How to fix Remote Desktop Connection unable to open the connection file on Windows

Remote Desktop is a Windows built-in remote access tool Windows that allows you to connect remotely from anywhere. But RDP is not stable enough, for example, the problem described in the case above is that RDP cannot open the connection file. To solve this problem, you need to identify the cause of the problem first and then take the appropriate solutions.

In fact, Default.rdp is the default connection file created by Remote Desktop Connection, and it is mostly used to keep your connection settings, such as IP address and login, to make it easier to use this tool.

If you’re having trouble with a remote desktop unable to open the connection file, it’s most likely because of the Default. This article will look at how to fix the above problem.

Method 1. Delete the connection file that can’t be opened

For the reason that the connection file is corrupted, you can simply delete the corrupted connection file and recreate a new connection file by running RDP.

In the This PC section select View -> Hidden items to show hidden items

Step 1. Open This PC on the desktop, navigation: C: Users/Administrator/Documents

Step 2. Find the Default.rdp connection file that cannot be opened in the window below, right-click it and select Delete.

Step 3. Search Remote Desktop Connection in the search box, enter the IP address and user name of the remote PC, click Connect, and enter the user password in the Windows security pop-up window, and confirm again to realize the remote connection.

Step 4. Return to the previous navigation path and double-click the automatically created Default.rdp to verify that the connection file is working properly. Then the issue “Remote Desktop unable to open connection file” can be fixed easily.

Method 2. Rename the files that cannot be connected

Step 1. Navigation: C: Users/Administrator/Documents

Step 2. Right-click the Default.rdp file that cannot be connected, and select Rename in the expanded menu.

Step 3. Change the file name to default.rdp.old and press Enter to confirm the change. Open RDC again, enter the IP address and user name of the remote computer, click Connect, and a new connection file will be automatically generated.

Step 4. Navigate to the Documents folder, find and double-click the new connection file automatically generated by RDP, and see if it can be opened normally.

Method 3. Use another new user’s connection file

When default.rdp is corrupted, it will affect the remote connection. You can create a new Windows user account and save the existing connection settings as a new connection file instead. After that, RDP cannot to open the connection file can be fixed easily.

Step 1. Create a new user account and log in to the local computer. Press the Win+R key combination and type mstsc.exe, hit OK.

Step 2. Click Show options, then find the Connection Settings section, click Save As… option, and save the RDP file to another location.

Step 3. Next, find the RDP file you saved, double-click it to open it, and see if the connection file is working properly.

Conclusion

In our case after performing the above steps, we did not see the error again.

Hopefully, this article will be useful for you. Good luck!