# Operation of Attended Robots on Virtual Machines From the perspective of Sherpa RPA, there is no distinction between operation on a physical server and a virtual machine. However, when using a virtual machine, certain technical limitations arise related to the operation of Windows, rather than the Sherpa RPA platform itself. > In particular, if there is no active User on the virtual machine working with the graphical interface (i.e., there is no screen observation from the User), then interface elements (such as buttons and windows) do not appear on the screen. As a result, the Robot will not be able to interact with these elements. On a physical computer, the graphics card continuously updates the image on the screen, so the interface is always displayed, and user interface elements are available for interaction. On a virtual machine, the image on the screen is displayed only when there is an active User connection via RDP. This happens for the following reason: while the RDP session is active (the User is working with an account associated with the Robot), the system functions normally, but when the RDP session is closed (or the window with the RDP session is minimized), the interface stops displaying, and the Robot cannot interact with its elements. There is a built-in mechanism to bypass this limitation implemented in the Robot, but it does not provide full reliability (it periodically stops working, and it is necessary to manually reconnect to the virtual machine to restore the graphical session). This issue does not arise if the Robot's script does not involve interaction with the user interface. In this case, the Robot can perform any actions without connection to the UI, whether the account is disabled or locked. When using the combination of "Unattended Robot + Orchestrator," the impact of this problem becomes less noticeable. This is because the Orchestrator helps maintain the necessary graphical contexts and active accounts. The Orchestrator helps keep accounts active, ensuring the uninterrupted operation of the robot. Thus, the Robot continues to interact correctly with the interface throughout its operation. For scenarios with an Attended Robot, the following situations can be highlighted: * A Robot running on a physical computer operates stably and without failures. * A Robot running on a virtual machine with an active RDP connection operates stably and without failures. * A Robot running on a virtual machine without an active RDP connection, which does not require interaction with UI elements, operates stably and without failures. * A Robot running on a virtual machine without an active RDP connection (WITHOUT a User working with the account associated with the Robot), which requires interaction with UI elements, will stop its operation after some time, as working with the graphical interface will become impossible due to the screen image not being updated. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.sherparpa.ru/en/sherpa-rpa/sherpa-designer/rabota-attended-robotov-na-virtualnykh-mashinakh.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.