How to Fix when your Remote Desktop Copy/Paste is not working?
In the morning of a cold winter day, after having breakfast and drinking a cup of coffee, you open your laptop according to your daily routine to connect to the virtual server. While working, you suddenly see that the remote desktop paste option is grayed out and does not work, and you cannot transfer files between your system and the virtual server. Well, the best time to solve this problem is today.
In the remote desktop connection, the user is able to transfer files directly between his system and the destination server at high speed. The occurrence of a paste problem is a common and troublesome thing because it reduces the efficiency of the user and the server. This problem can be from the client side or the destination server. Various reasons such as Windows registry settings or remote desktop not being active, can play a role in this issue. You don’t need programming knowledge and expertise to solve this problem and you can solve it in a few minutes.
In the remote desktop connection between the virtual server and your computer system, you may have encountered the problem of copy-paste not working. By default, this remote connection is established through “Remote Desktop Connection” software, which is a product of Microsoft. Of course, in previous tutorials, we have introduced some of the best remote desktop software.
To solve the problem of disabling Copy/Paste in remote desktop, the first and easiest way is to restart the Windows virtual server. If the problem is solved, you do not need to do anything else. Otherwise, try the methods mentioned in the rest of this article.
Why doesn’t Copy/Paste work in Remote Desktop?
Several reasons can be behind files and texts not being copied in remote connection or Remote Desktop/RDP. When this problem occurs, you are able to move the files on your computer, but you cannot do this on the virtual server (you do not have a copy server).
After restarting the server and not solving the problem of paste not working, if you suspect that you have not activated the remote desktop correctly, I suggest you go through the activation process and connect to the remote desktop. Another reason could be the disabled access to the clipboard on other devices.
We suggest that you test the problem of copy-paste not working through another computer in remote desktop to determine whether the problem is on the client system side or on the server side.
Sometimes, some services not working properly can also be a problem. For example, the rdpclip.exe service is responsible for the main task of copying and pasting. Restarting or changing its settings usually solves the problem of disabling Copy/Paste in Remote Desktop.
In addition to the above reasons, changes in the Windows registry and Group Policy policies can also disable copy paste in Remote Desktop Connection.
Do not worry about how to solve the problem of copy-paste not working in remote desktop because it does not require programming knowledge. You can easily solve the problem by performing the following methods, all of which are explained with the image.
Solving the problem of Copy/Paste not working in remote desktop
Although the problem of copy-paste not working is usually solved after performing two or three methods below, but as a precaution, we explain 7 cases in this article along with pictures. These methods include things like updating the network driver, changing the clipboard settings, and enabling Clipboard Redirection.
First method: enable copy-paste in Remote Desktop connection
Sometimes applying incorrect settings in Remote Desktop will cause copy paste not to work. For this reason, first we need to make sure that the remote desktop connection is active and then check its settings. This method consists of 6 steps as follows:
1. Remote desktop activation
Go to settings and System > Remote Desktop.
Turn the Remote Desktop feature from Off to On and click on the confirm button in the message that is displayed.
2. Start remote desktop connection
Start the remote desktop connection by searching for the term Remote Desktop Connection in the search bar of the menu or typing mstsc.exe in the Application Launcher application box.
3. Check Remote Desktop settings
After the remote desktop window opens, click on Show options.
4. Activate the clipboard
In the window that opens like the image below, do the mentioned actions in order.
At the beginning, click on Local Resources at the top of the window. In the Keyboard section, select Only when using the full-screen option from the available menu. This will allow you to use CTRL+C and CTRL+V to copy and paste with the keyboard.
In the Local Devices and resources section, if the box next to Clipboard is not ticked, click on it so that the tick appears. At the end, press the More button.
5. Enable access to computer disk drives in Remote Desktop settings
In order to activate the copy-paste feature, access to disk drives must be enabled in the remote desktop settings. For this purpose, in the window that appears, find the Drives option and if the square next to it does not have a tick, click on it so that it is ticked and this feature is activated.
Enable access to computer disk drives in Remote Desktop settings
6. Save changes
Now it is enough to save the applied settings. For this reason, go to the General tab of the Remote Desktop software window and click the Save button in the Connection Settings section. Now the changes are saved and by pressing the Connect button you can connect to the virtual server through remote desktop and check the copy paste working.
Second method: Kill and restart the rdpclip.exe program
Stopping and restarting rdpclip.exe is the most reliable and common method to solve the problem of Copy/Paste not working in Remote Desktop. For this purpose:
1. Right-click on the Start window and select the Task Manager option to open the corresponding window.
2. Click the Processes tab, find the RDP Clipboard Monitor process, and click End Task.
3. After finishing RDP Clipboard Monitor, click on the File tab and select Run New Task.
4. Type rdpclip.exe in the field and click OK.
Stop and restart the rdpclip.exe program
After completing this process, you will no longer have a problem with the paste not working, and you can easily copy and paste between your operating system and the destination.
The third method: activate Clipboard Redirection in the registry of the source system
Incorrect remote desktop settings in the Windows registry are another factor in copy paste not working. Therefore, checking Remote Desktop settings in the registry and enabling Clipboard Redirection in the source system can help solve the problem of disabling Copy/Paste in Remote Desktop.
Note: Before making any changes in the Windows registry, prepare a backup file from the Registry Editor.
