Yet ANOTHER Remote Desktop Question.

[Geoff]

Hi - first post, so be gentle !!

I have fixed an old guy at works PC. He has no idea about PC's and only
uses it for email and web browsing. I left an Admin account on his PC in my
name (with his permission!!) and said I would "drop by" every now and then
and check that it was running ok via Remote Desktop. He leaves his box
switched on 24/7, so the IP address should stay the same.

Alternativly, if he has problems, he sends me a remote assistance rquest and
I respond to that.

The strange thing is that immediatly after sorting out any problems via
Remote Assistance, I am able to connect directly to his PC via Remote
Desktop, but the next day, or a few days later, when I try I get the "Remote
Desktop Disconnected" - "The client could not connect to the remote
computer......" message.

I have two PC's on a small network at home, and can ALWAYS connect to the
other machine on my LAN.

What do you guys think is wrong with my set up.

I'm running XP Pro, as is the other PC that I'm having problems with. We
are both on cable broadband with the same ISP.

Cheers

Geoff

 

[Jim Hubbard]

Please don't think I'm being condescending, but is the old guy turning off
the PC?

I've had this very thing happen to me.

 

[Geoff]

It's a VERY good point, but I am assured that he is leaving it turned on.
As he is a pensioner, he is on one of these electricity tariffs (UK) that
allows unrestricted use for a fixed monthly fee - unmetred broadband
electricity!!!

Cheers

Geoff

 

[Andy]

Actually, even WITH an internet account that has unlimited
bandwidth, this guy's IP address could still be changing.
His modem is giving his computer an IP address from the
ISP's address pool, which usually does change every few
days or so. Most ISP's will only give a static IP address
if you pay for it. Have you checked to make sure that his
IP address isn't changing?

~~Andy~~

 

[Geoff]

Andy,

The old guy has the same ISP as me and my IP address hasn't changed for
months and months. Yes, technically, I have a dynamic address, but in
reality, unless I power everything off for a few days (when I go away on
holiday for example), my address ALWAYS stays the same. My PC is on when
I'm in the house, so for 8 hours a day, when I'm at work it is turned off -
yet I still retain the same IP address. I need to check with him that his
IP has stayed the same, but in practice if he leaving it switched on, it
"should" stay the same. I bet this is something really dumb that I've
overlooked, but you know how it is?? I tend to get bogged down looking for
something complex and it could be right under my nose !!

Cheers

Geoff

 

[Jim Hubbard]

Go to www.no-ip.info and sign up for a free account. Then load the windows
client on the gentleman's PC. This will give you his last known address in
realtime.