RDS Hosting Issues

On Windows Server:

1. Open Server Manager
2. Click "Add roles and features"
3. Select "Remote Desktop Services installation"
4. Choose "Quick Start" > "Session-based desktop deployment"
5. Select the server
6. Complete wizard and restart server

Install and activate RDS CALs:

1. Server Manager > Remote Desktop Services
2. Click "RD Licensing" in Overview
3. Right-click server > "Activate Server"
4. Follow activation wizard
5. Install licenses: Right-click > "Install Licenses"
6. Select license program and enter information
7. Activate per-user or per-device CALs as purchased

Set session policies:

• Server Manager > Remote Desktop Services > Collections
• Click the collection name (e.g., "QuickBooks.domain.local")
• Right-click > Edit Properties
• Set max session time (e.g., 8 hours)
• Set disconnected session limit (e.g., 30 minutes before auto-logout)
• Configure idle session timeout if needed

RemoteApp publishes QuickBooks as a seamless application (optional):

• Server Manager > Remote Desktop Services > Collections
• Click "RemoteApp Programs" in Tasks
• After QuickBooks is installed, add QBW32.exe as a RemoteApp
• Users can launch QuickBooks directly without seeing full desktop

Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run:

change user /install
 
You'll see: "User session is ready to install applications."

Run the QuickBooks installer:

• Run QuickBooks installer (not yet exited Install Mode)
• Choose "Custom and Network Options"
• Select: "I will NOT be using QuickBooks on this computer"
• Complete installation
• Do NOT launch QuickBooks yet

Why "NOT be using"? This option installs only the application without registering it to the admin account, allowing each RDS user to register their own license.

Run the installer again:

• Run QuickBooks installer
• Choose "Custom and Network Options"
• Select: "I WILL be using QuickBooks on this computer AND storing company files"
• This installs Database Server Manager
• Complete installation

Return to Execute Mode:

change user /execute
 
You'll see: "User session is ready to execute applications."

Set up company file hosting:

• Launch QuickBooks Database Server Manager
• Go to "Scan Folders" tab
• Add the folder containing company files (e.g., D:\QBData)
• Click "Scan" and verify files appear with "Running" status

Create domain or local accounts for each user:

1. Server Manager > Tools > Computer Management
2. Local Users and Groups > Users
3. Right-click > New User
4. Create account for each QuickBooks user
5. Uncheck "User must change password at next logon"
6. Add users to "Remote Desktop Users" group

Grant file access to all QuickBooks users:

1. Right-click company file folder (e.g., D:\QBData)
2. Properties > Security tab > Edit
3. Add "Domain Users" or individual user accounts
4. Grant "Modify" permissions
5. Click Apply > OK

To separate QuickBooks settings per user:

• Use Group Policy to redirect user folders (Documents, Desktop) to network locations
• This ensures QuickBooks settings persist and don't conflict between users
• Recommended for environments with 5+ users

Log in as each user via RDP and launch QuickBooks. Each user should activate their QuickBooks license when first launching. Verify each user can open the company file successfully.

Enable client printer mapping:

1. Server Manager > Remote Desktop Services
2. Click Collection > Tasks > Edit Properties
3. Go to "Client Settings" section
4. Ensure "Printer redirection" is checked
5. Optionally set default printer behavior:
   - "Use client default printer"
   - "Set default printer to most recently used printer"
6. Apply changes

For reliable PDF creation:

• Download and install a PDF printer driver on the RDS server (e.g., PDFCreator, CutePDF, Microsoft Print to PDF)
• Configure it as a shared printer
• All users can print to this server-based PDF printer
• PDFs are created on the server, then users can download them

Reduce driver conflicts:

• Download "Microsoft Universal Print Driver" or manufacturer universal drivers
• Install on RDS server
• Set as default print driver for redirected printers
• This avoids needing specific drivers for every client printer model

Reset QuickBooks printer configuration:

1. In QuickBooks: File > Printer Setup
2. For each form type (Invoices, Checks, etc.):
   - Select correct printer
   - Click "Print sample" to test
3. If issues persist, delete .qbprint files:
   - Close QuickBooks
   - Navigate to: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Intuit\QuickBooks [Year]
   - Delete all *.qbprint files
   - Reopen QuickBooks and reconfigure printers

Check service status:

services.msc
 
Find: QuickBooksDBXX (XX = version year)
Status should be: Running
Startup Type should be: Automatic
 
If not running, right-click > Start

Configure Database Server Manager:

• Launch QuickBooks Database Server Manager (from Admin account)
• Scan Folders tab > Add Folder
• Browse to company file location (e.g., D:\QBData)
• Click Scan and wait for completion
• Verify all company files show "Running" status

Configure hosting mode:

• Log in as Admin and open QuickBooks
• Open company file
• File > Utilities > Host Multi-User Access (if available - click it)
• File > Switch to Multi-user Mode
• Close QuickBooks

Log in as a regular user via RDS. Open QuickBooks and the company file. It should open in multi-user mode automatically. If you see single-user mode or H-series errors, revisit Database Server Manager configuration.

Always use Install Mode for add-ons:

change user /install
 
[Install the add-on or integration]
 
change user /execute

If exporting to Excel fails:

• Install Microsoft Office on the RDS server (not just Excel viewer)
• Ensure Office version matches system architecture (64-bit server needs 64-bit Office)
• Each user must launch Excel at least once to complete first-run setup
• Grant users permission to C:\Windows\SysWOW64\config\systemprofile\Desktop (create folder if missing)

Configure Outlook integration:

• Install Outlook on RDS server
• Each user configures their own Outlook profile when first logging in
• QuickBooks > Edit > Preferences > Send Forms > My Preferences
• Select "Outlook" as email method
• If integration fails, repair QuickBooks installation

For custom integrations or add-ons:

• Check with vendor for RDS compatibility
• Ensure app is installed for "all users" not just admin
• Check application logs (Event Viewer > Application logs)
• Verify network connectivity if app connects to external services
• Test running QuickBooks and the add-on as Administrator to check if permissions are the issue

Set up performance monitoring:

• Use Windows Performance Monitor (perfmon.msc)
• Track: % Processor Time, Available MBytes, Disk Queue Length, Network Interface Bytes/sec
• Set alerts when CPU exceeds 85% or Available Memory drops below 2 GB
• Consider third-party monitoring tools (PRTG, SolarWinds, Datadog) for advanced alerting

Check for connection issues:

Event Viewer > Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > TerminalServices-LocalSessionManager > Operational
 
Look for:
- Event ID 21: Successful logon
- Event ID 23: Successful logoff
- Event ID 24: Disconnected session
- Event ID 40: Reconnected session
- Frequent disconnects may indicate network instability

Perform monthly:

• Verify Data utility (File > Utilities > Verify Data)
• Rebuild Data if errors found
• Check company file size - if over 500 MB, consider condensing
• Update QuickBooks to latest release
• Review user list and remove inactive users

Schedule Windows updates during off-hours (2-4 AM). Coordinate QuickBooks updates across all RDS users. Test updates on a staging server if possible before applying to production. Maintain a maintenance window calendar and notify users of scheduled downtime.