PM (#6363618)
    couldn't this be done via a service? In NT you could configure VNC server as a service and you could even login via VNC.
    • you still get access to a physical desktop

      unlike the X version where you get a fresh display

      VNS shares the same display as the monitor, when you change user the VNC connection refuses to display anything but a black screen.
      • I'm referring to the NT version. I'm saying that perhaps XP has (or can have) a similiar implementation. As stated in the topic, I have not tried VNC with XP.

      • Oi, get a clue (Score:3, Informative)

        by Chibi Merrow ( 226057 )
        NT/2000 had the same problem if you started VNC as a User Process while logged in, then had to hit Alt+Ctrl+Del to do something or you logged out. Starting VNC as a SERVICE made it start BEFORE any users were logged in, meaning yes, exactly, it displays exactly what you see on the monitor. Which is what the author of the story wants. If he wanted a fresh desktop, he'd simply use terminal services. Now, starting it as a service still MAY NOT WORK but flaming the guy saying he has no clue what he's talking ab
        • I personally start VNC as a service, and it unfortuantly doesnt wortk (with fast user switching.)

        • Re:Oi, get a clue (Score:1, Interesting)

          by Anonymous Coward
          Unfortunately, running the server as a service does not seem to help. According to what help sites I was able to find out there it has something to do with how MS implements fast user switching. PCAnywhere claimed that they had to do some sort of dirty hack to make their version work with fast user switching. hopefully someone on slashdot knows what this workaround is.

    • Re:I don't use XP, but... (Score:5, Informative)

      by HereAllNight ( 645064 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @11:18PM (#6364723)
      I concur with this.

      As I understand it, Fast User Switching simply keeps other users' processes alive (but suspended) while a user at the console starts up his/her own processes. If you're running vncserver manually, from the Start Menu or as a "Run" item in the Registry, going back to the Welcome Screen will cause vncserver to be suspended. Therefore, vncserver must be run as a service. Most VNC distros make it very easy to do this.

      The big problem is the Welcome Screen, which must be enabled in order to use Fast User Switching. We know that VNC works fine with the Explorer shell, but my guess is that the Welcome Screen does something to thwart non-MS remote utilities. It could be a matter of permissions; that everybody (including the vncserver service) must have the same priveleges or be in the same group as the Welcome Screen process.

      Personally, I use RemotelyAnywhere and GoToMyPC to access Windows machines over the Internet. If you're doing this only on a private network, then no worries. But if this goes across any public networks like the Internet, I strongly suggest finding a solution that provides more secure authentication at the very least.

      Since XP does offer RDP, I'd tend to use RDP before I tried VNC. Is there any reason why n-sAC must use VNC?

      • As I understand it, Fast User Switching simply keeps other users' processes alive (but suspended) while a user at the console starts up his/her own processes.

        Actually, the process are not suspended. They continue to run in the backgroud. The unix eqivilent would be just opening up a different console shell.

        I quite often will leave a video encoder running in the background and switch over users to my wife's account. If I don't set the encoding process at a low priority, her session drags.

        • Looks like you're correct in the context of applications, but there's more to that. After looking through one of my 1000+ page books, I noticed that while the other users' processes may continue to run, they are unable to run "interactively". Thus a program like vncserver that runs interactively is likely to find itself in limbo when the 1st user loses his/her desktop.
      • The fast user switching is a trimmed back version of terminal services. If you load VNC as a service, it runs fine and displays the welcome screen. I have not tried to fast user switch (it's disabled on my machines).

        I would assume that those who get black screens are running the VNC server as a user process instead of a service. From my experience, when you fast user switch, Windows simply creates a new user session similar to terminal services, but unlike TS, it stops rendering the old session, as only

  • Why not use in the built-in Remote Desktop? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by jpsowin ( 325530 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @07:11PM (#6363663) Homepage
    In XP Pro, Remote Desktop is built in--which is a lot faster and smoother than VNC, plus it just works good.

    And if you're using VNC because you want to access the XP machine from linux, then just emulate the Windows98 Remote Desktop software M$ offers for free with WINE or Crossover Office (which I have had great success with in general).

  • XP EULA Violation (Score:3, Interesting)

    by jebx ( 682934 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @07:52PM (#6363862)
    I think you need to pay more attention to /. VNC appears to violate XP's EULA
    Link to Slashdot article [slashdot.org]
  • Using VNC - or any other non-MS approved remote desktop control/sharing program - with Windows XP is a breach of your EULA.

