Hi -
I am trying to use RDC on my network at home so that I can access my main
home machine from my office at work. I have done everything that I have read
about to make sure that RDC is enabled, but still receive the following
message:
'The Client could not connect to the remote comptuer.
Remote Connection might not be...

I have attempted to do port forwarding (via my Netgear MR314 Router) - Start
Port 3389 - end port 3389 and identifying the address/Server IP Address
(192.168.0.n) of my local machine I want to be able to access, but no luck.
I have checked the firewall and have checked (and rechecked) that the remote
desktop is selected (note, I even Unchecked ICFand still no luck).

I have spent a bunch of time trying and double checking the various
suggestions in some of the other posts, but it appears that most folks don't
have this problem much.
I am running XP Pro SP1 on the machine I am trying to hit.

To try to establish the connection, I use the RD Connection program and have
tried hitting my home box from one of my other computers with both the REAL
ip address of my network/internet connection at home and using the name of my
machine via DynDNS. (I have double checked the IP Address at home). The
error is always the same - Client could not connect ...
Am I just missing something really easy or totally confused? Any
suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks much

Have you tested this over your home LAN to see if you can connect from another local PC just to make
sure that part works? Are you using a static IP address on the PC your trying to reach? If not its
possible the local LAN IP has changed if the PC rebooted/restarted...

http://www.portforward.com/networking/static-xp.htm

If local RD access works, then verify port forwarding on the router for TCP Port 3389...Call using
the public IP of the router, ie. the IP assigned by your ISP.

http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm

Try this telnet test to see if you can pinpoint the problem...

http://support.microsoft.com/default...;en-us;Q187628

If your running any personal firewall software on the target PC, disable or uninstall to test...

--
Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)

Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the mutual benefit of all of us...
The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights...

"Randy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:3E8BA28F-22F8-447A-9CCF-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi -
> I am trying to use RDC on my network at home so that I can access my main
> home machine from my office at work. I have done everything that I have read
> about to make sure that RDC is enabled, but still receive the following
> message:
> 'The Client could not connect to the remote comptuer.
> Remote Connection might not be...
>
> I have attempted to do port forwarding (via my Netgear MR314 Router) - Start
> Port 3389 - end port 3389 and identifying the address/Server IP Address
> (192.168.0.n) of my local machine I want to be able to access, but no luck.
> I have checked the firewall and have checked (and rechecked) that the remote
> desktop is selected (note, I even Unchecked ICFand still no luck).
>
> I have spent a bunch of time trying and double checking the various
> suggestions in some of the other posts, but it appears that most folks don't
> have this problem much.
> I am running XP Pro SP1 on the machine I am trying to hit.
>
> To try to establish the connection, I use the RD Connection program and have
> tried hitting my home box from one of my other computers with both the REAL
> ip address of my network/internet connection at home and using the name of my
> machine via DynDNS. (I have double checked the IP Address at home). The
> error is always the same - Client could not connect ...
> Am I just missing something really easy or totally confused? Any
> suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
>
> Thanks much
>

Thanks much for your reply and help!
OK, I am using a static IP address and can connect using the Telnet to Test
Port 3389 Functionality link you sent me - but I can only connect with the IP
address - not the host name. My understanding is that this implies the port
forwarding is at least working up to this point - even though there may be a
problem with the DNS or WINS resolution.

Would I have to have this issue corrected before I could connect via remote
desktop since I use the IP address to come in?

I do not have any personal firewall software running on the pc.

Thanks very much for all your help and the links provided!

Randy

"Sooner Al" wrote:

