Event ID 1028: The terminal server client has been disconnected because its license could not be renewed

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

If you are running a Windows Server 2003 terminal server, after you use the Windows Components Wizard in Add or Remove Programs to add or to remove a Windows component, an invalid registry value might be set in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\TerminalServer\Licensing Core\PolicyAcOn subkey on the terminal server. This invalid value might may unexpectedly change the Terminal Server Licensing mode and cause the terminal server to obtain only temporary licenses.

Cause

This problem might occur because the value of the PolicyAcOn registry entry changes from either 2 (the correct registry value for the Per Device licensing mode) or 4 (the correct registry value for the Per User licensing mode) to an invalid value of 0. This behavior causes the terminal server to attempt to obtain temporary Per Device licenses. In this case, if you view Terminal Services Configuration to verify the licensing mode, the licensing mode appears as Per Device. Therefore, to verify whether this problem is causing the client disconnection, you must verify the value of the PolicyAcOn registry entry.

Solution

To resolve this problem contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix described in Knowledge Base article 834651, Terminal Services licensing mode changes from Per User or from Per Device changes from Per User or from Per Device to an invalid value after you add or remove a Windows component, (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=48173) on the Microsoft Web site. This hotfix is applied to the terminal server. For information about how to contact Microsoft Product Support Services, see Help and Support (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=48149) on the Microsoft Web site.