Vista – How To Disable the Remote Desktop Warning: “Remote Desktop cannot verify the identity of the computer you want to connect to…”

The Remote Desktop client on Vista gives a REALLY annoying warning message every time you connect to a preVista computer such as a server running Windows 2003. The warning message looks like the one in the picture below:

Remote Desktop Warning

You can get rid of this warning message by editing the registry or configuring a setting in the client itself. Here is how you do it by editing the Vista registry:

1. Open up the registry editor

2. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client

3. Add a new “DWORD” entry named “AuthenticationLevelOverride” and assign it a value of “0” (zero).

4. You should now no longer get that annoying warning message.

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Here is how you do it by configuring a setting in the Remote Desktop Client:

1. Click on “Options”

2. Click on the “Advanced Tab”

3. In “Authentication Options”, select “Always connect, even if authentication fails”

Vista – Open Command Prompt Here Menu Option

In Windows XP you could install an enhancement (Power Toy) which would display a menu option named “Open Command Window Here” whenever you right-clicked on a folder icon. This would allow you to launch a shell already changed to the folder you right-clicked on. This feature is built into Vista. Just hold down the SHIFT key while right-clicking on a folder icon and you will see the menu option “Open Command Window Here”.

Zune – Sync using different software

zAlternator Screenshot

zAlternator allows you to sync your Zune with software other than the Zune software like Windows Media Player, iTunes, Winamp, or Media Monkey. You can read more about zAlternator at this link.

And here is a description of the application from it’s homepage:

“Finally, a release candidate of zAlternator is here! Yay! zAlternator is a program that will allow the Zune to be picked up and synced with programs other than the Zune program. It has been fully tested and proven to allow the Zune to be picked up and synced with the Zune program (duh), Windows Media Player 11, Winamp, and MediaMonkey. I have been unable to fully test the iTunes side of the program, but hopefully it should work.”

Zune – Installing Zune 2 Software in Windows XP Professional x64

Update: These instructions still work when installing the recently released Zune 2.5 software.

Microsoft currently does not support Zune software being installed on Windows XP Professional x64. The only 64-bit operating system the software officially supports is Vista 64-bit edition. However there is a hack to get the Zune 2 software to work with Windows XP Pro x64 and the syncing with the Zune device works as well. The instructions for doing this are available on this blog post.

Here is a copy of the instructions which appear on the blog site (without the screenshots):

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