How do we change the Port for RDP

  • Windows 2003
    1. login to the server via RDP
    2. Set the firewall to allow the new port and the continue to the following steps
    3. Run “Regedit”
      • Click start
      • Click “Run”
      • Type in regedit and press enter
    4. Backup the Windows Registry
      • Click File
      • Click Export
      • Save the file to a safe location
    5. Expand the following Folders in Regedit:
      • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
      • SYSTEM
      • CurrentControlSet
      • Control
      • Terminal Server
      • WinStations
      • RDP-Tcp
    6. Double Click on the “Port Number” sub-key
      • Change the “Base” to “Decimal”
      • Change the “Value Data” to the desired port
      • Press OK
    7. To apply the changes the Terminal Service needs to be restarted:
      • Click on Start>Administrative Tools>Terminal Services Manager
      • Expand “This Computer”
      • Expand “Servername” (this will be the actual name of the server)
      • Right Click on “RDP-TCP (Listener)
      • Click on “Restart”
  • Notes
    • For Windows server 2008 steps 1 to 5 are the same. For step 6 go to Administrative tools, and open Services and restart the service named “Remote Desktop Services”
    • Restarting the Terminal Server will close all current connections and you will need to reconnect on the new port.
    • You can now connect with Remote Desktop by specifying the following:
      • ipaddress/hostname:port
      • eg: 208.69.x.x:3400
    • If using a firewall to block access to RDP please ensure that the firewall rules are created for this port before restarting the Terminial Service!