Last updated: September 14, 2026tiCrypt 2.17.9

Connect and Access

Connecting to a virtual machine opens a remote desktop session against a live instance. Starting a configuration and connecting to it are two different actions: starting spawns the machine and decides who owns it, while connecting opens a session on a machine that is already running.

Why starting a VM matters more than connecting to it

Whoever starts the VM becomes its Owner for that session. The Owner controls all access to the machine and its drives for as long as it runs. Co-owners listed in the configuration are added automatically with the Co-Owner role, but only the user who actually started it is the Owner. If a co-owner later restarts the machine, they become the Owner and the previous Owner reverts to Co-Owner. See VM Roles and Permissions.

Shutting down is cheap and safe. The machine boots from a clean image that resets on every restart, and your data lives on encrypted drives rather than in the machine. Shutting a VM down at the end of the day loses nothing and returns its CPU and memory to your team's allocation. There is no reason to leave a machine running to protect work in progress, provided that work is on a drive.

A stopped VM is required for configuration changes. Editing or deleting a configuration, and changing a project tag, all require the instance to be powered off, because those properties are applied when drives are mounted at boot.

Before you begin

• You have the Spawn VMs permission and access to the relevant drive keys.
• The Connect Application is installed. See Get Started.
• Your team has CPU and memory quota available for the hardware setup you selected.

Access a Virtual Machine via Remote Desktop Connection (RDP)

1. Go to the Virtual Machines icon in the top left taskbar.
2. Click the VMs section on the top left panel.
3. In the left panel, select the connected virtual machine to access.
4. Click the Start Remote Desktop button.
5. In the prompt, click the Copy button next to your username and password.
6. Paste the credentials into your RDP client.
7. Click Close.

tip

Click the Copy Password button when you only need the password to perform an RDP connection.

Confirmations, Errors & Solutions

Tunnelling to RDP Confirmation

Tunneling to vm-nametotal-time-to-tunnel.

RDP Started Successfully

Started RDP application and copied password to clipboard.

Copied Username Confirmation

Username copied to clipboard.

Copied Password Confirmation

Password copied to clipboard.

Windows Remote Desktop Connection Warning

The publisher of this remote connection can't be identified. Do you want to connect anyway?

Click Connect.

Second Windows Remote Desktop Connection Warning

The publisher of this remote connection can't be identified. Do you want to connect anyway?

The server name on the certificate is incorrect. The certificate is not from a trusted certifying authority.

Click Yes.

Start Remote Desktop Button is Inactive in Virtual Machine

The Start Remote Desktop button is inactive in Virtual Machines' right panel.

Ask Remote Desktop Permissions from VM Owner

Ask the VM owner to allow you to start a remote desktop connection.

To Virtual Machine Owner
To grant VM users permission to start Remote Desktop Connections:  

1. In the VMs section, click the virtual machine where you want to update a user's remote desktop permissions.
2. Click the VM Settings and Details option in the bottom center.
3. In the new window, select the Users section in the left panel.
4. Next, select the appropriate user, then click the Open full menu button in the top-right panel.
5. Select Edit user access.
6. In the pop-up, set the profile to Custom.
7. Scroll down under Permissions, and tick Remote application access Allows VM application access from user desktop.
8. Click Save.

Insufficient Permissions to Start Remote Desktop Connection

Failed to get drive info: insufficient permissions: drives:list: missing permission:{PermDrives}.

Ask VM Owner For List VM Drives Access

Ask the VM owner to grant you access to the VM drives.

To Virtual Machine Owner
To grant a VM user permission to list VM drives in the Virtual Machine:  

1. In the VMs section, click the virtual machine where you want to update a user's remote desktop permissions.
2. Click the VM Settings and Details option in the bottom center.
3. In the new window, select the Users section in the left panel.
4. Next, select the appropriate user, then click the Open full menu button in the top-right panel.
5. Select Edit user access.
6. In the pop-up, set the role to Manager.
7. Scroll down under Permissions, and tick Drives List, format, mount and unmount drives.
8. Click Save.

The Server Failed to Start Remote Desktop Connection

Failed at failure-time: 500 Internal Server Error (open console for more details).

Ask System Admin to Debug VM

Ask the system admin to check the local ports to the VM and the proxy via your-institution-deployment-application.

Reset Connection of a Remote Desktop (RDP)

1. Go to the Virtual Machines icon in the top left taskbar.
2. Click the VMs section on the top left panel.
3. In the left panel, select the virtual machine to reset the RDP connection.
4. Click the Start Remote Desktop button.
5. In the prompt, click the Reset Connection button.
6. Once done, click Close.

danger

Resetting an RDP connection disrupts running applications and ongoing SFTP transfers.

