Why can't I connect to my Windows 7 via Remote Desktop?

Question

I am unable to connect to my Windows 7 machine via RDP. I also can't ping it.

Is there something special I need to configure?

Answer 1

You need to enable Remote Desktop.

Right click My computer > Properties Choose Remote Settings on the left. Select the Remote Desktop setting you require.

If the user you wish to be able to Remote Desktop is not a member of the Local Administrators group, you need to add them by clicking on the Select Users button on the same page.

If you need this to work over a WAN connection, you will also need to open port 3389 on your firewall and point it to the LAN address of the Windows 7 machine.

Answer 2

You need to ensure that your firewall is configured to allow in RDP connections, add an exception for the RDP application, or for port 3389.

You also need to ensure RDP is enabled on the machine, right click on my computer, go to properties and into remote settings.

Answer 3

To go with the above comments, if you are trying to RDP from WAN side into your home box, there is a good chance that you have a dynamically assigned IP address and your WIN7 Box is under a NAT by your firewall/router. You may have to install a service like DynDNS that will continuously update your Dynamic IP and also map it to a url. After you can find your home firewall/router, with RD enabled and Port Forwarding/Port Opening of 3389, you should have no problems.

I would caution you, though, that RDP is not a very secure method of doing this. You may want to look into installing SSH through cygwin or CopSSH, creating an encrypted tunnel, and then RDPing through that. Good luck.