Closing a Disconnected Terminal Services session

Terminal Services is designed so that if a connection is dropped, or if the user deliberately disconnects from the session without using the logoff procedure, the session will continue running on the Terminal Services server. When the user reconnects, the session will be resumed from the same point.

This is a useful part of Terminal Services functionality, but if the user is disconnected by a communications failure, and cannot log back in to the session, the session will keep running and this may interfere with backing up or other system maintenance. Therefore it is necessary for an administrator to close the session.

The procedure is:

• Connect to the Terminal Services server and log in with the username of the disconnected user.

  You will either be connected to the running session or you may be connected to a new session.

  If the former, simply close the running programs and log off.

  If the latter the session may be ended thus:

• Click Start, click Run, type TSADMIN and click OK.

  Terminal Services Manager will open.

• In the left-hand pane of Terminal Services Manager, navigate through the tree until you find your Terminal Services server.

• Left-click on the server name.

• In the right-hand pane, click on the Users tab.

  The right-hand pane will show the current running sessions. Disconnected sessions will show Disconnected under the State column.

• Left-click the desired user to highlight it.

• Right-click the desired user and choose Connect from the popup menu.

  You will then be connected to the running session.

• Close the programs and log off.

  You will then be exited from the Terminal Services client. This leaves your original session still running.

• Reconnect to the Terminal Services server using the same credentials.

• Close Terminal Services Manager and log off.