The build-in Remote Desktop feature is very useful if you want to use your home-PC from your laptop in the living room, at work, at school or any other place in the world. This tutorial will enable this functionality including Aero over Remote Desktop and high quality audio and video playback. If you want to use Aero over Remote Desktop you will have to install the Desktop Experience feature first which is explained at this page.
1. To enable Remote Desktop access click Run in the Start menu and enter SystemPropertiesRemote. In the window that pops up select the second or third option and click OK.
2. To enable 32bit color depth needed for Aero and high quality audio and video playback over Remote Desktop click Run in the Start menu, enter tsconfig.msc and click OK. Now double-click the (default) RDP-tcp connection and go to the Client Settings tab. At the Client Settings tab uncheck the Limit Maximum Color Depth checkbox and optionally also uncheck the other checkboxes in the Redirection section to allow audio and video recording/playback. Click OK to save the new settings.
3. To enable Aero over Remote Desktop click Run in the Start menu, enter gpedit.msc and click OK. Browse to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Remote Desktop Services -> Remote Desktop Session Host -> Remote Session Environment and open the Allow desktop composition for remote desktop connections property.
4. Change the "Allow desktop composition for remote desktop sessions" setting to Enabled and click OK to save the change.
5. If you now start the Microsoft Remote Desktop client (Start -> Run -> mstsc), click the Options link, go to the Display tab and set the color depth of the remote session to Highest Quality (32bit) and also at least check the Desktop composition and Visual styles checkboxes at the Experience tab, you will get the Aero experience over Remote Desktop..
6. Enjoy 3D Flip and all other Aero features over Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop! The client system also needs to be running a Windows Vista a or later Operating System and also needs to support Aero.
After applying all tweaks you will have a fast workstation which can be used for daily tasks like typing reports, developing software and webapplications or playing games. Here are some screenshots of my final Windows Server 2008 R2 Workstation!
Windows 7 theme with Aero and Start menu with recently opened applications including associated files.
3D Flip is also included!
Everything just works smooth, fast and flawless! Continue to download and install a 180 days evaluation version of Windows Server 2008 R2 now. Click here if you want to install Windows Server 2008 R2 beside your current Operating System.
If you are a student you can probably even get a legal full Windows Server 2008 R2 license for free from the www.DreamSpark.com website!
In case you are still not convinced, read through the Why Server 2008 [R2] over Windows Vista/7? topic at the forum to see other users’ experiences/opinions.
Like Microsoft Windows 7 its also possible to use the Aero theme including 3d flip or at least the Windows 7 Basic theme without transparency nor 3d flip. Note that following this tutorial and installing the “Desktop Experience” Feature also installs Windows Mail, Windows Media Player, Video for Windows (AVI support), Windows Photo Gallery, Windows SideShow, Windows Defender, Disk Cleanup, Sync Center, Sound Recorder and Character Map.
1. Start the Server Manager and click below the category Features Summary at Add Features.
2. In the Add Features Wizard window check Desktop Experience and also accept to install the Ink and Handwriting Services when asked. Then click Next.
3. Review the Installation Selections and click Install to start the installation of the selected Features.
4. After the installation has finished, click the Close button and click Yes when asked if you want to restart your computer.
5. After the computer has restarted, review and close the Installation Results window and go to Administrative Tools in the Start menu and click Services.
6. Double click on the service named Themes, set Startup type to Automatic and click Apply. After the Startup type is set to Automatic click Start to start the Themes service whereafter you can close the Services Manager.
7. Download themes.zip (38,5MB) via Mirrorcreator, extract it and run install(.cmd) to install the Windows 7 Default Themes. This step is optional as you can also download the themes you want from Microsoft – Windows 7 – Personalize your PC
8. Right click at an empty spot of your desktop and choose Personalize. In the Personalization window click a theme or get a nice theme via the Get more themes online link. If you have installed drivers for your videocard you will now have transparent windows and you are able to use 3D Flip (Windowskey + Tab)!
Continue to install the Windows 7 Sidebar…
