Remote Network

[Ryan F.]

Okay, here it is. A friend and I are trying to set up a remote network where we can have totall remote control of each-others computers whenever we want. I'm not sure if this is possible, so I'm hoping one of you might know. We tried working with microsoft netmeeting, and had no luck there. I have DSL, and he has cable. We both run PC's with windows XP. Anyone know how to do this, or it it's possible. Help will be appreciated [subliminal message] somehow rewarded [subliminal message].

[Greg Needel]

just set up remote desktop connections on both

this should take you step by step
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...p_03may16.mspx

[Stefan]

Or if you dont have XP pro on both use VNC which is similar to Remote Desktop. You will need to install it as a service and set up passwords.

VNC is avaible at

http://www.realvnc.com

http://www.tightvnc.com

[dez250]

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

just set up remote desktop connections on both

this should take you step by step
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...p_03may16.mspx

From what i have learned and think, RDC in XP Pro only work with computers that are on the same LAN.

[phrontist]

My friends and I do this for "virtual LAN parties." What you want is a Virtual Private Network. Google it!

[evulish]

Yeah, set up a VPN and use RDC. That's what I use and it's pretty nice. You'll need XP Pro on all the machines that you want to access. XP Home won't work.

[Stefan]

nah the computers dont have to be on the same lan but u need to config ur routers to make it work. I do it all the time after school from school to my home comp during the school year. Note XP home can act like a client for Remote desktop.

[Pierson]

Make sure that you set up your router to do port forwarding. You will need to assign a static local ip address to your computer and then just tell the router what port to forward and to where. Microsoft Terminal Services communicates over ports 3389, 4194, and 1604. The default is 3389. (Then mirror this configuration on both your network and your friends)

The easy part is now done... Then you need to think about how you will "call" the other person. The easy part is opening up the Remote Desktop Connection... But you will need to find your global ip. If you are lucky, you will have a static ip. If you are not lucky it will be dynamic. To find your ip, go to a site like this: http://www.whatismyip.com/ Then you and your friend can swap ip's over an IM session or you can go the further step of setting up a domain name.

Also, you both need to run win xp pro to do remote desktop sharing. However as mentioned above you can use VNC the process is similar but the port numbers are different.

Feel free to pm me if you have more questions. I have done set-ups like this for clients and they seem to like it!

[Mike AA]

I reccomend if you have xp home, split the cost of getting XP Pro, then use remote desktop, very easy to setup and you can get versions of XP pro for $100 (white box). I bought my verson through www.tigerdirect.com I am unsure if its still on there.

[Ryan F.]

Thanks for all your help. We're trying to set it up using XP's remote desktop. Both of us have XP home edition, but on
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...up_03may16.mspx we were able to find a free download of the remote desktop. We haven't finished setting it up right now, but we should in the next couple of days.

[Pierson]

Originally Posted by rforystek

Thanks for all your help. We're trying to set it up using XP's remote desktop. Both of us have XP home edition, but on
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...up_03may16.mspx we were able to find a free download of the remote desktop. We haven't finished setting it up right now, but we should in the next couple of days.

Though I can't be sure because the link doesn't work, I highly doubt this will work. I believe you are downloading the client and not server portion of the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) Therefore, I would try VNC if I were you, http://www.realvnc.com/

[Marc P.]

I'll second the recommendation for realvnc. I used to use remote desktop connection, but now use VNC. I've found the following:

1) Only XP Pro can serve as a host for RDC. While Home edition can serve as a client to connect to an RDC, it can not accept incoming connections. RealVNC is platform independant, and can be hosted on linux, windows (any version). There's even a mac port.

2) An RDC connection will interrupt the local user's session, and lock them out of the computer for the duration of the connection, e.g. only one of you can use the computer at any given time. A VNC connection can allow both to use the desktop simultaneously (useful for collaboration).

3) Either VNC or RDC can be used outside of a LAN. For RDC, forward port 3389 in your router to the local IP of your host machine. I'm pretty sure the default port for VNC is 5901, but I believe it's configurable to whatever you like.

4) I'd definitely recommend using a VPN to connect to each other. A VPN is relatively easy to configure, and I'd be happy to send directions to anyone who'd like them on how to configure a basic VPN within windows XP. (Even XP Home can accept incoming VPN connections).

I've set up quite a few remote desktop solutions for clients at work. RDC is convenient if you'd like to access your home computer while away, but for most other purposes I'd definitely recommend VNC. The URL again is http://www.realvnc.com.