> Have you tested this over your home LAN to see if you can connect from another local PC just to make
> sure that part works? Are you using a static IP address on the PC your trying to reach? If not its
> possible the local LAN IP has changed if the PC rebooted/restarted...
>
> http://www.portforward.com/networking/static-xp.htm
>
> If local RD access works, then verify port forwarding on the router for TCP Port 3389...Call using
> the public IP of the router, ie. the IP assigned by your ISP.
>
> http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm
>
> Try this telnet test to see if you can pinpoint the problem...
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/default...;en-us;Q187628
>
> If your running any personal firewall software on the target PC, disable or uninstall to test...
>
> --
> Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)
>
> Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the mutual benefit of all of us...
> The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights...
>
> "Randy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:3E8BA28F-22F8-447A-9CCF-(E-Mail Removed)...
> > Hi -
> > I am trying to use RDC on my network at home so that I can access my main
> > home machine from my office at work. I have done everything that I have read
> > about to make sure that RDC is enabled, but still receive the following
> > message:
> > 'The Client could not connect to the remote comptuer.
> > Remote Connection might not be...
> >
> > I have attempted to do port forwarding (via my Netgear MR314 Router) - Start
> > Port 3389 - end port 3389 and identifying the address/Server IP Address
> > (192.168.0.n) of my local machine I want to be able to access, but no luck.
> > I have checked the firewall and have checked (and rechecked) that the remote
> > desktop is selected (note, I even Unchecked ICFand still no luck).
> >
> > I have spent a bunch of time trying and double checking the various
> > suggestions in some of the other posts, but it appears that most folks don't
> > have this problem much.
> > I am running XP Pro SP1 on the machine I am trying to hit.
> >
> > To try to establish the connection, I use the RD Connection program and have
> > tried hitting my home box from one of my other computers with both the REAL
> > ip address of my network/internet connection at home and using the name of my
> > machine via DynDNS. (I have double checked the IP Address at home). The
> > error is always the same - Client could not connect ...
> > Am I just missing something really easy or totally confused? Any
> > suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
> >
> > Thanks much
> >
>
>

I just tried using the RDC from my client ON my network via:
192.168.0.n and WAS able to FINALLY see the login screen, etc! However,
when I try to come in via the actual address of WAN IP Address
(68.nnn.nn...) I continue to see the same error as before! Not sure if this
matters, but at least feel am getting somewhere now!

Thanks again for any and all help!


"Sooner Al" wrote:

> Have you tested this over your home LAN to see if you can connect from another local PC just to make
> sure that part works? Are you using a static IP address on the PC your trying to reach? If not its
> possible the local LAN IP has changed if the PC rebooted/restarted...
>
> http://www.portforward.com/networking/static-xp.htm
>
> If local RD access works, then verify port forwarding on the router for TCP Port 3389...Call using
> the public IP of the router, ie. the IP assigned by your ISP.
>
> http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm
>
> Try this telnet test to see if you can pinpoint the problem...
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/default...;en-us;Q187628
>
> If your running any personal firewall software on the target PC, disable or uninstall to test...
>
> --
> Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)
>
> Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the mutual benefit of all of us...
> The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights...
>
> "Randy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:3E8BA28F-22F8-447A-9CCF-(E-Mail Removed)...
> > Hi -
> > I am trying to use RDC on my network at home so that I can access my main
> > home machine from my office at work. I have done everything that I have read
> > about to make sure that RDC is enabled, but still receive the following
> > message:
> > 'The Client could not connect to the remote comptuer.
> > Remote Connection might not be...
> >
> > I have attempted to do port forwarding (via my Netgear MR314 Router) - Start
> > Port 3389 - end port 3389 and identifying the address/Server IP Address
> > (192.168.0.n) of my local machine I want to be able to access, but no luck.
> > I have checked the firewall and have checked (and rechecked) that the remote
> > desktop is selected (note, I even Unchecked ICFand still no luck).
> >
> > I have spent a bunch of time trying and double checking the various
> > suggestions in some of the other posts, but it appears that most folks don't
> > have this problem much.
> > I am running XP Pro SP1 on the machine I am trying to hit.
> >
> > To try to establish the connection, I use the RD Connection program and have
> > tried hitting my home box from one of my other computers with both the REAL
> > ip address of my network/internet connection at home and using the name of my
> > machine via DynDNS. (I have double checked the IP Address at home). The
> > error is always the same - Client could not connect ...
> > Am I just missing something really easy or totally confused? Any
> > suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
> >
> > Thanks much
> >
>
>

To test from a PC on your LAN to another PC on your LAN you can *NOT* use the public IP, ie. the
68.X.X.X address. That is not a valid test. Since you can connect internally over your LAN using the
private LAN IP and the telnet test succeeds then you know both port forwarding is setup correctly
and RD is enabled...

To call from the remote site use the public IP of the router, ie. the 68.X.X.X address. You can't
use the host name over the public internet... With that said however...

