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  1. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    I was wondering if the Remote Assistant feature in Xp and Vista can talk to each other.

    Here is what I'm thinking of using it for - I have a xp pc in one room and a vista pc in another. I have my vista pc hooked up to my hdtv. Its great for entertainment but kinda lousy for regular tasks and video editing and such. (it's only a 32" so I have to sit pretty close even at 1366x768 resolution). I'd like to be able to use my xp machine to log into the vista pc and use it "remotely".

    I know obviously I'd have to be physically at the vista pc for popping in dvdrs or taking out movies to be ripped, that sort of thing. But I'd like to have the convenience of using the other pc in the other room to remotely tap the full power of the dual core vista pc. Then I'd actually be more likely to perform some tasks on their that I don't because a living room tv setup does not make for an ideal computing environment - though like I said I love it for high def viewing and the limited pc gaming I do.

    So is this doable or even recommended? Also I have never done the remote assistant thing. On the controlling user end can you maximize your viewing window?

    Side note - these computers would be connected via wifi G. Is that fast enough to do this? And what about doing things like video editing? Would that be essentially impossible on a G connection? FYI the wireless router is actually super g 108 but my desktop pci card in the xp machine is a 54G standard. Would buying a 108G pci card be worth it to make the two work at the same speed? (I don't want to jump to N yet).

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Other question:

    What about a wireless vga sender? Are there any cheap models?

    Or is this all a pipe dream at a budget level? (I don't really think I'd spend more than 50.00 if I buy anything for this configuration).

    One more question - do they make wireless kvm switches to do just this? To work in one room on one computer and switch to a desktop in another room?
    Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw?
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  2. I think you mean Remote Desktop.

    I'm using it right now - XP to Vista in fact (exactly what you want).

    Your Vista machine's display will switch to the same resolution as the your XP machine and you can maximize it to fill the screen. In fact, there will be no clue that you are using XP to control Vista (except for an optional bar at the top).

    There's some minor configuration to do (just once).

    Re the KVM switches etc, don't bother. Just use Remote Desktop. My Vista machine is in a different building and I use a wireless network to connect to it.

    Oh, don't expect to be able to watch hi-def via Remote Desktop unless you have a very fast network. But if you want to set up encoding or something to run on the Vista box without having to be at it then I think you will be quite satisfied.
    John Miller
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  3. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    @johnnymalaria - thanks for the correction - but you obviously knew what I meant

    That sounds great. I obviously have administrator access on both since they are my pcs. How easy is the configuration? Do you set passwords? I don't have login passwords on either pc.

    Also what about video over wireless? I'm not talking about watching a whole movie just clips to check if something was done right. - edit - saw the note about high def video - yeah that was what I figured.

    I appreciate this insight. I think I'll go turn on the other computer and give it a go.
    Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw?
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  4. In Vista, right-click on Computer and select Properties. Then click on Remote settings. In the Remote Desktop panel, choose the second option. That almost completes the configuration at the Vista end but you must have a password-protected account (just add one to your usual account).

    At the XP end of things, start Remote Desktop (Start\Accessories\Communications\Remote Desktop Connection - I've pinned it to my Start menu since I use it everyday). Enter the address of the computer (I use its IP address since it rarely changes) and click Connect. You'll see the Vista log-in screen and away you go! On the Remote Desktop Connection dialog, there is an Options>> button which will reveal a variety of options to configure the connection such as display size, color depth, whether to play the remote computer's sound on the local computer, sharing disk drives etc. You can also use the clipboard to easily share files between the two computers. Finally, you can connect to more than one remote PC at a time by running multiple Remote Desktop Connections.
    John Miller
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  5. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    Thanks I'll give this a try and let you know.

    EDIT - I haven't gotten in yet. I tried the computer name in text form and I think I got the IP address of my wireless router in its config screen. Nothing yet.

    One thought - I did set a password on the vista machine but do I also need to set a password on the xp machine?

    I think I'm gonna stop for now. Networking always gives me a headache. But thanks for the confirmation and info johnnymalaria. I'll pick this up another night.
    Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw?
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  6. Oh, depending on any firewall software you have, you'll have to allow incoming TCP on port 3389 for Vista. This may help:

    http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/mobility/rdfaq.mspx

    Best way to get the IP address is to run ipconfig at the cmd prompt on your Vista machine. Names don't always work depending on other network configuration things and, often, Vista<--->Non-Vista can be a pain unless you use the IP address.
    John Miller
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  7. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    @johnnymalaria - thanks!

    I do appreciate the assistance. I don't think I'm gonna fool with it tonight though. I'll keep this for later.
    Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw?
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