Remote Acquisition Troubleshooting

I get an error when my login credentials does not require a password

For security reasons, Windows does not allow remote access with a blank password by default, even if it is permitted when logging in locally.

The obvious workaround is to set a password for the account. Otherwise, this security setting can be disabled as follows:

1. Press Windows+R to open the “Run” box. Type gpedit.msc, and then press ENTER
2. Navigate to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options
3. Change Accounts: Limit local accounts use of blank passwords to console logon only to Disabled

I get an "Access Denied" error even though my login credentials are correct

This may occur if the remote machine is not under a domain. In Windows Vista or newer, User Account Control (UAC) restricts remote access using an account from the local Administrators group. This is a security mechanism which prevents remote attacks from malicious parties with login credentials for a local Administrative account. This mechanism is described in further detail in the following article:

User Account Control and remote restrictions - Windows Server | Microsoft Docs

UAC restrictions do not apply if it is a domain user with Administrative access.

To disable UAC restrictions on the remote machine, the following steps need to be performed:

1. Press Windows+R to open the “Run” box. Type regedit, and then press ENTER
2. Navigate to the following registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
3. Locate the LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy registry entry. If it doesn't exist, create one by opening the right-click menu and selecting New > DWORD (32-bit) Value
4. Double click LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy to modify the value
5. Type 1 in the Value data field
6. Exit Registry Editor

I see the remote machine under Network but get "Remote PC not found" error

Remote Acquisition requires File and Printer Sharing to be enabled. This can be found under Network and Sharing Center > Advanced sharing settings.