Remote Desktop for Dummies

by Abhinav Kaiser on May 9, 2006

This is an extensive guide for remote desktop using the Windows OS and DynDNS. This article should be everything you need in order to remotely use your computer. This article is co-written by Andrew McGinnis from Uniform Solutions and we hope to cover everything that you need to remotely use your computer.

Introduction
Windows XP Professional includes a hosting utility called Remote Desktop that can be used by the PC in your remote location to enable access to all of your applications from any PC with Windows XP (Home or Professional) and an internet connection. Remote Desktop is an absolutely fantastic utility that once setup at the host location, is easy to use and gives you the freedom to work from anywhere – just like you were at your store.

Summary of Requirements
1. The main component would be a high speed internet which would give you steady internet. This is absolutely necessary. If you have dial-up, don’t even trying this procedure.
2. Get a router capable of “port forwarding” such as the Linksys WRT54GS router. This router has a hardware firewall to keep hackers out, but can forward remote desktop requests to the PC you would like to connect to at the remote location.
3. Since most DSL providers use a “Dynamic IP” address, you will want to create and account with DynDNS so you can type in a name like “techblog.dyndns.org” in the Remote Desktop connection dialog to connect to your PC through your DSL router at your remote location.
4. The PC at your remote location must have Windows XP Professional or the Media Center Edition. Any PC that will access the PC must have Windows XP or Media Center.

Getting Started
If you have a router capable of updating a dynamic domain name service and also forwarding IP addresses and ports, you may be able to use Remote Desktop with very little effort.

The first thing to do is determine what kind of router you have and if it will support a dynamic domain name service like DynDNS.com. DynDNS.com offers a free service that helps you access your dynamic IP address easily. Linksys routers have a section in their menus called DDNS for dynamic DNS. If your router supports DynDNS.com, follow the instructions below.

1. Create a DynDNS Account

dyndnscreate.JPG

 
  • From the computer that you want to connect to remotely, click on this link to create a new account. Select a username and password to create an account. Enter your email address and password and click the Create Account button. In a few minutes, an email will be sent to you to confirm your account.
  • Once you activate the account, login to the website and follow these steps.
    Account -> My Services -> Add Host Services -> Dynamic DNS
  • Click on Add a New Host. The window should look something like this :

    dyndnsnewhost.JPG

    Enter a hostname, it can be anything. I entered “techblog”. Hit Add Host.

    •  

    2. Enabling Remote Desktop
    The next thing to do is to enable Remote Desktop on the computer that you will connect to. Right click on My Computer, select Properties, and click on the Remote tab. Check the box that says Allow users to connect remotely to this computer.

    remotedesktopactivate.JPG

     

    To use Remote Desktop, you must also have a password set for your Windows username. If you do not log into Windows using a password, click on Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> User Accounts. Then select the user that you log in as and create a password.

    3. Setting a Fixed IP Address

  • The next thing to do is to make sure the computer to which you want to connect has a fixed IP address. To do this, right click on My Network Places and select Properties, then right click on Local Area Connection and select Status.
  • Click the Support tab. If the Address Type does not say Manually Configured, take note of the IP address, click the General tab, and click the Properties button. Then select Internet Protocol(TCP/IP) from the list and click the Properties button. Select Use the following IP address, type the IP address manually, and press the tab key to move to the subnet mask field to let it populate itself. Enter the IP address of the router into both the Default Gateway field and the Preferred DNS server field (usually 192.168.1.1). Then press OK.

    • Popularity: 50% [?]

    Related posts:

    1. Dell’s New Experiment : Remote Support
    2. PC as Web Server for Dummies
    3. Windows XP Tricks
    4. How to Create Desktop Shortcuts on Windows XP that Microsoft Left Out!!
    5. Viruses for Dummies!

    Pages: 1 2

    { 59 comments… read them below or add one }

    Dieter Degen May 16, 2007 at 5:36 pm

    I have setup Remote Desktop to use port 3390 and everything works great except that the host computer cannot see the client printers.

    I did this because I have another Remote Desktop setup running through the same router using the default 3389 port. It prints on the client machine.

    Both host and client printers are the same model and their drivers are installed on both machines. Both machines can to their printers.

    Any helpt would be appreciated.

    Regards,

    Dieter Degen

    Rob May 20, 2007 at 11:20 pm

    Hey, I’ve tried your service. Running a Vista Ultimate Machine. I got the Local network to see the computer and RDP works perfectly. Trying to access my home computer from another location such as Work or Out of state area’s. Can’t get it to communicate.

    If i go onto my Sister’s XP Pro system with the RDP 6.0 Update. I can access. However, Outside networking cannot. I’ve tried your service installation instructions to no avail. Running WRT54G Router. My home computer is Wireless. Any questions let me know. Thanks!

    Ankur Gupta June 16, 2007 at 5:55 am

    Hi.. I am using a Windows Xp laptop which I am connecting wirelessly to the broadband router. I am able to access internet. I am also able to connect to the VPN, howwever it doesnt allow me to do any Remote Desktop Connections to a Particular computer on the VPN network. I stayed in a hotel last week and did connect from their using the same laptop and it worked fine. However there I connected using a Wired Connection and it worked fine. I have even tried making a wired connection from my router but it doesnt let me connect via RDP. Can you please suggest what changes I need to make to the settings ( if any ) to resolve this issue ?

    Any help would be really appreciated.

    Many Thanks
    Ankur Gupta

    Mike Cohen June 16, 2010 at 2:42 pm

    I was currently in the market for remote access software. There are so many various companies offering this feature, it can make finding the right one difficult. I found a great directory site that really helped me find the best remote access software that I needed.

    http://www.capterra.com/remote-access-software?srchid=296765&pos=1

    I just thought it might help out someone else

    Thanks,
    Mike Cohen

    BlueFairy November 30, 2010 at 2:59 am

    So I followed all the instructions. I seem to have a new host name but I dont know what to do with it. ???

    dani lord December 1, 2010 at 6:20 pm

    This is a good walkthrough, but my employees have had a hard time following it – they are not tech people. This is what makes me tempted to buy paid remote desktop software (link to example). Is it worth it? Can anyone give feedback?

    Vishal March 8, 2011 at 9:46 am

    Ok, i have followed the tutorial and it is working just fine for me. What problems are you guys facing?

    Haani March 9, 2011 at 6:37 am

    Hi,

    would this work if i set up the router to forward to port 3389 (start/end) ?

    i’m currently getting error cannot connect for the following reasons:

    1. remote access to the server is not enabled (i have checked this on the machine i want to remote access to and it is)
    2. the remote computer is turned off (its not)
    3.the remote computer is not available on the network

    can someone help?

    thanks

    greenpool March 9, 2011 at 8:34 am

    hi, so i set up port forwarding with starting/ending port as 3390. is this meant to work with port forwarding?

    i keep getting the errors:

    1. remote access to the server is not enable (it is, i’ve checked it on the computer i wanna remote desktop to)
    2.the remote computer is turned off (its not)
    3. the remote computer is not available on the network

    any help?

    thanks.

    Leave a Comment

    { 2 trackbacks }

    Previous post:

    Next post: