What does "Disconnect" do to a remote computer?


pokeefe0001

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I've been using Remote Desktop to access a remote computer for about 3 years and have been running on "automatic pilot" when using it. Something seems to have changed but I hadn't paid enough attention in the past to know what is different. What does "Disconnect" do to the remote computer? I thought it ran "locked" until the Power Option's sleep timeout processing would put it to sleep. Now it seems to immediately put the computer to sleep. If I disconnect and then try to get right back on, I can't; I have to do a "Wake on LAN". Has it always been that way and I'm just remembering wrong?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Microsoft
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8400
    Motherboard
    ASUS PRIME H370-PLUS
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    On board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster 2043BWX
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 256GB
    WDC 1TB NVMe
    WD 3TB external USB drive
    PSU
    I don't remember
    Case
    Corsair something-or-other
    Cooling
    Air CPU + 2 case fans
    Keyboard
    DAS S Pro (Cherry Brown)
    Mouse
    Logitech USB of some sort
Under normal conditions disconnect simply drops the connection to the remote system. On the remote computer the session is still running. You would need to examine RDS services on the remote season to see how it handles a disconnect
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
OK. That's what I remember it doing in the past. Whew! I'm not loosing my memory. (Much.) I don't see anything obvious in the settings that would cause this, but I'll keep looking.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Microsoft
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8400
    Motherboard
    ASUS PRIME H370-PLUS
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    On board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster 2043BWX
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 256GB
    WDC 1TB NVMe
    WD 3TB external USB drive
    PSU
    I don't remember
    Case
    Corsair something-or-other
    Cooling
    Air CPU + 2 case fans
    Keyboard
    DAS S Pro (Cherry Brown)
    Mouse
    Logitech USB of some sort
On my pcs, when you start a remote session, the remote pc is in lockscreen mode.

If a user on remote pc enters password, remote session is disconnected and remote pc is under control of remote pc user.

If local pc is disconnected from remote pc, remote pc still operates and remote pc is in locked screen mode until remote user enters password.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
It sounds like I've managed to hose over the computer. Whatever I've done is probably also whatever is messing up applying maintenance (reported here) where the PC goes to sleep immediately after the "30% complete" restart rather than performing the last 70% of the install.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Microsoft
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8400
    Motherboard
    ASUS PRIME H370-PLUS
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    On board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster 2043BWX
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 256GB
    WDC 1TB NVMe
    WD 3TB external USB drive
    PSU
    I don't remember
    Case
    Corsair something-or-other
    Cooling
    Air CPU + 2 case fans
    Keyboard
    DAS S Pro (Cherry Brown)
    Mouse
    Logitech USB of some sort
A clean reinstall fixed the problem of immediately going to sleep after RDP disconnect. I don't know about the sleep during maintenance but I'll find out soon. On the down side, I now have about 50 programs to reinstall. A pain, but I think I done only one other clean install of this computer since I got it almost 10 years ago as a Win7 machine. All the hardware has been replaced over time, and upgrades to Win10 and Win11, but only one clean install 5 or 6 years ago. It's about time.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Microsoft
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8400
    Motherboard
    ASUS PRIME H370-PLUS
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    On board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster 2043BWX
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 256GB
    WDC 1TB NVMe
    WD 3TB external USB drive
    PSU
    I don't remember
    Case
    Corsair something-or-other
    Cooling
    Air CPU + 2 case fans
    Keyboard
    DAS S Pro (Cherry Brown)
    Mouse
    Logitech USB of some sort
Normally another issue is that RDP sessions can't power on a remote computer if it's powered down whether remotely or locally. There might be some hardware around to allow remote power on but I don't know about any.

Disconnect just keeps the remote computer running (new user whether local or remote will have to sign in again).

VM's also can usually be disconnected too --i.e they are still running in the background. If you say logoff then the VM gets logged off !!!.

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP,7,10,11 Linux Arch Linux
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    2 X Intel i7
Normally another issue is that RDP sessions can't power on a remote computer if it's powered down whether remotely or locally. There might be some hardware around to allow remote power on but I don't know about any.
If by "powered down" you mean powered off, I also don't know of anything. And I'm not sure about hibernation. But for sleep, "Wake on Lan" processing works fine and NirSoft has a nifty little tool called WakeMeOnLan. (Misnamed: It should be WakeThemOnLan since it runs on the local machine and wakes one or more remote machines.)

I go days without accessing that remote test computer of mine so there's no reason to keep it running. I have it go to sleep after 30 minutes of inactivity and wake it when I need to make an RDP connection.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Microsoft
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8400
    Motherboard
    ASUS PRIME H370-PLUS
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    On board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster 2043BWX
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 256GB
    WDC 1TB NVMe
    WD 3TB external USB drive
    PSU
    I don't remember
    Case
    Corsair something-or-other
    Cooling
    Air CPU + 2 case fans
    Keyboard
    DAS S Pro (Cherry Brown)
    Mouse
    Logitech USB of some sort
Normally another issue is that RDP sessions can't power on a remote computer if it's powered down whether remotely or locally. There might be some hardware around to allow remote power on but I don't know about any.
This is where WOL (Wake On LAN) comes into play.

I have several computers in my bedroom, but I like to power them off when I go to sleep to cut down on the number of annoying blinking LEDs in the room (my goodness, some of those little things are pretty bright!).

I have a Wake On LAN utility on my phone as well as on my Laptop so if I need to access something on one of those systems after I have powered it down, I simply send a WOL packet to the computer, and it powers right back up.

A few notes on WOL:

1) This capability needs to be enabled in the BIOS.

2) Some systems won't wake after performing a "shutdown" but will wake from sleep or hibernate modes. This capability varies from system to system.

3) Fast Startup in Windows is a mortal enemy of WOL. Turn Fast Startup OFF if you want WOL to work!

4) Again, depending upon the system, WOL may work with add-on Ethernet adapters, not just the Ethernet adapter built onto a motherboard. As an example, I have an older system (4th gen Intel i7), where WOL works with the built-in gigabit Ethernet adapter. However, I wanted faster speeds so I added a 2.5Gbps PCIe Ethernet adapter and this works flawlessly with WOL as well.

5) Your router can make a difference! I had an ASUS router. When I was using that router I had a lot of difficulties with WOL. Would not work at all on one system, on another system it worked only from sleep and hibernate modes, not powered off even though I knew it worked previously from a full shutdown. Spent hours troubleshooting. Finally got it to work by swapping the ASUS router for an EERO router.

6) Troubleshooting tip: If your Ethernet adapter has status LEDs on it and these LEDs are lit when the computer is in sleep / hibernation / shutdown modes then WOL <SHOULD> work in those modes where the system is still supplying power to the Ethernet adapter.

EDIT: You also need to go into the properties for the Ethernet adapter in Windows Device Manager, Power Management tab, check all three available boxes.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A
    Memory
    128GB Crucial Ballistix 3200MHz DRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - CPU graphics only (for now)
    Sound Card
    Realtek (on motherboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe Gen 4 x 4 SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe Gen 3 x 4 SSD
    2 x 512GB 2.5" SSDs
    2 x 8TB HD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCue 5000X RGB
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black cooler + 10 case fans
    Keyboard
    CODE backlit mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Additional options installed:
    WiFi 6E PCIe adapter
    ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 PCIe adapter
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
This is where WOL (Wake On LAN) comes into play.

I have several computers in my bedroom, but I like to power them off when I go to sleep to cut down on the number of annoying blinking LEDs in the room (my goodness, some of those little things are pretty bright!).

I have a Wake On LAN utility on my phone as well as on my Laptop so if I need to access something on one of those systems after I have powered it down, I simply send a WOL packet to the computer, and it powers right back up.

A few notes on WOL:

1) This capability needs to be enabled in the BIOS.

2) Some systems won't wake after performing a "shutdown" but will wake from sleep or hibernate modes. This capability varies from system to system.

3) Fast Startup in Windows is a mortal enemy of WOL. Turn Fast Startup OFF if you want WOL to work!

4) Again, depending upon the system, WOL may work with add-on Ethernet adapters, not just the Ethernet adapter built onto a motherboard. As an example, I have an older system (4th gen Intel i7), where WOL works with the built-in gigabit Ethernet adapter. However, I wanted faster speeds so I added a 2.5Gbps PCIe Ethernet adapter and this works flawlessly with WOL as well.

5) Your router can make a difference! I had an ASUS router. When I was using that router I had a lot of difficulties with WOL. Would not work at all on one system, on another system it worked only from sleep and hibernate modes, not powered off even though I knew it worked previously from a full shutdown. Spent hours troubleshooting. Finally got it to work by swapping the ASUS router for an EERO router.

6) Troubleshooting tip: If your Ethernet adapter has status LEDs on it and these LEDs are lit when the computer is in sleep / hibernation / shutdown modes then WOL <SHOULD> work in those modes where the system is still supplying power to the Ethernet adapter.

EDIT: You also need to go into the properties for the Ethernet adapter in Windows Device Manager, Power Management tab, check all three available boxes.
Hi there
Thanks for the info -- always good to learn about this type of stuff even if I don't have or use it.

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP,7,10,11 Linux Arch Linux
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    2 X Intel i7

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