If you’re a Windows Server administrator you may have come across this message when logging onto Terminal Services: “Terminal server has exceeded maximum number of allowed connections”. This occurs when you have 2 sessions running already and attempt to log into a third.

When the machine is in a remote location you may think you’re in trouble, as you can’t easily connect via the TS Manager MMC and disconnect those 2 dead sessions… but with Windows Server 2003 you have nothing to fear. You can use the Admin Session!

What is the admin session? Basically, with XP and 2003 you don’t just log into your desktop as you’d expect, you connect using Terminal Services to it (which is why you can’t disable the Terminal Services service, you’d remove all access to the machine!). This local login is the admin session.

When you use Remote Assistance or the Remote Desktop Client with XP, you’re using the admin session, which is why any current users get logged out (or you use a shadow of it).

To connect to the admin session it is as easy as typing the following command (where 0.0.0.0 is the IP address you want to connect to):

mstsc /v:0.0.0.0 /admin

Once you’re connected you can use the Terminal Services Manager and disconnect those pesky sessions that stopped you connecting normally.

PLEASE NOTE: The command has changed from /console to /admin.