Confirmations, Errors & Solutions

Connection Reset Successfully

Started RDP application and copied password to clipboard.

Turn On a Virtual Machine

1. Go to the Virtual Machines icon in the top left taskbar.
2. Click the VMs section on the top left panel.
3. In the left panel, select the virtual machine to turn on.
4. Click the Start VM button in the top right.

Confirmations, Errors & Solutions

Started Virtual Machine Successfully

Started vm-name.

Drive Problems in Virtual Machine

There are problems with drives attached to attached-drive-name. Drive is not shared with you.

Ask VM Owner to Share Drive with You

Ask the VM owner to share the drive with you before you attempt to turn on the virtual machine.

To Virtual Machine Owner
To share a drive, follow the steps in 

Share a Drive with Other Users.

Failed to Connect to Home Drive

Failed at failure-time: you do not have a read-write access to the home drive.

Ask VM Owner to Share Read-write Access to Home Drive

You need read-write access to the home drive before you can turn on the VM. Ask the VM owner to share the drive with you.

To Virtual Machine Owner
To share a drive, follow the steps in 

Give Full-Access (Read-Write) of a Drive to a User.

Failed to Turn On Project-Tagged Virtual Machine

Your membership is not active in this VM configuration's project.

Ask VM Owner to Add You to Project

Ask the VM owner to add you to the project tagging the virtual machine. Additionally, ask the VM owner to share with you the project-tagged drives associated with the same project-tagged virtual machine.

To Virtual Machine Owner
You must ensure the drives are tagged with the same project when turning on a project-tagged VM. To add the same project-tagged drives to your project-tagged VM: 

1. Go to the Virtual Machines icon in the top left taskbar.
2. Click the VMs section on the top left panel.
3. In the left panel, click the stopped virtual machine to add its associated project-tagged drives.
4. In the left panel, click the Open Full Menu button next to the virtual machine.
5. Select Edit.
6. In the pop-up, scroll down under Home Drive section.
7. Click the home drive field and select an existing drive from the list with the same project tag.
8. Optionally, click Create new drive to create a new project-tagged home drive from scratch.
9. Once done, click Save.

Connect to a Virtual Machine

1. Go to the Virtual Machines icon in the top left taskbar.
2. Click the VMs section on the top left panel.
3. In the left panel, select the virtual machine to connect to.
4. Click the Connect VM button.

note

• Ensure the virtual machine is turned on before connecting.
• You may be required to enter your password upon connection.

Connect first, then do everything else. Remote Desktop, the terminal, and file transfers all run through the connection established here. None of them are available until the VM shows as connected, so a missing RDP or transfer option usually means this step has not completed rather than that the feature is unavailable.

Confirmations, Errors & Solutions

Connected to Virtual Machine Successfully

Starting VM from vm-config-name(total-time-to-start).

Attach Drives to Virtual Machine Successfully

Attach/mount home-drive-name to vm-config-name(total-time-to-attach).

Drive Problems in Virtual Machine

This VM has no attached home drive. Most functionality does not work without an attached home drive, and has been hidden.

Try to Repair Drive And Ask The VM Owner

There are two approaches to fix this error.

1. Click the Repair button in the top-right prompt to attempt to repair the drives.

Failed to Attach/Mount Home Drive

First attempt to attach/mount home drive failed (will retry once): No key available for drive drive-string-id.

2. If you triggered the above error, ask the VM owner to add a home drive to the VM and share the home drive with you.

To Virtual Machine Owner
To add a drive, follow the steps in 

Attach an Existing Drive to an Existing VM.

Coming from a shared computing cluster?

In tiCrypt, you connect to a full VM rather than SSH-ing into a shared login node. See Shared Computing to tiCrypt for a concept-by-concept mapping of how VM access replaces traditional SSH workflows.

Open a Virtual Machine's Terminal Hub

1. Go to the Virtual Machines icon in the top left taskbar.
2. Click the VMs section on the top left panel.
3. In the left panel, click the virtual machine to open its terminal.
4. Click the Open Terminal option in the center.
5. Use the terminal console.

Confirmations, Errors & Solutions

Open Terminal Button is Inactive in Virtual Machine

The Open Terminal button is inactive in Virtual Machines' right panel.

Ask Open Terminal Permissions from VM Owner

Ask the VM owner to allow you to open the VM terminal.

