You may want to play audio or video sound from your VPS, but you cannot do so because of the virtual nature of the server. You cannot connect external speakers to VPS, but you can certainly route VPS audio to play through your local device.

You can do this by redirecting the VPS sound to the local device via the Remote Desktop protocol. This function is more useful when you run the Forex Trading application (MetaTrader) and don’t want to miss out on those critical Forex Notifications.

The following guide will allow you to redirect audio via the Remote Desktop client.

Remote Desktops

Remote Desktop is the ability to attach to and use a remote computer from a separate device. Remote desktop users can access their computer, open and edit files, and use the software as if they were sitting on their desktop computer.

Employees also use remote desktop software to control their work computers while traveling or working from home. The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is a protocol or technological specification for remote use of a desktop computer.

How to enable Audio over Remote Desktop

Remote Desktop Access is quite different from cloud computing, as both allow workers to work remotely. Cloud computing allows users to access files and programs that are stored in the cloud, specifically cloud servers.

By comparison, when using remote desktop software, users have access to their physical desktop device and can only use files and programs installed locally on that computer. Cloud computing is often simpler to use and more effective to adopt for remote employees, but many businesses have not switched to the cloud or are reluctant to do so for safety or regulatory reasons.

Remote desktop applications can use a variety of different protocols, including RDP, Independent Computing Architecture (ICA), and Virtual Network Computing (VNC), but RDP is the most widely used protocol.

RDP was originally released by Microsoft and is used on most Windows operating systems, but can also be used on Mac operating systems. One advantage of RDP is that it doesn’t need a VPN.

It also holds the data safely stored on the desktop of the user, instead of storing it on cloud servers or unsecured personal computers of the user. Besides, RDP allows companies with a legacy on-site IT frame to encourage their workers to work from home.
However, RDP can cause users to experience a lag, particularly if their local Internet connection is slow. This can frustrate remote workers and will their productivity. RDP also has some significant security flaws that leave it vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

Enable Audio over Remote Desktop

1. Launch your Remote Desktop
Knowing the Remote Desktop (RDP) procedure, you would be able to access your windows VPS as if it were a desktop computer in front of you. To use your remote desktop:

Press the “Start” menu or the “Windows” icon
Enter” mstsc.exe” in the search or cmd box.
This will bring the Remote Desktop Connection application up.
Enter your VPS IP address
Click on “Connect”
Enter the username (Administrator) and your password
Your IP address and password are both found in the setup email sent to you shortly after your VPS has been provided. Now you’re going to be able to access your VPS as if it was a desktop computer in front of you.

2. Test the Windows Audio Service
Now you need to check that the Windows Audio service is running on your VPS. Type “Services.msc” on the “Start” menu or the “Windows” icon and then click enter. When the “Services” window appears, find the “Windows Audio” service and double-click it.

Change the Start Type from Manual to Automatic Type and click OK. Now press the Play button to start the service straight away. Start to play something with your VPS, probability it’s going to work right now. If it doesn’t, move to the next step.

3. Enable Audio
First, open Remote Desktop, then press “Show Options.” Now click the Local Resources button. Under “Remote Audio,” press “Settings.” Ensure that Remote Audio Playback is set to “Play on this computer.”

Log in to a VPS server that requires audio enabled. If you hear the windows startup sound when you log in, skip to “Make sure that audio is configured correctly for all applications.” If you haven’t heard the windows startup sound proceed to the next step.

4. Set up RDP Properties
On the VPS, start tscc.msc on the remote computer. Open the Connections folder on the left panel. Right-click RDP-Tcp, choose Properties, then click the “Client Settings” tab.

Check the “Audio Mapping” checkbox. Notice that all checkboxes under this section are below a blur that says “Disable the following:” so anything checked here is disabled. By default, audio is disabled too.

Select OK, and then close the tsconfig. An alert may be produced that indicates this change will not take effect for any previously connected RDP sessions. Click on that, log out, and log back in.

You should hear the startup sound of the windows at this stage. And if still not, proceed to the next step.

5. Check the Audio for all Applications
Make sure the Audio is configured correctly for all applications. To do this, take the following steps:

On the VPS, open the sound control panel in “Sounds and Audio Devices.” Click the Audio tab and pick “Microsoft RDP Audio Driver” for the default playback machine, if not already selected.

Check the “Use Default Devices Only” checkbox at the bottom of the dialog and press the Voice tab. Pick “Microsoft RDP Audio Driver” for the default playback system, if not already selected, and then click OK.

It’s done and all of the VPS sounds will now be played on your local computer via an RDP connection.
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