-= Windows XP Professional Remote Desktop =-
Much of this guide has been taken from Microsoft's own website and parts simply reworded in a way which I thought made it a little clearer to understand. Click here to view Microsoft's original and unmodified document about Remote Desktop setup and use.
Note 1: For instructions on changing the default PORT that Remote Desktop "HOST" listens to for remote connections, click HERE or scroll down towards the bottom of this document.
Note 2: For instructions on changing the default PORT that the Remote Desktop "CLIENT" uses listens to initiate remote connections with a host that has had its default port modified, click HERE or scroll down towards the bottom of this document.
To use Remote
Desktop, you will need the following:
• A Windows XP Pro installation on the host computer.
• A remote computer (the client) running Windows 95 or newer version of Windows.
(Windows XP recommended) Unless the client computer is running a copy of either
Windows XP Pro or Windows XP Home, you will need to first install the Remote
Desktop Connection Client software to the other versions of the Windows
operating system from a genuine Windows XP installation CD.
You must first enable the Remote Desktop feature on the host computer so that
you can control it remotely. Note that you _must_ be logged on with an account
that
has administrator privileges before you'll be able to make the following
changes.
Use the following steps to setup the HOST
computer with Remote Desktop
1. Double click the "System" icon in Control Panel or simply Right click the My
Computer icon on your desktop (or start menu if it's not on the desktop) and
select
"Properties" Click Start > Settings > Control Panel and
then double-click the System icon.
2. On the Remote tab, select
the Allow users to connect remotely to this computer check box, as shown
below.
3. Ensure that you have the proper permissions to connect to your computer
remotely, and click OK. Make a note of the Login Name and Password for
the
account. That account will have access to connect remotely by default. If you
prefer, you can also click on "Select Remote Users..." and add any other
account
that has already been setup as an administrative account on the host computer.
Note: If you're running Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) and you enable Remote Desktop, Windows Firewall will be automatically configured to allow Remote Desktop connections to your computer. However, Remote Desktop will not work if you have Windows Firewall configured to allow no exceptions. To allow exceptions in Windows Firewall, in the control panel open the Security Center, click Windows Firewall and clear the check box next to Don't allow exceptions.
Setting up the Client computer
The "Remote Desktop Connection" client software allows a computer running
Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Me, Windows NT
4.0 or Windows 2000 to control any Windows XP Pro computer setup as a host (per
above) remotely. The client software is available on the installation CD for
Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home Edition. The client software is
installed by default on computers running Windows XP Professional and Windows
XP Home Edition.
Use the following method to install the client component on a computer with
Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME, NT4.0 or 2000.
1. Insert the Windows XP compact disc into your CD-ROM drive.
2. When the Welcome page appears, click Perform additional tasks, and
then click Setup Remote Desktop Connection as shown below.
3. When the installation wizard starts, follow the directions that appear on
your screen.
Starting a Remote Desktop
Control Session
1. Open Remote Desktop Connection. Click Start > Programs
or All Programs > Accessories > Communications and then
Remote Desktop Connection
2. In Computer, type the computer name for the computer setup as a host
(computer name will only work in a LAN environment, use the computers IP address
if
accessing the host over the Internet)
Tip To find the computer name,
right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop, click Properties, and then
click the Computer Name tab.
3. Click Connect.
The Log On to Windows dialog box appears.
4. In the Log On to Windows dialog box, type the user name and password
for the host (and domain if required) and then click OK. The Remote
Desktop window will open and you will see the hosts desktop. Once you login
remotely, the host's screen will go blank and then the standard login screen
will appear and the computer will be locked locally. Nobody will be able to work
at the host computer without a password, nor will anyone see the work you are
doing on the host computer while you are connected remotely.
Note: To change your connection
settings, (such as screen size, automatic logon information, and performance
options), click Options before you connect.
See diagrams below for examples of all settings that can be configured.
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Changing the Default Port Remote Desktop Listens to for Connections
In an office or home LAN scenario, with the presence of a shared internet connection and a router, you will need to change the default PORT that Remote Desktop uses in order to provide remote access to more than one PC on the local area network (LAN)
The instructions below have been taken from Microsoft's support website for Remote Desktop and have been modified by the writer for clarity. All references to Macintosh (MAC) computers have been removed from the instructions below. Click this link to view the genuine and original Microsoft Support Article on this topic - Article ID No: 306759.
Click
here to view the original UNMODIFIED article on the Microsoft Support website.
Important: The following instructions contain information about modifying
the Windows registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up
and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry in case a problem
occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry,
click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:
256986 - Description
of the Microsoft Windows Registry
Introduction
This article describes how to change the port that Remote Desktop listens on to
accept remote connections from computers configured with Remote Desktop client
software.
The "default port" that remote desktop listens to is 3389, however this can be
changed to another port number that you like.
Using different port numbers and forwarding those ports with a router
accordingly, gives us the ability to provide Remote Desktop connectivity to more
than one PC on a LAN.
Click HERE for a
nicely HTML formatted list of Port Numbers
Changing the default port Remote Desktop
listens on
To change the port that Remote Desktop listens
on;
1. Open up the Windows Registry editor by
Clicking Start > Run and typing Regedit
2. Locate and then click on the following
registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\TerminalServer\WinStations\RDP-Tcp\PortNumber
3. On the Edit menu, click Modify,
and then click Decimal.
4. Type the desired new port number, and
then click OK.
5. Quit Registry Editor.
Note: When you try to connect to this computer by using the Remote
Desktop connection, you must type the new port.
See "How to change the Default Port on a Remote Desktop Client computer" below
to learn how to configure the
Remote Desktop client to connect to a specific port when you use Windows XP
How to change the Default Port on a Remote Desktop CLIENT computer
The instructions below have been taken from Microsoft's support website for Remote Desktop and have been modified by the writer for clarity. Click this link to view the genuine and original Microsoft Support Article on this topic - Article ID No: 304304.
Click here to view the
original UNMODIFIED article on the Microsoft Support website.
To change the port number that Remote Desktop
client connects to;
1. Click Start > All Programs > Accessories >
Communications > Remote Desktop Connection.
2. In the Computer box, type the computer name or the IP address of the computer
that you want to connect to, followed by a colon (:) and the port number that
you want to use.
For example, to connect to port 3390 on a computer that is named "MyXPPro"
type the following information:
MyXPPro:3390
To connect to port 3391 on a computer with IP address 192.168.1.15
type the following information:
192.168.1.15:3391
3. Click Connect.