Copy/Paste Files through Remote Desktop

sthames42 · 02 Apr 2012

Running Remote Desktop from Windows 7 Ultimate x64 to Windows Server 2003 Std.

Can't copy a file from W7 and paste to WS03 or vice-versa.

No problem with copy/paste text from an app on W7 to an app on WS03.

Three other machines in the office running Windows 7 Pro x64 to the same WS03 machine have no copy/paste problems.

Tried Safe Mode--no luck.
Tried terminating rdpclip.exe on WS03 and restarting--no luck.

Does anyone have any idea how I can diagnose this problem?

kegobeer · 02 Apr 2012

Do you have the clipboard enabled on your rdp connection?

sthames42 · 02 Apr 2012

If you mean the Clipboard option under Local Resources in RDC, then yes. This is the way I have always used it. In addition, I've tried setting all the other flags, individually and all at once, and none of these changes made any difference.

I have also reviewed the group security policies on my Win7 machine but there does not appear to be anything that would restrict copy/paste from the client side. As I mentioned, copy/paste to the WS03 machine works fine from 3 other Win7Pro64 machines and has worked for us for years under XP.

kegobeer · 02 Apr 2012

Have you tried different profiles on the problem machine? Perhaps it's linked to a certain account on that machine.

sthames42 · 02 Apr 2012

Yes. I tried under the Administrator account (my account is an Administrator, also, with UAC turned off). Was able to copy/paste text but could not copy/paste files in either direction. Even in Safe Mode--no difference.

One other thing of note: when I start RDC in full screen mode, if I leave full-screen mode using the control bar at the top of the screen, I cannot maximize back to full-screen--the window becomes the size of my display. Have to Ctrl-Alt-Pause/Break to return to full-screen mode. The Win7Pro64 machines in the office don't have this problem either.

I can live with the full-screen problem, though. Its the copy/paste I'd like to fix.

kegobeer · 02 Apr 2012

Have you tried doing a sfc /scannow? I'm wondering if there is a corrupted system file that's causing this odd behavior. Also, and this is pretty obvious, but is your A/V up to date and have you done a scan lately? It's probably not the cause, but it's something that needs to be considered.

sthames42 · 04 Apr 2012

Yes, to both. I finally was able to run sfc last night, which turned out to be a good idea--it found a number of files to be replaced and everything is solid now.

Still cannot copy/paste files--even in safe mode. Copy/paste text just fine but not files.

I'm mostly looking for a roadmap on diagnosing this problem. Given I can copy/paste text, this seems like it has to be something to do with security regarding copying files. I can copy to network shares just fine. This problem is only found in RDC.

kegobeer · 04 Apr 2012

Have you seen this?

when i use remote desktop i can't copy and paste in my remote desktop session - Super User

Answer number 1 has a possible solution.

sthames42 · 05 Apr 2012

Yes, I know all of that and tried it all.

kegobeer · 05 Apr 2012

Well, at this point I'd just either live with what this computer is doing, or install Windows again. I believe you've exhausted pretty much all avenues and it's time to cut your losses and move on.