Unable to RDP into the VM
Use for Windows VM RDP timeouts, refused connections, black screen, or RDP error dialogs.
Symptoms -> Solutions
| Symptom | Action | Docs |
|---|---|---|
| timeout/no response | Check power state, public IP, NSG allow for 3389 | [RDP NSG] |
| timeout with NSG OK | Check guest firewall | [Guest firewall] |
| credentials failed | Reset password or username format | [RDP errors] |
| internal/security/authentication error | Check TLS, NLA, CredSSP, certificate, clock skew | [Internal] / [General] |
| black screen after login | Check Explorer, GPU driver, GPO, session state | [Detailed] |
| license server unavailable | Fix or remove RDS licensing role | [RDP errors] |
| cannot find computer | Check public IP, DNS, and VM allocation | [RDP errors] |
| connects then disconnects | Check session limits, idle timeout, resources | [RDP overview] |
| works from some IPs | Check NSG source restriction | [RDP NSG] |
| Event IDs in logs | Match event ID to documented cause | [Event IDs] |
| guest NIC disabled | Enable NIC via safe command path | [RDP NIC] |
Quick Commands
Commands marked by reset/update use VM agent/extensions. Run Pre-Flight Safety Checks first.
bash
az vm get-instance-view --name <vm> -g <rg> --query "instanceView.statuses" -o table
az network nsg rule list --nsg-name <nsg> -g <rg> -o table
az network watcher test-ip-flow --direction Inbound --protocol TCP \