If your ISP assigns a dynamic IP to your router, then another solution is to setup an account with
one of the dynamic naming services that map a fully qualified domain name to the IP. In my case I
use a FREE service from No-IP.com. The No-IP.com software runs on my XP Pro box and on a time
schedule basis contacts the No-IP.com servers. The No-IP.com servers then know what your IP is and
maps that to a fully qualified domain name. That information is then propagated over the public
internet. You could then call the client PC using the fully qualified domain name. It works very
well for me when I call my home network using Remote Desktop.

http://www.no-ip.com

--
Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)

Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the mutual benefit of all of us...
The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights...

"Randy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:AFBD18F4-3345-4D3D-BFB6-(E-Mail Removed)...
>I just tried using the RDC from my client ON my network via:
> 192.168.0.n and WAS able to FINALLY see the login screen, etc! However,
> when I try to come in via the actual address of WAN IP Address
> (68.nnn.nn...) I continue to see the same error as before! Not sure if this
> matters, but at least feel am getting somewhere now!
>
> Thanks again for any and all help!
>
>
> "Sooner Al" wrote:
>
>> Have you tested this over your home LAN to see if you can connect from another local PC just to
>> make
>> sure that part works? Are you using a static IP address on the PC your trying to reach? If not
>> its
>> possible the local LAN IP has changed if the PC rebooted/restarted...
>>
>> http://www.portforward.com/networking/static-xp.htm
>>
>> If local RD access works, then verify port forwarding on the router for TCP Port 3389...Call
>> using
>> the public IP of the router, ie. the IP assigned by your ISP.
>>
>> http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm
>>
>> Try this telnet test to see if you can pinpoint the problem...
>>
>> http://support.microsoft.com/default...;en-us;Q187628
>>
>> If your running any personal firewall software on the target PC, disable or uninstall to test...
>>
>> --
>> Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)
>>
>> Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the mutual benefit of all of us...
>> The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
>> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights...
>>
>> "Randy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:3E8BA28F-22F8-447A-9CCF-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> > Hi -
>> > I am trying to use RDC on my network at home so that I can access my main
>> > home machine from my office at work. I have done everything that I have read
>> > about to make sure that RDC is enabled, but still receive the following
>> > message:
>> > 'The Client could not connect to the remote comptuer.
>> > Remote Connection might not be...
>> >
>> > I have attempted to do port forwarding (via my Netgear MR314 Router) - Start
>> > Port 3389 - end port 3389 and identifying the address/Server IP Address
>> > (192.168.0.n) of my local machine I want to be able to access, but no luck.
>> > I have checked the firewall and have checked (and rechecked) that the remote
>> > desktop is selected (note, I even Unchecked ICFand still no luck).
>> >
>> > I have spent a bunch of time trying and double checking the various
>> > suggestions in some of the other posts, but it appears that most folks don't
>> > have this problem much.
>> > I am running XP Pro SP1 on the machine I am trying to hit.
>> >
>> > To try to establish the connection, I use the RD Connection program and have
>> > tried hitting my home box from one of my other computers with both the REAL
>> > ip address of my network/internet connection at home and using the name of my
>> > machine via DynDNS. (I have double checked the IP Address at home). The
>> > error is always the same - Client could not connect ...
>> > Am I just missing something really easy or totally confused? Any
>> > suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
>> >
>> > Thanks much
>> >
>>
>>

Al - You really helped me get this working. I guess I somehow I missed the
fact that I couldn't test this from within my own network via 68.x....! Once
we got the local access working (192.168...) I figured we had gotten real
close! But, I tried it via a dialup connection and it WORKED! Something you
had me check in your previous posts must have cleared up some of the other
problems I was having.

ALL YOUR HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED! Thanks again.

