When Windows XP SP3 was officially out I eagerly installed without a problem, so I guess MS did something right this time. However a couple of months later, I needed the Remote Desktop client for work and there, MS blew up again or may I say as expected.

The pre-release version of Remote Desktop Connection has expired. To download the full version of Remote Desktop Connection, go to Windows Update or contact your system administrator.

What? Expired? Why? No Kidding!

Looking for clues, it seemed that there are two options for me to solve the situation, 1) download and install a standalone version Windows XP SP2 RC2 or later. Unfortunately MS has managed as expected to hide the download from the public sometime around March as any effort to download from their site means no joy. 2) Another option is to use a previous working version of mstsc.exe (the RDP client executable) stored at C:\WINDOWS\system32\dllcache\ with which I have gladly settled. Putting a shortcut of the file to my Desktop is better than chasing MS.

Stay tuned as I will continue to hunt for Windows XP SP3 RC2 download, and when I do find them I’ll post some links here.