1. Run Registry Editor
First, we need to run the Windows Registry Editor so that we can make changes in its settings. For this purpose, press the Windows + R combination buttons in the Windows environment to open the Run window. Type regedit in the empty field and click the Ok button.
If the confirmation message appears, click Yes.
2. Correcting and checking registry settings
Enter the following phrase in the address field of the registry:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services
After entering and going to the above address, you will see a file under the name Default on the right side like the picture below:
Click in the empty space on the right side of the window and click New. Then select DWORD (32-bit) Value in the menu that appears.
Correcting and checking Registery settings
Now rename the new DWORD file to Disable Clipboard Redirection.
3. Activation of Clipboard Redirection
With the Disable Clipboard Redirection feature enabled, you will not be able to move the file between your system and the server. Therefore, it is necessary to disable this feature to solve the problem of not copying and pasting in Remote Desktop.
Double-click the Disable Clipboard Redirection file to open a special window for this file. Enter 0 / zero in the Value data field and click OK to disable this feature.
Restart your system and then test the copy-paste function between the source and destination system.
Note: If after entering the file address that we described in step 2 of this method, there is a file named Disable Clipboard Redirection next to the default file, double-click on it and make sure its Value data is set to zero.
If you failed to change its value, right-click in the empty space on the right and select New and then DWORD (32-bit) Value. Now rename the Disable Clipboard Redirection file to DWORD and set its Value to 0 to solve the problem.
Fourth method: Activating Clipboard Redirection on the remote server
As we activated the Clipboard Redirection feature in the source system, we can also activate it in the remote server to solve the problem of disabling Copy/Paste in the remote desktop. Therefore, follow the steps below:
1. Entering the registry section
Enter the registry environment by pressing the Windows + R buttons, entering regedit in the empty box and pressing the Ok button.
If the confirmation message appears, click Yes.
2. rdpwd settings
In the address bar of the registry editor, enter the following phrase and go to this address:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\Wds\rdpwd
On the right side of the file window, find fDisableClip and set its Value to 0. Then click Ok.
3. RDP-Tcp settings
Go to the following address in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp
In this section, change the value of the fDisableClip file to 0.
4. Final review
Restart your system and then check to solve the problem of not copying and pasting on the server.
The fifth method: solving the problem of not copying and pasting in the remote desktop through Group Policy
If the problem of not copying and pasting on the server remains unresolved after performing the above steps, there is a possibility that a policy in Group Policy has prevented this feature. Therefore, we need to make sure that Clipboard Redirection is enabled in Group Policy.
Attention:
- This method can only be used in professional and server versions of Windows.
- Apply the changes described below to both the source and destination systems.
1. Press the Windows + R keys to bring up the Run window.
2. Type gpedit.msc in the empty field and press the Enter button. If the confirmation window appears, click Yes.
3. Go to the following address through the opened window:
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Remote Desktop Services\Remote Desktop Session Host\Device and Resource Redirection
4. In the right environment, open the Do not allow Clipboard redirection policy.
5. Change the settings of this policy to Disabled. Then click the Apply and OK buttons respectively.
The default setting of this policy is set to Not Configured. By changing it to Disabled mode, we enable users to copy and paste files in both client and remote desktop environments.
6. Exit the Group Policy Editor environment and enter the Command Prompt environment as Administrator. Run the gpupdate /force command to update the group policy. It is recommended to restart your system as well.
Sixth method: Change clipboard settings
Clipboard is a place where copied content is temporarily placed while moving from one place to another. Clipboard itself has settings that include the option to enable or disable this feature. If the copy paste problem is still not solved, it is better to check the clipboard settings.
1. Enter Windows settings by pressing Win+I buttons. Then go to the System section and then enter the Clipboard section.
2. In the window that opens, click the Get Started button on the right side of the Share Across Devices section. You may need to sign in to your Microsoft account or enter your password for validation.
3. Now, in the opened window, change the mode of the sync across your devices option to On. Through the two options below, you can set the sync mode to automatic or manual modes.
Seventh method: updating Windows Network drivers
Outdated and not working correctly Windows Network drivers can also be another reason for copy paste not working. It is better to update the drivers periodically. You can do this by following the steps below.
Also, if you need to remove and reinstall the drivers, we have explained how to do it in the final steps of this method.
1. Enter the Quick Access menu environment by pressing the Win + X buttons at the same time.
2. Select Device Manager from the opened menu.
3. Double click on Network adapters.
4. Right-click on the driver that needs to be updated and select Update Driver to start the update process.
5. In the window that appears, click on Search automatically for the updated driver software option.
Now Windows will automatically check the latest available updates for the driver and update it if there is a newer version.
Follow the steps below to uninstall and reinstall the drivers:
- Open the Network adapters section in the Device Manager window.
- Right-click on the driver you want to remove and select Uninstall device.
After removing the driver, in the Action tab, click Scan for hardware changes. With this, Windows will automatically check the drivers and install the deleted driver separately.
Save the changes and restart your system.
Conclusion
The ability to copy and paste between the client and the VPS increases the speed of doing things and improves the server’s efficiency, and its failure leads to the opposite results.
Now that you are reading this part of the article, I hope you have managed to solve the problem of disabling Copy/Paste in Remote Desktop and continue to enjoy your cup of coffee.
