Start RDP as Shell

I have a WinXP installation that is used to only connect to another PC with RDP.

A dummy user account gets logged in automatically, then the user must click a link to start the RDP connection with predefined parameters.

Is there a way to run the RDP client without Windows Explorer being accessible?

Solution 1:

You can edit the Registry to replace the default shell program (Explorer.exe) with the MSTSC.exe application and include any valid parameters you wish to use.

In the Registry, navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon] and change the value named Shell to:

%SystemRoot%\System32\MSTSC.exe /V:YourServerName

You can replace the /V parameter with the specific ones you want.

One caveat of this solution is that when your user exits the Remote Desktop application they'll be presented with a blank screen and must press Ctrl+Alt+Del and choose Logoff to get back to the local machine's logon prompt. Because of this you may consider pointing the Shell registry value to a batch script that runs the Logoff.exe program after MSTSC.EXE ends such as the solution found here.

An even more flexible solution can be found here. It involves pointing the Shell registry value to a simple HTA application that lets the user run MSTSC repeatedly or reboot the workstation. A working HTA application is available at the link.