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Elastic Compute Service:What do I do if the error message "No Remote Desktop license server is specified" appears when I connect to a Windows Server 2008 R2 instance by using Remote Desktop?

Last Updated:Mar 28, 2023

This topic describes how to resolve the issue that the error message “No Remote Desktop license server is specified" appears when you connect to an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance that runs Windows Server 2008 R2 by using Remote Desktop.

Problem description

When you connect to an ECS instance that runs Windows Server 2008 R2 by using Remote Desktop, the error message "No Remote Desktop license server is specified" appears.

Cause

Remote Desktop Services roles are installed on the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system by default and available for 120 days free of charge. After the free trial ends, you must purchase relevant licenses from Microsoft.

Solutions

Use one of the following solutions to resolve the issue based on your actual scenario:

Solution 1: Uninstall the Remote Desktop Session Host

  1. Connect to the Windows instance by using Virtual Network Computing (VNC).

    For more information, see Connect to a Windows instance by using a password or key.

  2. Right-click My Computer and select Manage to open Server Manager.

  3. In the Server Manager window, click Roles. In the Roles section, click Remove Roles.

  4. In the window that appears, select Remote Desktop Services to delete the roles.

  5. Connect to the instance by using Remote Desktop to check whether the issue is resolved.

Solution 2: Configure the Remote Desktop Licensing server

If you require two or more users to connect to Remote Desktop, perform the operations described in the following topic:

Remote connections to Windows Server instances and License-authorized servers