How to Remove Computer Entries from Remote Desktop Connection History in Windows 10
You can use the Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc.exe) or Microsoft Remote Desktop app to connect to and control your Windows PC from a remote device. When you allow remote desktop connections to your PC, you can use another device to connect to your PC and have access to all of your apps, files, and network resources as if you were sitting at your desk.
After you use the Remote Desktop Connection tool to make a connection to another computer, the name of the computer to which you connected is added to the Computer drop menu in Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc.exe). This makes it easy for you to quickly select the same computer at a later time. However, the Remote Desktop Connection tool does not provide a way to clear the list of computers or remove one or more entries from the Computer drop menu.
See also: How to remove entries from the Remote Desktop Connection Computer box
This tutorial will show you how to remove entries from the Computer drop menu in the Remote Desktop Connection tool for your account in Windows 10.
EXAMPLE: "Computer" drop menu history in Remote Desktop Connection tool
Here's How:
1 Press the Win + R keys to open Run, type mstsc into Run, and click/tap on OK to open the Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) tool.
A) Right click on the RDC icon on your taskbar to open its jumplist.
B) If the computer (ex: "brink-laptop") you want to remove is pinned to the RDC jumplist, then Unpin from this list. (see screenshot below)
C) In the RDC jumplist, right click on the computer (ex: "brink-laptop") you want to remove, and click/tap on Remove from this list. (see screenshot below)
2 Delete the saved credentials of the computer (ex: "brink-laptop") you want to remove. (see screenshot below)
3 Close the Remote Desktop Connection tool. (see screenshot below)
4 Press the Win + R keys to open Run, type regedit into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Registry Editor.
5 Navigate to the RecentItems key at the location below in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search\RecentApps\{775B83BD-DEE7-41CF-8102-5EE010643FDC}\RecentItems
A) Select a GUID subkey (ex: "{94EE6771-D29E-42C8-B08A-F8FD086E8952}") under the RecentItems key in the left pane, and see if its DisplayName string value (REG_SZ) in the right pane is for the computer (ex: "brink-laptop") you want to remove from RDC.
B) When you find the correct GUID subkey (ex: "{94EE6771-D29E-42C8-B08A-F8FD086E8952}") for the computer (ex: "brink-laptop") you want to remove from RDC, right click or press and hold on the GUID subkey (ex: "{94EE6771-D29E-42C8-B08A-F8FD086E8952}"), and click/tap on Delete.
C) Click/tap on Yes to confirm. (see screenshot below)
6 Navigate to the Default key at the location below in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client\Default
A) In the right pane of the Default key, right click on the MRU# string value (REG_SZ) for the computer (ex: "brink-laptop") you want to remove from RDC, and click/tap on Delete.
B) Click/tap on Yes to confirm. (see screenshot below)
7 Navigate to the Servers key at the location below in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client\Servers
A) In the left pane under the Servers key. right click on the subkey (ex: "Brink-Laptop") that has the same name as the computer (ex: "brink-laptop") you want to remove from RDC, and click/tap on Delete.
B) Click/tap on Yes to confirm. (see screenshot below)
8 When finished, you can close Registry Editor if you like.
9 The next time you open the Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc) tool, the computer (ex: "brink-laptop") you removed will no longer be listed in the Computer drop menu. (see screenshots below)
That's it,
Shawn
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Remove Computer Entries from Remote Desktop Connection in Windows 10
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New #1
Just a heads up, for Step 7 the path you listed is incorrect:
You list: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client\Default\Servers
However, your own screenshot shows the path as: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client\Servers
Note that the "Default" folder is not part of the path. Otherwise thanks for the walkthrough!
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New #3
Simpler approach?
Hi. I was looking through my registry and found that my RDC computer names were stored not only under HKEY_CURRENT_USER but also under at least one of my HKEY_USERS keys. Not knowing that much about the registry, I began to wonder whether cleaning up all the clutter was necessary--or humanly possible.
Searching the interwebs further, I found this MIcrosoft support article. Even though it says it applies to Win Server 2012 R2, it covers removing the history from the RDC client, so it seemed worth a try. Sure enough, it worked.
So removing the MRU<#> value is the only registry change that's necessary, though I imagine that leaves a lot of registry entries floating around disconnected and never cleaned up.
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New #5
Yes, it seems like Microsoft should have tools to handle this sort of issue and keep the registry lean and mean.
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Not to belabor this issue ... I just thought I'd pass this along for those who, like me, are not fully versed in Windows registry wisdom.
The HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive is just an image of your account's (versus a different account's) registry info that's in HKEY_USERS.
So deleting the RDC keys for your account in either place is equivalent, as they are account-specific. I suppose if you're an administrator, you could work in HKEY_USERS to clean it up for other accounts, too.
Thanks again, Shawn!
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Remove Computer Entries from Remote Desktop Connection in Windows 10
How to Remove Computer Entries from Remote Desktop Connection History in Windows 10Published by Shawn BrinkCategory: Network & Sharing
17 Nov 2020
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