Question

I've just switched to Windows 7 from XP - under windows XP I had 2 shortcuts to mstsc.exe on my quick launch bar, and I want to do the same with Windows 7:

"Remote desktop connection" - mstsc.exe
"Console remote desktop connection" - mstsc.exe /console

Under Windows 7 however, this doesn't seem to be possible - It wont let me pin the same executable to the task bar twice (even though it has different command line arguments) - instead it just prompts me to remove the existing icon.

Is there a way to get around this?

Answer 1

There are loads of suggestions here to do it

Two fixes that I'm not happy with: 1) make a copy of the thunderbird.exe and rename it thunderburd.exe. Have one profile point to this copy. Works, but I have to remember to manually update the copy. 2) create a task in task scheduler and run the task link. Works, but it takes half a second longer to run and a DOS box pops up for a second as the program starts.

Answer 2

There are several ways I can think of doing this:

Disabling grouping:

1. Right click the task bar
2. On the task bar tab, find "Taskbar Buttons"
3. Change it to "Never Combine"

I don't like this method as it makes the task bar very messy.

Duplicate mstsc.exe

1. Browse to "C:\Windows\System32"
2. Find mstsc.exe and duplicate it
3. Rename the copy to mstsc2.exe
4. Goto "C:\Windows\System32\en-US"
5. Find mstsc.mui and duplicate it
6. Rename the copy to mstsc2.mui
7. Drag both of them into the TaskBar

This gives you two icons, but once you run them they will be both be grouped into the first icon.

Third Party Software

There are a number of Terminal Services / Remote Desktop, my preference is visionapp. These types of application will generally allow you to configure settings for each connections (such as connecting to the console) as well as giving you a usable UI for switching between them.

Answer 3

Would you like to recreate the Quick Launch toolbar? Then add or even find your shortcuts.

Copy this string into memory:

%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

Right click on the Taskbar, choose Toolbars and then New Toolbar. Now paste (the above string) into the Folder dialog box Click SAVE

Now you should see the chevrons of the Quick Launch bar at the right of the Taskbar. Finally, right-click on the Taskbar near the Start orb, select Properties, and turn off 'Lock the taskbar'.

See more about Quick Launch and toolbars here

Answer 4

Use mRemote, is better than mstsc, also it's free.