Randy, now with RDC working :-)


"Sooner Al" wrote:

> To test from a PC on your LAN to another PC on your LAN you can *NOT* use the public IP, ie. the
> 68.X.X.X address. That is not a valid test. Since you can connect internally over your LAN using the
> private LAN IP and the telnet test succeeds then you know both port forwarding is setup correctly
> and RD is enabled...
>
> To call from the remote site use the public IP of the router, ie. the 68.X.X.X address. You can't
> use the host name over the public internet... With that said however...
>
> If your ISP assigns a dynamic IP to your router, then another solution is to setup an account with
> one of the dynamic naming services that map a fully qualified domain name to the IP. In my case I
> use a FREE service from No-IP.com. The No-IP.com software runs on my XP Pro box and on a time
> schedule basis contacts the No-IP.com servers. The No-IP.com servers then know what your IP is and
> maps that to a fully qualified domain name. That information is then propagated over the public
> internet. You could then call the client PC using the fully qualified domain name. It works very
> well for me when I call my home network using Remote Desktop.
>
> http://www.no-ip.com
>
> --
> Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)
>
> Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the mutual benefit of all of us...
> The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights...
>
> "Randy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:AFBD18F4-3345-4D3D-BFB6-(E-Mail Removed)...
> >I just tried using the RDC from my client ON my network via:
> > 192.168.0.n and WAS able to FINALLY see the login screen, etc! However,
> > when I try to come in via the actual address of WAN IP Address
> > (68.nnn.nn...) I continue to see the same error as before! Not sure if this
> > matters, but at least feel am getting somewhere now!
> >
> > Thanks again for any and all help!
> >
> >
> > "Sooner Al" wrote:
> >
> >> Have you tested this over your home LAN to see if you can connect from another local PC just to
> >> make
> >> sure that part works? Are you using a static IP address on the PC your trying to reach? If not
> >> its
> >> possible the local LAN IP has changed if the PC rebooted/restarted...
> >>
> >> http://www.portforward.com/networking/static-xp.htm
> >>
> >> If local RD access works, then verify port forwarding on the router for TCP Port 3389...Call
> >> using
> >> the public IP of the router, ie. the IP assigned by your ISP.
> >>
> >> http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm
> >>
> >> Try this telnet test to see if you can pinpoint the problem...
> >>
> >> http://support.microsoft.com/default...;en-us;Q187628
> >>
> >> If your running any personal firewall software on the target PC, disable or uninstall to test...
> >>
> >> --
> >> Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)
> >>
> >> Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the mutual benefit of all of us...
> >> The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
> >> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights...
> >>
> >> "Randy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> >> news:3E8BA28F-22F8-447A-9CCF-(E-Mail Removed)...
> >> > Hi -
> >> > I am trying to use RDC on my network at home so that I can access my main
> >> > home machine from my office at work. I have done everything that I have read
> >> > about to make sure that RDC is enabled, but still receive the following
> >> > message:
> >> > 'The Client could not connect to the remote comptuer.
> >> > Remote Connection might not be...
> >> >
> >> > I have attempted to do port forwarding (via my Netgear MR314 Router) - Start
> >> > Port 3389 - end port 3389 and identifying the address/Server IP Address
> >> > (192.168.0.n) of my local machine I want to be able to access, but no luck.
> >> > I have checked the firewall and have checked (and rechecked) that the remote
> >> > desktop is selected (note, I even Unchecked ICFand still no luck).
> >> >
> >> > I have spent a bunch of time trying and double checking the various
> >> > suggestions in some of the other posts, but it appears that most folks don't
> >> > have this problem much.
> >> > I am running XP Pro SP1 on the machine I am trying to hit.
> >> >
> >> > To try to establish the connection, I use the RD Connection program and have
> >> > tried hitting my home box from one of my other computers with both the REAL
> >> > ip address of my network/internet connection at home and using the name of my
> >> > machine via DynDNS. (I have double checked the IP Address at home). The
> >> > error is always the same - Client could not connect ...
> >> > Am I just missing something really easy or totally confused? Any
> >> > suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
> >> >
> >> > Thanks much
> >> >
> >>
> >>
>
>

Glad to hear the good news...

Take care...

--
Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)

Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the mutual benefit of all of us...
The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights...