To Virtual Machine Owner
To grant VM users permission to open the VM terminal:  

1. In the VMs section, click the virtual machine where you want to update a user's terminal permissions.
2. Click the VM Settings and Details option in the bottom center.
3. In the new window, select the Users section in the left panel.
4. Next, select the appropriate user, then click the Open full menu button in the top-right panel.
5. Select Edit user access.
6. In the pop-up, set the profile to Custom.
7. Scroll down under Permissions, and tick Terminals Open terminals through tiCrypt.
8. Click Save.

Disconnect from a Virtual Machine

1. Go to the Virtual Machines icon in the top left taskbar.
2. Click the VMs section on the top left panel.
3. In the left panel, click the Disconnect VM button by the virtual machine to disconnect.

Restart a Virtual Machine

1. Go to the Virtual Machines icon in the top left taskbar.
2. Click the VMs section on the top left panel.
3. Select the virtual machine you want to restart.
4. In the left panel, click the Open Full Menu button next to the virtual machine.
5. Select Power.
6. In the pop-up, click Restart.

Confirmations, Errors & Solutions

Restarted VM Successfully

Restart vm-nametotal-restart-time.

Inactive Restart Button in Virtual Machine

Only VMs you own can be restarted.

Ask VM Co-ownership from VM Owner

Ask the VM owner to allow you to co-own the VM.

To Virtual Machine Owner
To allow VM users to co-own your VM:  

1. In the VMs section, click the virtual machine where you want to update a user's role in the VM.
2. Click the VM Settings and Details option in the bottom center.
3. In the new window, select the Users section in the left panel.
4. Next, select the appropriate user, then click the Open full menu button in the top-right panel.
5. Select Edit user access.
6. In the pop-up, set the profile to Custom.
7. Scroll down under Role, and select Co-owner.
8. Click Save.

Shut Down a Virtual Machine

1. Go to the Virtual Machines icon in the top left taskbar.
2. Click the VMs section on the top left panel.
3. Select the virtual machine you want to shut down.
4. In the left panel, click the Open Full Menu button next to the virtual machine.
5. Select Power.
6. In the pop-up, click Normal Shutdown.

Confirmations, Errors & Solutions

Shut Down VM Successfully

Shutdown vm-nametotal-shutdown-time.

Failed to Access Power Button in Virtual Machine's Open Full Menu

Failed to view the Power button in the VM's Open Full Menu.

Ask VM Owner for Shutdown Permissions

Ask the VM owner to allow you to shut down your VMs.

To Admin
To allow VM users to shut down their VMs:  

1. In the Management section, click the Users section in the left panel.
2. Select the appropriate user to update permissions.
3. Click the Open Overlay button in the top right.
4. In the new window, go to the Manual permission management section.
5. Under Basic VM Interaction section, tick the Shutdown own VMs permission.
6. Once done, click Save in the top center.

Frozen Screen When Clicking Power Button in Virtual Machine's Open Full Menu

As a co-owner, manager or user of a virtual machine, the screen freezes when you click the Power button in the VM's Open Full Menu.

Ask VM Owner to Shut Down the Virtual Machine

Ask the VM owner to shut down their virtual machine.

Note: The virtual machine may have a drive error such as an unattached home drive.

Failed to Shut Down the Virtual Machine

Failed to shut down vm-name: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'suppressErrors').

Ask VM Owner to Repair Corrupted Database in the Virtual Machine

Ask the VM owner to shut down their virtual machine and repair the corrupted database. If the issue persists, contact the system administrator.

Note: You may also be unable to connect to the virtual machine.

Forcefully Shut Down a Virtual Machine

1. Go to the Virtual Machines icon in the top left taskbar.
2. Click the VMs section on the top left panel.
3. Select the virtual machine you want to forcefully shut down.
4. In the left panel, click the Open Full Menu button next to the virtual machine.
5. Select Power.
6. In the pop-up, read the risks.
7. Tick the box I accept the risk.
8. Click Hard shutdown.

warning

Use Hard Shutdown only when the VM is unresponsive. It cuts power without letting the guest flush anything to disk, so writes still in flight are lost and a drive can be left with a corrupted filesystem. Try Normal Shutdown first, and give it time to finish.

Confirmations, Errors & Solutions

Force Shut Down VM Successfully

Force shutdown vm-nametotal-force-shutdown-time.

Failed to Forcefully Shut Down the Virtual Machine

Failed to shut down vm-name: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'suppressErrors').

Ask VM Owner to Repair Corrupted Database in the Virtual Machine

Ask the VM owner to shut down their virtual machine and repair the corrupted database. If the issue persists, contact the system administrator.

Note: You may also be unable to connect to the virtual machine.