RDP remote desktop protocol is a nice feature of XP professional. It is not available in XP home edition. RDP allow you to share the desktop. With RDP you could access desktop from any computers. You need to enable it before use. To enable it follow these steps:
Start ==> Control Panel ==> Select Add Or Remove Programs ==> Select Add/Remove Windows Components ==> Select Internet Information Services ==> Click the Details button ==> Select World Wide Web Service ==> Click the Details button ==> Check the Remote Desktop Web Connection checkbox ==> Click OK ==>Click Next ==> Click Finish to complete the wizard
To make this update either restart the computer or follow these steps
- Click Start ==> Select Run ==> Enter Net Stop w3svc ==> click the OK button or press Enter.
- Click Start ==> Select All Programs ==> Select Microsoft Update ==>Select Scan For Updates ==> Install all critical updates on the host system.
- Click Start ==> Select Run ==> Enter Net Start w3svc ==> click the OK button.
>>>Installing Remote Desktop connection on non-XP systems
As I previously said RDP is feature of XP Professional. But good thing about it is you could install it on other platform also. On other system you need to install it separately form the CD of XP Professional . To install the RDP follow these steps:
- Insert Windows XP Professional CD in CD or DVD drive.
- From the resulting Welcome To Microsoft Windows XP screen, click Perform Additional Tasks.
- Click Setup Remote Desktop Connection from the What Do You Want To Do Screen.
- The InstallShield Wizard will open; click Next on the Welcome To The InstallShield Wizard for Remote Desktop Connection.
- Read and accept the license agreement and click Next.
- Enter the customer name and organization, and specify whether the desktop connection is to be available to all users or only the logged in user and click Next.
- Click Install.
- Click Finish.
Once RDP is install you could access it by clicking Start ==> Programs ==> Accessories ==> Communications ==> Remote Desktop Connection or by opening a command prompt and typing mstsc.
Firewall settings
Window firewall must be open for RDP before you start working with RDP. You could either turn off the firewall or configure it to allow the RDP. If you are using RDP only in local network with trusted computers than you could turn off the window firewall. But if you are using RDP over the un-trusted network its better to use firewall. To configure windows firewall follow these steps :
- Click Start.
- Click Control Panel.
- Access the Windows Firewall menu (by clicking Windows Firewall using Control Panel's Category View or by clickingSecurity Center and selecting Windows Firewall using the Classic Vew).
- Click the Exceptions tab.
- Confirm the Remote Desktop checkbox is checked and isn't overridden by a group policy.
When working with other firewalls, it's usually best that port 3389 (and port 80) be opened to enable Terminal Services traffic (and the connection to the Remote Desktop application). This is especially true when attempting to connect to Small Business Server 2003 desktops.
Enabling user access
Create an user account with administrative privilege.
- Click Start.
- Click Control Panel.
- Click User accounts
Click on Create a new account
Enter the name for new account
Now create password for this account
By default remote access is disabled. We need to enable it from my computer properties
- Right click on My Computer and select properties
- Click the Remote tab.
- Checked the Allow Users To Connect Remotely To This Computer.
- Click the Select Remote Users button
Click the Add button.
Now click on advance
Now we need to add our user in Remote desktop users group which by default have permission to access system remotely.
- Click OK to close the Select Users window.
- Click OK to close the Remote Desktop Users window
By default, any members of the Administrators group can connect to the system, even if they're not specifically authorized using the Remote Desktop Users window.
Connecting with Remote Desktop from other computer
We have successfully configured RDP. Now go on other computer and follow these steps to access that computer remotely
- Click on Start.
- Select Run.
- Typing mstsc and click OK.
Alternatively, one can:
- Click Start.
- Click All Programs.
- Click Accessories.
- Click Communications.
- Click Remote Desktop Connection.
Type the ip address of the computer where we have configured RDP
Give the user name and password
Now you can access computer
when you have finished you can disconnects the session.
start ==> Disconnects
