Remote Desktop will not connect: the usual errors and what each one means

The short answer: the error message almost always says what is missing. There are two groups: it does not reach the server (network, address, firewall, stopped server) or it reaches it and is refused (username, password, rights, session limit). Read the whole message and look it up in the table.

The error, the meaning, the fix

The message What it means What to do
“Cannot find the computer” / “the name was not found” The address is wrong. Use the VPS’s IP address, as in the delivery e-mail or in My MozOut.
“Cannot connect to the remote computer” or it just waits Port 3389 does not reach the server: a firewall, a network that blocks it, a stopped service or a powered-off server. Try from another network (mobile data). If you restricted access to your IP, your IP may have changed: Your public IP. See Ports and firewall.
“Your credentials did not work” Wrong username or password, or the user has no right to sign in remotely. Type the username without spaces (for example, Administrator) and the password by hand, without copying a space. If you created a user, it must belong to the “Remote Desktop Users” group.
“An authentication error has occurred. The function requested is not supported” (CredSSP) Your computer and the server have different versions of a security protection. Update Windows on your computer (and on the server, if you can get in another way).
“The maximum number of connections has been reached” There are old sessions open on the server, disconnected but not ended. Get in through the VPS panel, or another session, and end the old sessions (“sign out”, not just closing the window).
A certificate warning when connecting Normal the first time: the server uses a certificate of its own. Confirm the address is yours and continue. Do not tick “don’t ask again” if the address is not exactly your VPS’s.
It connects, but the screen stays black or very slow The server is out of memory, disk or busy. Wait a minute. If it continues, restart from the panel and see What is using CPU, memory and disk.

If nothing helps

1 Restart the VPS from the panel and wait a few minutes.
2 Confirm the server is answering: see whether the IP address responds (for example, if there is a website on it).
3 Tell us the exact message and the time: A support request that gets a fast answer.
Do not open the port to everyone just to “see if it works”. Leaving remote access open to all is the shortest road to being attacked. If you must open it for a minute, close it right after: Making Remote Desktop safer.

Still not connecting? Open a ticket with the VPS address, the exact message and what you have tried.

Open a support ticket

SEE ALSO

Connecting to a Windows VPS with Remote Desktop

Making Remote Desktop on a Windows VPS safer

Ports and firewall on a VPS: why your app is not reachable

Common VPS and Cloud errors: SSH, memory, disk and reboots

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