  • Isn't Fast Switching With VPN A Security Exposure (Score:3, Interesting)

    by xsbellx ( 94649 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @10:02PM (#6364422) Homepage
    I currently use Cisco Systems VPN Client Version 3.5.2 for connecting to the office. During installation, the client explicitly disables user switching. I asked the same question about user switching in XP of the VPN guys and had it explained this way:

    Three people share the XP system, each with their own user profile. I logon and connect to the office. With fast switching enabled, the kids come along and decide to do some nasty things on the corporate network (maybe by accident, maybe not). If I was willing to personally accept all responsiblity (in other words, pay the bills for any fallout) for all the other users of the system, they would provide a patched version of the client to allow fast switching.

    As much as I hate bureaucracy, I have to side with the VPN guys on this one.
    • One interesting thing to note that side-steps this issue a bit is that the VPN client that comes with Windows XP automatically disconnects when you switch users. (i.e. user1 logs in, connects to vpn. When user2 comes along and attempts to do a fast user switch, user1's VPN is disconnected.)
    • IIRC you can keep fast user switching with the Cisco VPN client. The reason it has to disable fast user switching is that it installs a chains a non-fast user switching GINA.dll thingy. This is used for the 'Make VPN connection before Windows starts' functionality. If you search the Cisco site (maybe look in bug tracker) you can find a work around to allow fast user switching with the VPN client installed. I think you might even be able to enable the spawn before windows capability as well as fast user
    • The newer (4.x) versions of the Cisco VPN client allow fast user switching, no special version or anything.

      Basically, don't stay logged into the VPN if you're not physically on the box, then it doesn't really matter.
  • When you click on switch user and go back to the screen where you select a user to switch to, you have actually switched to another desktop. VNC is running in the context of the "user" desktop, which is why it won't work.
  • What I'd really like to be able to do is use switching inside a domain. You're only able to do it on a standalone system. Obviously showing all of the domain users on the XP welcome screen isn't an option, but there's no reason why it shouldn't be able to show the users that are logged in, and a simple fill in form to allow users to log in to a new session. Or just use the Win2k style login box and have it reconnect to existing sessions like terminal services does. But of course MS doesn't think home us
    • I currently have it setup to use the 'classic' Win2k style logon dialog, with fast user switcing enabled.
      1. Get SP1.
      2. Set the logon screen choice in 'User Accounts' to classic.
      3. Set "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\AllowMultipleTSSession s " to 1.
      4. Use Task manager to switch users; disconnect the current user to go back to the logon screen (to start new sessions) without logging off, and connect to switch directly. You can also go back to the logon screen an
      • I currently have it setup to use the 'classic' Win2k style logon dialog, with fast user switcing enabled.

        You must not be in a domain... In a domain you're always using the 'classic' login dialog box because there's no option to use the login screen -- and MS removes the shutdown menu option in the task manager - so there's no way to switch users. For the hell of it, I tried your registry tweak, but the funny thing is that after reboot it gets reset back to 0.

        It's obviously possible - and maybe if someon

  • Service or an App (Score:3, Insightful)

    by RedWolves2 ( 84305 ) on Friday July 04, 2003 @11:08AM (#6367203) Homepage Journal
    Are you running VNC as a service or in App mode? We run VNC on servers at work and if we have it set up as a service I can login to the box using VNC as soon as the box reboots...If I have VNC running as APP mode I can only login when the box is logged in as a user then I get kicked out if I log out.

    Try running it as a service there is a Administrative tool in the VNC Programs folder that will install it for you.

    HTH
  • I have created a workaround for this problem that only has one flaw which I could use some help with. The bath files work great at restarting the service in the background, I just dont know how to detect a fast user switch. you can find the files here [homeunix.com], here [homeunix.com] and here [homeunix.com]. Just dump the files into your root and run winvnc.bat. it runs in the background. I know that it continues to run, I have been unable to get the Exit command to work but it does not continue to eat up resources, each time you use it the old ins
    • Thanks for the link from your site about the Timex Internet Messenger watch for 40 bucks. I just ordered it as my current timex has taken all the licking i could give it(data link), face is scratched and damn speaker spring got bent(by me) when changing a battery one time and the diaphram isnt working correctly. Result: intermittant sound.

      Chris
  • Screen sizes can also give problems - if you are VNC'd in and someone changes the screen resolution at the console, you are booted out. check the desktop has the same resolution as the logon session for the users desktop you are connecting to.
  • It's not exactly what you're looking for but it does work. And it's a monthly subscription. The benefits are that it works from anywhere.. behind proxies, firewalls, etc. Fast user switching does work too. But it's $8.95/month if you pay for the year.

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