Error “Remote Desktop Web Connection ActiveX Control Could Not Be Installed” After Installing Windows XP SP3

When you start the Remote Desktop Web Connection window after installing Windows XP Service Pack 3, the following error may occur, and the Connect button remains grayed out:

Microsoft RDP ActiveX Control is disabled when you install Windows XP Service Pack 3 or Windows Small Business Server 2003 SP1. Follow one of the following methods to enable the ActiveX control.

Method 1

Use the Manage Add-ons dialog in Internet Explorer to enable the Terminal Services ActiveX Control. For more information, refer to article You cannot connect to a remote computer when you use Terminal Services Web Access or Remote Web Workspace on a Windows XP SP3-based computer

If the ActiveX control is not listed in Manage Add-ons dialog, follow Method 2 below.

Method 2

1. Click Start, Run. Type Regedit.exe and press ENTER

2. Navigate to the following branch:

3. Double-click Settings to expand the branch

4. Right-click {7584c670-2274-4efb-b00b-d6aaba6d3850} and choose Delete

5. Click Yes when asked for confirmation.

Close all instances of Internet Explorer and re-run Remote Desktop Web Connection.

Registry Fix

To automate the above, download tsweb-enable.zip and save to Desktop. Extract the contents and run the file tsweb-enable.reg file. To reverse the changes, run tsweb-disable.reg.

Copyright © 2008 Ramesh Srinivasan. All rights reserved.