"Randy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:64546D3B-3544-4C22-BCEB-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Al - You really helped me get this working. I guess I somehow I missed the
> fact that I couldn't test this from within my own network via 68.x....! Once
> we got the local access working (192.168...) I figured we had gotten real
> close! But, I tried it via a dialup connection and it WORKED! Something you
> had me check in your previous posts must have cleared up some of the other
> problems I was having.
>
> ALL YOUR HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED! Thanks again.
>
> Randy, now with RDC working :-)
>
>
> "Sooner Al" wrote:
>
>> To test from a PC on your LAN to another PC on your LAN you can *NOT* use the public IP, ie. the
>> 68.X.X.X address. That is not a valid test. Since you can connect internally over your LAN using
>> the
>> private LAN IP and the telnet test succeeds then you know both port forwarding is setup correctly
>> and RD is enabled...
>>
>> To call from the remote site use the public IP of the router, ie. the 68.X.X.X address. You can't
>> use the host name over the public internet... With that said however...
>>
>> If your ISP assigns a dynamic IP to your router, then another solution is to setup an account
>> with
>> one of the dynamic naming services that map a fully qualified domain name to the IP. In my case
>> I
>> use a FREE service from No-IP.com. The No-IP.com software runs on my XP Pro box and on a time
>> schedule basis contacts the No-IP.com servers. The No-IP.com servers then know what your IP is
>> and
>> maps that to a fully qualified domain name. That information is then propagated over the public
>> internet. You could then call the client PC using the fully qualified domain name. It works very
>> well for me when I call my home network using Remote Desktop.
>>
>> http://www.no-ip.com
>>
>> --
>> Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)
>>
>> Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the mutual benefit of all of us...
>> The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
>> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights...
>>
>> "Randy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:AFBD18F4-3345-4D3D-BFB6-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> >I just tried using the RDC from my client ON my network via:
>> > 192.168.0.n and WAS able to FINALLY see the login screen, etc! However,
>> > when I try to come in via the actual address of WAN IP Address
>> > (68.nnn.nn...) I continue to see the same error as before! Not sure if this
>> > matters, but at least feel am getting somewhere now!
>> >
>> > Thanks again for any and all help!
>> >
>> >
>> > "Sooner Al" wrote:
>> >
>> >> Have you tested this over your home LAN to see if you can connect from another local PC just
>> >> to
>> >> make
>> >> sure that part works? Are you using a static IP address on the PC your trying to reach? If not
>> >> its
>> >> possible the local LAN IP has changed if the PC rebooted/restarted...
>> >>
>> >> http://www.portforward.com/networking/static-xp.htm
>> >>
>> >> If local RD access works, then verify port forwarding on the router for TCP Port 3389...Call
>> >> using
>> >> the public IP of the router, ie. the IP assigned by your ISP.
>> >>
>> >> http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm
>> >>
>> >> Try this telnet test to see if you can pinpoint the problem...
>> >>
>> >> http://support.microsoft.com/default...;en-us;Q187628
>> >>
>> >> If your running any personal firewall software on the target PC, disable or uninstall to
>> >> test...
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >> Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)
>> >>
>> >> Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the mutual benefit of all of
>> >> us...
>> >> The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
>> >> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights...
>> >>
>> >> "Randy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> >> news:3E8BA28F-22F8-447A-9CCF-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> >> > Hi -
>> >> > I am trying to use RDC on my network at home so that I can access my main
>> >> > home machine from my office at work. I have done everything that I have read
>> >> > about to make sure that RDC is enabled, but still receive the following
>> >> > message:
>> >> > 'The Client could not connect to the remote comptuer.
>> >> > Remote Connection might not be...
>> >> >
>> >> > I have attempted to do port forwarding (via my Netgear MR314 Router) - Start
>> >> > Port 3389 - end port 3389 and identifying the address/Server IP Address
>> >> > (192.168.0.n) of my local machine I want to be able to access, but no luck.
>> >> > I have checked the firewall and have checked (and rechecked) that the remote
>> >> > desktop is selected (note, I even Unchecked ICFand still no luck).
>> >> >
>> >> > I have spent a bunch of time trying and double checking the various
>> >> > suggestions in some of the other posts, but it appears that most folks don't
>> >> > have this problem much.
>> >> > I am running XP Pro SP1 on the machine I am trying to hit.
>> >> >
>> >> > To try to establish the connection, I use the RD Connection program and have
>> >> > tried hitting my home box from one of my other computers with both the REAL
>> >> > ip address of my network/internet connection at home and using the name of my
>> >> > machine via DynDNS. (I have double checked the IP Address at home). The
>> >> > error is always the same - Client could not connect ...
>> >> > Am I just missing something really easy or totally confused? Any
>> >> > suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
>> >> >
>> >> > Thanks much
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >>
>>
>>