How to Silently Install Remote Desktop

Save time and reduce user prompts by deploying Remote Desktop silently and consistently across managed Windows devices. This guide is built for IT admins who need a reliable, repeatable approach for Microsoft Corporation’s machine-wide MSI installer, including admin-rights considerations, how to use the verified silent install command, and how to validate deployment with an available detection rule. It’s a practical fit for packaging and rollout through Intune/SCCM/PDQ in enterprise environments.

msiexec /i "Microsoft.RemoteDesktopClient.1.2.7214.0.X64.msi" /qn REBOOT=ReallySuppress ALLUSERS=1

Overview

Silent install steps

Run any one of the methods below to install Remote Desktop silently with zero user interaction. Command Prompt and PowerShell produce the same result — use whichever fits your deployment workflow.

Method 1: Install with Command Prompt

1. Download or stage the installer (Microsoft.RemoteDesktopClient.1.2.7214.0.X64.msi) to a local folder, for example C:\Installers.

2. Open Command Prompt as Administrator:
   Press Start→Type cmd→Right-click Command Prompt→Choose Run as administrator

3. Switch to the installer folder, then run the silent install command:

msiexec /i "Microsoft.RemoteDesktopClient.1.2.7214.0.X64.msi" /qn REBOOT=ReallySuppress ALLUSERS=1

C:\> cd /d "C:\Installers"C:\Installers> msiexec /i "Microsoft.RemoteDesktopClient.1.2.7214.0.X64.msi" /qn REBOOT=ReallySuppress ALLUSERS=1Installing Remote Desktop 1.2.7214.0…100%Installation complete — exit code 0.C:\Installers> ▋

Method 2: Install with PowerShell

Run the same silent install through PowerShell (elevated).

1. Download or stage the installer (Microsoft.RemoteDesktopClient.1.2.7214.0.X64.msi) to a local folder, for example C:\Installers.

2. Open PowerShell as Administrator — right-click Start (or press Win+X), then:
   • On Windows 10: choose Windows PowerShell (Admin).
   • On Windows 11: choose Terminal (Admin) — it opens Windows Terminal running PowerShell.

3. Run the command:

Start-Process -FilePath "msiexec.exe" -ArgumentList '/i "Microsoft.RemoteDesktopClient.1.2.7214.0.X64.msi" /qn REBOOT=ReallySuppress ALLUSERS=1' -Wait -NoNewWindow

PS C:\> Set-Location 'C:\Installers'PS C:\Installers> Start-Process -FilePath "msiexec.exe" -ArgumentList '/i "Microsoft.RemoteDesktopClient.1.2.7214.0.X64.msi" /qn REBOOT=ReallySuppress ALLUSERS=1' -Wait -NoNewWindowInstalling Remote Desktop 1.2.7214.0…100%Installation complete — exit code 0.PS C:\Installers> ▋

Deployment Notes

Key facts to confirm before rolling this out to production machines — permissions required, scope of install, and reboot behavior.

Detection Rules

Configure your deployment tool with the detection rule below to confirm a successful install of Remote Desktop. The same rule work for Microsoft Intune, SCCM, PDQ Deploy, and most RMM platforms — just paste the values into the matching fields.

File detection

PowerShell detection script

Prefer a script-based check? Use this as a custom detection script in Microsoft Intune (or any tool that supports detection scripts). It exits 0 when Remote Desktop is detected and 1 otherwise.

$Path = "$env:ProgramFiles\Remote Desktop\msrdcw.exe"
if (Test-Path $Path) {
    $Version = (Get-Item $Path).VersionInfo.ProductVersion
    if ($Version -eq '1.2.7214.0') { exit 0 }
}
exit 1

Silent Uninstall Steps

Remove Remote Desktop silently from one machine or your entire fleet. The commands below uninstall without prompts and suppress automatic reboots so you control the timing.

Method 1: Uninstall with Command Prompt

Run the uninstall command from an elevated Command Prompt.

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. Run the silent uninstall command.

msiexec /x "{0002DC35-5DA4-471D-9282-EF27C8F9771B}" /qn REBOOT=ReallySuppress

Method 2: Uninstall with PowerShell

Run the same silent uninstall command through PowerShell.

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator.
2. Run the silent uninstall command.

Start-Process -FilePath "msiexec.exe" -ArgumentList '/x "{0002DC35-5DA4-471D-9282-EF27C8F9771B}" /qn REBOOT=ReallySuppress' -Wait -NoNewWindow

Deployment Examples

Drop one of the snippets below into your deployment tool, Group Policy, or scheduled task. Each script wraps the silent install command for Remote Desktop as a batch file or PowerShell script — copy, save, and run.

Batch file example

Save the following content as install-remote-desktop.bat in the same folder as the installer.

@echo off
cd /d "%~dp0"
msiexec /i "Microsoft.RemoteDesktopClient.1.2.7214.0.X64.msi" /qn REBOOT=ReallySuppress ALLUSERS=1
exit /b %errorlevel%

PowerShell script example

Save the following content as install-remote-desktop.ps1 in the same folder as the installer.

Set-Location -Path $PSScriptRoot
$Installer = 'Microsoft.RemoteDesktopClient.1.2.7214.0.X64.msi'
& msiexec.exe /i $Installer /qn REBOOT=ReallySuppress ALLUSERS=1
exit $LASTEXITCODE

Frequently asked questions

Troubleshooting

If the install fails, exits with a non-zero code, or leaves no trace on the target machine, work through the checks below. Most issues come down to permissions, paths, or exit code handling.