Could not connect sessionID 0 to sessionname console .bat from psexec - windows

Question

I'm attempting to force a VM to log the current user out and send the session to the console via running a .bat script.
I can get this working if I manually run a .bat file on the VM which contains the following:
%windir%\System32\tscon.exe 0 /dest:console
However, when using psexec or paexec to call the same .bat:
c:\>psexec.exe \\virtualmachine -u domain\username -p password -h cmd /c
c:\user\atest\desktop\test.bat
I get an access denied:
Could not connect sessionID 0 to session name console, Error code 5
Error [5]:Access is denied. C:\windows\system32\tscon.exe exited on
virtualmachine with error code 1.
Alternatively, I've tried (same result):
C:\>PsExec.exe \\virtualmachine -u domain\username -p password -h
C:\windows\system32\tscon.exe 0 /dest:console
I'm not sure where I'm going wrong, because this starts iexplore.exe fine:
C:\>PsExec.exe \\virtualmachine -u domain\username -p password -h "c:\program files\internet explorer\iexplore.exe"

Answer 1

The problem was because the user was connected via RDP, it was not session 0. I had to run "query user" to get the session ID of the RDP connection, then pass that into PsExec using "-i" like so:
C:\>PsExec.exe -s -i $id \\virtualmachine c:\windows\system32\tscon.exe $id /dest:console
Because this is running as system (-s) I didn't need to pass in any authentication.
This answer helped me with the concept of sessions, hope it helps someone else.

Answer 2

I had a batch file that worked for years ending a RDP session and leaving the host screen unlocked, it had conditions for sessionid's 0 through 10 just in case. Then this week after a windows update loaded it stopped working and I kept getting 7045 errors in the results of the batch file. The RDP session would close but the host machines screen was locked. The host machine runs a message board so this was not acceptable and the machine is mounted to the ceiling so no mouse or keyboard is possible.
I searched a ton and found nothing that worked more than once if it worked at all. Then I found this by chance, and when I ran this power shell command my problem was solved. It works great so far and better yet you don't have to know the sessionID or name, or pass a password in a text or batch file.
#powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy unrestricted -Command "$sessionid=((quser $env:USERNAME | select -Skip 1) -split '\s+')[2]; tscon $sessionid /dest:console" 2> UnlockErrors.log
Just copy the script into a text file, rename it something.cmd then create a shortcut to it on the hosts desktop and go to the properties and select advanced and have it run as administrator. Easy. Works on win7 pro. I found the script here https://steamcommunity.com/groups/homestream/discussions/0/617335934139051123/?ctp=5

Answer 3

I also faced the same issue with the following command
Command – tscon SessionID /dest:console /password: ****
Resolution: I worked a lot and finally got to know the issue is with password. i.e. the password length should not be greater than 13 characters. But in this case password = 20 characters.
Later I changed the password to ****(12 characters) and issue got resolved.

Answer 4

If you are not a local administrator of the VM, you won't be able to do this. The session I was logged-in with was not a local admin, but when running the shortcut "as an administrator", I tried using another account that was a local admin (when prompted). However, this doesn't work. The account you are moving to the console session is the one you are logged-in with, but if you use a different account for the shortcut elevation, TSCON will try using that account instead.