Windows System Management Software

Remote Control Tool (TightVNC)

How to troubleshoot "This server does not have a valid password enabled" message?

When I try to launch the remote control with TightVNC, I get the following message: "This server does not have a valid password enabled. Until a password is reset, incoming connections cannot be accepted", and I can't take the control of the remote host.

When trying to remote control from our software, TightVNC is launched as a service and not in "user mode".

When the 'VNCServer' service is starting on the remote host, the program try to read the registry under"HKLM\Software\ORL\WinVNC3\Default\Password" in order to get the password required for establishing the connection.

If you get the following message : "This server does not have a valid password enabled. Until a password is reset, incoming connections cannot be accepted", it means that the application has failed when reading the "password" value into the registry (the application does not have premissions to read or write to this value).

Please check the following steps on the remote host before launching the remote connection :

• Make sure the "Remote Procedure Calls (RPC)" service is up and running.
• Make sure the "Remote Registry" service is up and running.

The states of these services can be directly checked from our software, or by executing 'services.msc' in command line on the remote host.

• Make sure there is not any firewall which is blocking the TightVNC communication.

Read more : Windows XP firewall - Windows Vista firewall - Windows 7 firewall

• If the problem has not been resolved, there is maybe a conflict with the TightVNC communication port (by default 5900). From our software try to configure TightVNC to use another port (for example 59xx). Do not forget then to open this port in your firewall.
• If the problem still exists, try to "manually" create on the remote host the "password" value into the registry. This value is a REG_BINARY and should be created under "HKLM\Software\ORL\WinVNC3\Default\". Just create this value, and leave it blank.