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Q200430: SMS: Explanations of Remote Control Screen Acceleration

Article: Q200430
Product(s): Microsoft Systems Management Server
Version(s): winnt:2.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbtshoot kbsms200 smsremtshoot kbRemoteProg
Last Modified: 06-AUG-2002

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Systems Management Server version 2.0 
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IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you 
modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore 
the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the 
registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SUMMARY
=======

Before the current upgrades to Windows NT, capturing video for use in a Remote
Control session was a simple matter of capturing video from the driver itself.
Later versions of Windows NT have video hooks moved into the operating system
kernel.

CAUTION: Loading new video driver names into the Windows NT Accelerated Drivers
List may result in unexpected Blue Screen error messages. Test the compatibility
of each new video driver name on a single client with a matching version of the
video driver before adding a new name to the accelerated list. Be sure that
testing has been performed on a smaller scale before implementing acceleration
of a new driver across your enterprise.

MORE INFORMATION
================

Video Acceleration is determined by two items: 1) whether the video card is
"resolved" to be similar enough to be accelerated by a driver in the "Video
Accelerator" and 2) Video acceleration is turned ON. The list of video cards and
drivers that can be accelerated is located on the Systems Management Server
primary site under the following tree structure:

1. Start Systems Management Server Administrator Console.

2. In the Administrator UI, locate SITES, select your site
  <site_code>:<site_name>, click Site Settings, and then click
  Client Agents.

3. Right-click Remote Control Client Configuration in the Results pane.

4. Click Properties on the shortcut menu.

5. Click the Advanced tab and select "Install accelerated transfer on Windows NT
  clients".

6. Click Apply and then click OK.

The Advanced tab also contains the list of video cards that can be accelerated.
You can theoretically add to this list. Deleting items on this list removes them
from video cards that will be accelerated -- even if acceleration is enabled
globally.

Acceleration on computers running Windows NT is accomplished with either the
Idisntkm.sys (for Windows NT 4.0) or Idisnt.sys (for Windows 3.51). The
appropriate driver for the operating system is loaded into the appropriate
<Winroot>\System32 directory (<Winroot>\System32\Drivers for Windows
NT 4.0) and installed as a service to manage video acceleration during a Remote
Control session. At no other time is the acceleration a factor in the Windows NT
computer. Although the driver is loaded and running, it is not "used" except
during an accelerated Remote Control session.

The actual "evaluation" process to determine whether a client's video card can be
accelerated happens at the time Remote Control is installed to the client. To
see if acceleration is enabled on a particular client, check the registry key
below.

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems
that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot
guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor
incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

1. Using either Regedt32.exe or Regedit.exe, locate the following key:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Hardware\Devicemap\Video

2. Check each of the "\Device\Video0" keys (note that there may be one or two of
  these) and take note of the Services\<video driver>\Device0 key on
  each.

3. Using the previous key(s) as pointers, now go to the following key:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\<key value from Step 2 above>\Device0

4. Make sure the InstalledDisplayDrivers key is set to either an entry by itself
  (as in "VGA") or multiple entries separated by a single space (as in "idisnt
  vga idisnt vga256").

Alternatively, if it is present and visible on the client's desktop, double-click
the Remote Control indicator icon to get the status display window. If
acceleration is loaded, the Remote Control status window will show that
acceleration is loaded in the appropriate status line.

Additional query words: prodsms

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbtshoot kbsms200 smsremtshoot kbRemoteProg 
Technology        : kbSMSSearch kbSMS200
Version           : winnt:2.0
Issue type        : kbinfo

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