If you can't connect to a Windows virtual machine (VM), you can reset your local administrator password or reset the Remote Desktop Services configuration (not supported on Windows domain controllers). To reset the password, use either the Azure portal or the VM Access extension in Azure PowerShell. After you've signed in to the VM, reset the password for that local administrator.
If you're using PowerShell, make sure that you have the latest PowerShell module installed and configured and are signed in to your Azure subscription. You can also perform these steps for VMs created with the classic deployment model.
You can reset Remote Desktop Services and credentials in the following ways:
First, sign in to the Azure portal and then select Virtual machines on the left menu.
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Select your Windows VM and then select Reset password under Support + Troubleshooting. The Reset password window is displayed.
Select Reset password, enter a username and a password, and then select Update.
Try connecting to your VM again.
This process will enable Remote Desktop service in the VM, and create a firewall rule for the default RDP port 3389.
Select your Windows VM and then select Reset password under Support + Troubleshooting. The Reset password window is displayed.
Select Reset configuration only and then select Update.
Try connecting to your VM again.
First, make sure that you have the latest PowerShell module installed and configured and are signed in to your Azure subscription by using the Connect-AzAccount cmdlet.
Reset the administrator password or user name with the Set-AzVMAccessExtension PowerShell cmdlet. The typeHandlerVersion
setting must be 2.0 or greater, because version 1 is deprecated.
Note
If you enter a different name than the current local administrator account on your VM, the VMAccess extension will add a local administrator account with that name, and assign your specified password to that account. If the local administrator account on your VM exists, the VMAccess extension will reset the password. If the account is disabled, the VMAccess extension will enable it.
Reset remote access to your VM with the Set-AzVMAccessExtension PowerShell cmdlet. The following example resets the access extension named myVMAccess
on the VM named myVM
in the myResourceGroup
resource group:
Tip
At any point, a VM can have only a single VM access agent. To set the VM access agent properties, use the -ForceRerun
option. When you use -ForceRerun
, ensure you use the same name for the VM access agent that you might have used in any previous commands.
If you still can't connect remotely to your virtual machine, see Troubleshoot Remote Desktop connections to a Windows-based Azure virtual machine. If you lose the connection to the Windows domain controller, you will need to restore it from a domain controller backup.
If the Azure VM access extension fails to install you can troubleshoot VM extension issues.
If you're unable to reset the password using the VM access extension then you can reset the local Windows password offline. This method is more advanced and requires you to connect the virtual hard disk of the problematic VM to another VM. Follow the steps documented in this article first, and attempt the offline password reset method only if those steps don't work.
Learn about Azure VM extensions and features.
Connect to an Azure virtual machine with RDP or SSH.
Troubleshoot Remote Desktop connections to a Windows-based Azure virtual machine.
Azure cloud services are perfect for hosting VM’s and offer ways for businesses to drive IT costs lower. The advantages of VM’s cannot be minimized so creating and accessing them are very important to get up and running as soon as possible as well as gaining access to them with Remote Desktop. If you are getting started with Azure here are instructions to accomplish creation of a VM and then connect to your virtual environment.
For anyone in need of testing VM’s, Remote Desktop is part of the mix of helpful tools for using Azure hosting services or even developing a virtual footprint.
However, if you first try to use the connect button, you may find that it will be grayed out. In this case, you need to configure a Network Inbound Rule which will allow connectivity to the machine (via the firewall created with the VM). Creating these rules can be very important since you may have a variety of security configurations and concerns. The main idea is to create a rule that you will be able to use for a number of different VM’s. Also, regarding security, consider how many different IP addresses will be allowed to connect to your VM environment. For security purposes, the fewer addresses you allow the better, so plan appropriately.
To access Network Inbound Rules, find Network Security Group in your Azure Portal dashboard. You may well find that applying some basic rules to your future VM’s will be helpful. To complete creating the rule, you will need the port number used by RDP which is 3389. With this inbound rule now defined, you can use RDP to connect to your VM.
When using RDP be aware that there are a number of options available. These can range from local accounts to domain logons. It will be up to you to use Azure’s security to manage what accounts will have access over RDP to your VM’s. Policies can be set in place which allow regular users frequent access via domain accounts over the RDP client. Accounts used for support and management can be placed in a separate policy since these may have administrative access. Other account level access can also be managed through security policies which you can create.
Here are some quick instructions to connect with the RDP client:
Note that, unless the VM is a domain controller you will either use a local VM account or a domain user account. This means that if you are using a local account, you will enter the name of your VM as the domain name (vmnameusername). Otherwise, if the VM is a domain member, you will enter the domain name and account (domainusername). In both cases there should be a password for the account being use which you already have. If your VM is a domain controller you must login with the credentials for a domain administrator account. Click “Yes” to verify connectivity and you should be logged onto your VM.
VM’s are extremely handy tools for creating virtual desktops and servers, so when you begin your Azure experience make sure you understand how to create and access them. Using security best practices will help you manage users accessing the virtual network appropriately while keeping intrusions to a minimum. Because of the nature of the VM’s, RDP becomes an essential way to access them, so managing inbound rules with security groups and appropriately assigning user account security policies is most important. However, you can create and run VM’s very quickly in your environment with little trouble and begin building your virtual network.
To learn more about Azure products, RDP or RDS, contact the cloud experts at RoyalDiscount.com.