VNC - alternative to remote desktop

Having recently posted about Remote Desktop I reckon its time to mention an alternative.
TightVNC is a advanced version of VNC (Virtual Network Computing). In a nutshell it does exactly what remote desktop allows you to (Connect remotely to other machines) plus more! For more info check this out

What is involved in setting it up?

(1) Download the program from the TightVNC website
(2) Run the installer on the machine you want to connect to (choose TightVNC Server). Make sure to tick the boxes to enable and start the VNC services, and when you are prompted to enter a default password, do so, as VNC will not work until you have done so.
(3) Run the installer on any machine you want to use to connect to the server (choose TightVNC Viewer)

Things to note: VNC does not add exceptions to Windows firewall so you will need to add port 5900 to the exceptions list. If you have any third party firewalls you will have to do the same.

What are the advantages of TightVNC over normal remote desktop?

(1) It does not blank the server screen. This is very useful if you are helping someone on the other end because they can see what you are doing. You can blank the screen if you wish.
(2) It allows you to transfer files directly between client and server.


This is a very brief overview of TightVNC. Give it a go yourself.


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How to set up remote desktop on XP

Following a previous post on a remote desktop issue I was having, I have decided to put up a post on how to set up remote desktop.

First of all - How to enable Remote Desktop on the host computer (the computer you wish to connect to)
To use Remote Desktop, you need WinXP Professional rather than Home edition. To enable remote access right-click on My Computer in the start menu and choose properties. Choose the "Remote Tab" and tick the box next to "Allow users to connect remotely to this computer" Under this you have the option to choose which users can connect remotely - Remember though that User accounts wishing to connect remotely must be User accounts with a password enabled.

Now that the host allows incoming remote connections we must ensure that the client computer can connect to the host. In order to connect to an XP professional computer remotely the client computer must have the remote desktop connection client software installed. This is installed by default on most windows computers - however if you find yourself in a situation where you do not have the client software installed you will find the setup file called MSRDPCLI.exe on your windows XP CD in the folders \support\tools.

Ok now that our host and clients are set up how do we connect? You will find the remote connection software in the accessories folder of the all programs list. To specify the computer you wish to connect to you can simply types in the computer name or the I.P. address of the computer. You have to enter the Username and Password of a user that you set up with permissions to access remotely as discussed earlier.

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Because of a protocol error detected at the client (code 0x1104), this session will be disconnected. Please try connecting to the remote computer agai

"Because of a protocol error detected at the client (code 0x1104), this session will be disconnected. Please try connecting to the remote computer again"

I have decided to post a blog about this error message because I recently came across this error message on a network I was working on and when I went to research it I could not find any fixes out there. Perhaps this brief post my be of help to some one.

From what I can make out it seems that another program is using the same port that remote desktop wants to use (port 3389). In my case it was VNC viewer. End the other process and voila.


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