A handy feature of the Windows Operating System is the Remote Desktop feature. This is built into all versions of Windows, but not all versions allow remote access into your PC. Microsoft purposely disabled remote access along with other networking features in certain versions of their operating systems. This was done as an effort to distinguish between home and business versions. Full function remote access means that you can remote into your computer and also remote into other RDP enabled computers. Partial remote access means that you are able to remote into other computers, but your computer is unable to receive remote connections.

Versions of Windows that allow the full function of remote desktop access:

Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate = Yes
Windows Vista Business and Ultimate = Yes
Windows XP Professional = Yes

Versions of Windows that allow partial function of remote desktop access:

Windows 7 Home Premium = No
Windows Vista Home Premium = No
Windows XP Home = No

So, what is concurrent RDP on Windows 7? It simply means that you allow more than one user account to be accessed at a time. One user can be sitting in front of the computer while another can remote into the other user account. Why is this a benefit?

• Specialized programs like QuickBooks and Photoshop can be used by more than one person without having to install them on multiple systems
• No interruption in work if another user needs to access the computer
• Similar to running Windows Server, you can give user access to multiple people but without the license cost

In our own business systems, we use Windows 7 Professional with this concurrent RDP modification in place. Below in the link with more information for enabling concurrent RDP sessions in Windows 7. There are documented methods of concurrent RDP sessions on Vista and XP but none that we have tested.

Download the Windows 7 Terminal Services modification script