As many people have found out over the past couple of months Microsoft has released the newest version of the Remote Desktop Client. The current version is 6.1. However, as many more of you have found out, the 6.1 client is not supported or released for Windows Server 2003. For many users and admins this is not an issue, but for those of use using Terminal Servers 2008 on a Windows Server 2008 box it raises a few problems. The biggest problem is that the 6.1 client is required to utilize RemoteApps (Similar to Citrix). For common user use this is not a big issue, however for administrative and testing purposes it can be a problem.

The 6.1 RDC is available for the following systems:

1. Windows Server 2008
2. Windows Vista SP1
3. Windows XP SP3

I have been able to find a solution, while not support or sanctioned by Microsoft it seems to do the trick. After users complained (and rightly so) about not being able to get the 6.1 client for Windows XP SP2 Microsoft released a Hotfix to allow those users to install and use it. Personally I recommend upgrading to SP3 as it is pretty solid and stable. I have not had a lot of users experiencing problems with it. So to install the RDC 6.1 for Windows Server 2003 do the following:

1. Visit: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=6E1EC93D-BDBD-4983-92F7-479E088570AD&displaylang=en
2. Download the XP SP2 Client
3. Once Downloaded the application needs to be run in XP SP2 compatibility mode
   1. Right-Click the installer
   2. Select Properties
   3. Check the "Enable Compatibility box"
   4. Select "Windows XP"
   5. Apply and Close
4. Run the installer – follow the prompts and complete the installation

Ta-da RDC 6.1 for Windows Server 2003