[dudeonthenet88]

hi guys i am looking to access my pc at my office at home on my mac is that possible and if so how do i go about doing so. i have a powerbook g4 and the desktop is running winxp. i have tried using the remote desktop connection built into osx but i dont think it works if your not on the same lan as the other pc.

[tsheley]

Just use the Microsoft Remote Desktop App. It can be found here...

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/otherpr...edesktopclient

[dudeonthenet88]

i have it but it doesnt seem to work can some one explain how to setup it up please

[DarwinX]

Assuming you have a real world IP address then do as listed below. If there are other issues such as a coporate firewall and such, things become very tricky. But if you have a valid IP address(ie... a non-NAT IP address) follow the steps below.

You need to setup your Windows XP machine to allow remote connection. Right-click on "My Computer" and choose "Properties". Then click the "Remote" tab. Here you will find a section labeled "Remote Desktop" and a checkbox labeled "Allow remote users to connect to this desktop." Be sure that is checked. The next thing you'll want to check is that your firewall on Windows XP is allowing Remote Desktop. Go to "Start", "Settings", "Network Connections" and right-click on your LAN connection that you use. Choose "Properties". Click the "Advanced" tab. Click "Settings" and then choose the "Exceptions" tab and be sure that Remote Desktop is checked and listed.

The next thing you'll need to know is your IP address. Open a Command Prompt(either go "Start" "Run" type in "cmd" without the quotes and hit enter or go to "Start" "Programs" "Accessories" "Command Prompt") when you are there type in "ipconfig" with no spaces or quotation marks and press enter. You will then see your IP address. Write this down.

At home on your Powerbook, download the Remote Desktop client from Microsoft, install it, open it and enter in the IP address. You should then be prompted to log into your work machine.

[dudeonthenet88]

the ip address i get is one from my hub its one of those 192.168.1 does that work too?
cause its not for me

[jhogarty]

That is not a "public" IP Address, ie. it is not on the Internet. You are most likely behind some type of firewall and/or NATd. Is this is small business? Do you know if they are using say a Linksys DSL/Cable router/switch?

J.

[dudeonthenet88]

i am using a linksys dsl router

[mhuie]

Originally Posted by dudeonthenet88

i am using a linksys dsl router

Open the RDC ports on the router your XP machine is on to the IP your router has assigned that machine.

Find your WAN IP for that router, and connect your Mac to that.

[dudeonthenet88]

sorry i am new at this so could you explain that a little more, you dont have to go into exact details but i dont know exactly what the terms you are using mean execpt for wan but then i dont know how to find the wan of my router or what rdc is

[dudeonthenet88]

ok i figured out the wan for my linksys but can some one tell me how to do the rdc port stuff

[mishakim]

in your linksys router setup, there is a section for port forwading - details depend on the version, but on mine, "forwarding" is a tab under "Advanced", you tell it which external port (3389 for RDC) to connect to which intenal IP (192.168.1.xxx). The effect of this is that when your mac connects to the office's IP at port 3389, the router forwards that connection to your machine.

[Macola]

If you don't want to mess with firewalls and dynamic IPs, try GoToMyPC. It's not free, but well worth it if you need to access your PC a lot, especially while traveling.

[poppa kristof]

2 things to watch out for:
-make sure to allow users to connect to this computer is checked under the remote tab in system properties (winxp)
-what kind of connection to the internet have? if its dsl, is it static or dynamic ip add, if it is static the ip add will not change and connecting to the computer will be easier to figure out (router issues), if it is dynamic, it will always change from time to time, meaning you will need to find it out and change your connect to ip add plus any router issues

[dudeonthenet88]

ok so now that i set up the connection on my office side what do i put in on my laptop to connect to the office side the wan of the linksys?

[mishakim]

just direct the RDC client (download from MS) to the router's external (WAN) IP address, and connect. There are various options, which you can experiment with to improve performance, but none are essential. (if your connection is slow, go for fewer colors, that will speed things up)

[dudeonthenet88]

now that i got it working it works for a couple of seconds then freezes up completely any ideas as to why?