Remote Desktop Question

Soldato
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I live in Scotland and am going to Newcastle to visit my brother this weekend.

His PC runs XP Home, mine runs Vista Ultimate.

Is it possible to set up a remote desktop connection from his rig to mine so I can acess content on my computer while I'm away?

To complicate matters a bit more my computer is behind a Linksys WRT54GS router but I'm comfortable with opening ports an what-not to make the connection work. Just thought I'd mention it in case I had to set up a static IP or summat like that.
 
You won't be able to use 'Remote Desktop Connection', as that is for computers on a network, instead you'll need some software so that you can access yur files remotely over the internet.

Do a Google for 'Access my PC anyway' or something.

I expect you'll also need to find out what ports that software uses and allow them on your router, and your PC firewall. Don't forget to leave your PC on and hope you don't get a power cut. :)

Edit: You might be able to use Remote Desktop, actually, however it may not be the easoest way to do it.
 
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the above is wrong in that you can use it if you forward port 3389 to your pc. make sure your account has a password and that you know the WAN IP address for your router
 
If you forward port 3389 then you can connect to your computer over the internet. Assuming you have a static ip or dynadns type thing setup.

EDIT too slow :D
 
You will also have to enable remote access on the Vista PC:

1) Go to Control Panel, type in "remote" in the search box.

2) Select "Allow remote access to your computer".

3) On the "Remote" tab, under "Remote Desktop", click the second option: "Allow connections from computers running any version...".

Don't select the third option as this will only work if you connect with another Vista PC - and you mentioned you'll be using Windows XP Home.


If the Windows Firewall is enabled you will also need to check that Remote Connections are allowed. I think Vista will do this automatically when you allow connections in 3 above.
 
WotDa said:
It doesn't, no. Not when I had it a few years ago anyway...

The OP will be using Home to connect from - not to, so the PC he's using will only need the Remote Desktop client installed, which if not already installed can be downloaded from Microsoft .
 
excuse me?

I thought windows XP Home had Remote desktop connection?

You can remote out BUT You cant remote in ... :)

Correct me if i am wrong

David
 
david334 said:
excuse me?

I thought windows XP Home had Remote desktop connection?

You can remote out BUT You cant remote in ... :)

Correct me if i am wrong

David
You are right.
Been using rdp over lan/adsl/3g for years.
U need Vista Ultimate/Business/XP Pro/Server2003 to accept a rdp connection.
Port 3389 needs to be forwarded to the PC in the router NAT config as mentioned above. XP home has a rdp client under the accessories/connections menu, and u need your WAN IP, not the PC IP.
 
themistry said:
LOL, never seen someone be so wrong so many times on a single subject matter. Hmmm, no advice is better than BAD advice ;) :p

TM

WotDa said:
It doesn't, no. Not when I had it a few years ago anyway...

You expect me to remember crap like that from atleast 3 years ago?...
 
Let me get this right, you have Windows Vista and your going to someones house who has Windows XP Home?

If that's right you should be okay providing he has the rdp client installed, it's preinstalled on Windows XP - but just incase

Get it here;

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/tools/rdclientdl.mspx

Port 3389 will need forwarding, rdp needs turning on, passwords need setting, etc, if you add me to MSN, or PM me I'll help confirm that rdp is working ready for when you goto your friends.

As for the XP Home -it can act as a client but it cannot serve.
 
I also use No-IP and their DUC so I can have a web address rather than an IP address to connect (eg: xxx.myvnc.com) :D
 
Syph said:
I also use No-IP and their DUC so I can have a web address rather than an IP address to connect (eg: xxx.myvnc.com) :D

Something to consider if your IP address is dynamic, you lose sync and your ISP's control panel doesn't keep logs of previous and current issued IP's.

Something I forgot to cover before.
 
WotDa said:
You won't be able to use 'Remote Desktop Connection', as that is for computers on a network, instead you'll need some software so that you can access yur files remotely over the internet.

wrong

just forward 3389 and connect to your pc (need to visit whatismyip.org first to get your ip) and make sure remote desktop is set to as an exception in windows firewall

i'll test it if you want, email me your ip after you've set it up


-edit, if you have a router, your ip probably won't change ever (not on ntl anyway), not sure what its like on adsl

i think ntl reserve your ip for up to 3 days until you connect again
 
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buachille said:
surely he needs to get real vnc or tight vnc.

Not recommended over the internet, unless your using a secure VPN. Even then I wouldn't personally use it because Remote Desktop is much more bandwidth efficient, and more responsive over WAN links, than any of the VNC variants. Plus RD is encrypted; both the login and the data.
 
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