Am I allowed to add RDC to a WinPE boot Image? [duplicate]
Solution 1:
Yes and No. Yes it's possible to copy the binaries to WinPE and run the RDP Client. But WinPE is licensed only for administrative purposes. If you're using it as a thin client OS, you're in clear violation of the license.
See my answer to this related question for the list of files: Boot to Remote Desktop
Solution 2:
While not directly answering your question (because I'm not sure you can make mstsc.exe work in PE), why not try to work around the problem? Like you mentioned, try VNC. I've packaged other executables in PE environments and had them work just fine. As long as you have network drivers and capability it could do the trick.
Edit: According to Microsoft, as long as the workstation/hardware you are using has its own Windows Pro license, it's ok by them. This isn't my interpretation of their EULA, this was their rep telling me this over the phone.
Solution 3:
You can use free implementation of RDP client (like FreeRDP or rdesktop).