Cannot connect to remote compter, need help troubleshooting

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lloyd
  • Start date Start date
L

Lloyd

First off, the settings are right on the remote computer. I can connect to
it from other PCs just fine. Mine will not connect though. The firewall that
XP has is off, but I can't ping the IP or ANY other domain name for that
matter. I also cannot telnet the IP either.

I just had my cable modem installed and the techie turned on the XP firewall
without me knowing. Is there anything else that would keep me from
connecting RD and pinging locations other than the firewall? I am trying to
connect RD through the internet. Any thoughts?
 
Lloyd:

Do I have this correct?

You've a remote machine which is enabled for Remote Desktop, and you are
able to connect to it from other machines, proving that it is configured
correctly, and that you know the correct IP address or DNS name.

I take it these connections are also across the Internet, just as yours will
be when you get it working (You will!)

There's no need to turn the XP firewall off on the host machine--just be
sure that Remote Desktop is enabled as an exception through it--this is a
checkbox in both the SP1 and SP2 firewalls.

Now--you are sitting at home, with a newly installed cable modem ISP
connection.

Can you bring up web sites in a browser? Does Internet-based Email work for
you?

When you say that you cannot ping either by IP or name, this sounds like
your Internet connectivity isn't correct yet.

The XP firewall at your home (client) location shouldn't interfere in any
way with outbound connections to another machine.
 
You are right, my internet is working fine. I can send and receive email
just fine. Websites pull up OK too. The remote desktop works from other
PC's, just not my home PC and I cannot figure out why. The only major change
has been an upgrade to the cable modem. Could there be some type of port
restrictions run by my ISP? I know that most ISP's block port 80 to keep
folks from sucking up bandwidth by hosting unauthorized websites. I have
never heard of blocking RD ports though....

--
Lloyd

Bill Sanderson said:
Lloyd:

Do I have this correct?

You've a remote machine which is enabled for Remote Desktop, and you are
able to connect to it from other machines, proving that it is configured
correctly, and that you know the correct IP address or DNS name.

I take it these connections are also across the Internet, just as yours will
be when you get it working (You will!)

There's no need to turn the XP firewall off on the host machine--just be
sure that Remote Desktop is enabled as an exception through it--this is a
checkbox in both the SP1 and SP2 firewalls.

Now--you are sitting at home, with a newly installed cable modem ISP
connection.

Can you bring up web sites in a browser? Does Internet-based Email work for
you?

When you say that you cannot ping either by IP or name, this sounds like
your Internet connectivity isn't correct yet.

The XP firewall at your home (client) location shouldn't interfere in any
way with outbound connections to another machine.
Click to expand...
 
Even ISP's that block port 80 only block it inbound towards subscriber
lines--i.e. it isn't blocked outbound from the subscribers, although some
ISP's do use proxy servers.

So--if the machine to which you are connecting is across the Internet from
your location, nothing your ISP is doing should be blocking you, nor should
any Microsoft firewall. Third party firewalls which regulate outbound
traffic might, as will anything which interferes with DNS--a hosts file with
a bad entry, for example.

Is the remote system pingable by IP from other locations?

I'm stil not sure the picture in my head is correct--the host system is
across the Internet from your home machine with the new cable modem right?

If, in fact, it is your home machine with the new cable modem you are trying
to reach, I'd finger the new cable modem as the problem--I'm not sure about
cable modems, but some DSL modems incorporate nat/router functionality, and
thus need port forwarding set up for inbound access. Check with your ISP
about whether the new modem has this sort of functionality.


Lloyd said:
You are right, my internet is working fine. I can send and receive email
just fine. Websites pull up OK too. The remote desktop works from other
PC's, just not my home PC and I cannot figure out why. The only major
change
has been an upgrade to the cable modem. Could there be some type of port
restrictions run by my ISP? I know that most ISP's block port 80 to keep
folks from sucking up bandwidth by hosting unauthorized websites. I have
never heard of blocking RD ports though....
Click to expand...
 
I cannot ping ANY location period! No IP or domain name gives me a ping. I
time out every time. I have emailed tech support for my modem. I am using a
d-link dcm-200. It uses "56-bit DES (Data Encryption Standard) to encrypt
data transaction for both upstream and downstream transmission." Could this
cause such a problem? IT completely throws me for a loop that I can't ping
anything at all.

This may help with the mental picture. My home PC is the one with the new
modem and the connection problem. The remote desktop I want to connect to is
over the internet at another location. My PC worked fine with RD before the
cable modem and broadband service. Logic tells me that one of these is the
problem (Duh!).
 
Well - I went out and read the manual for your Cable modem, and I don't see
anything unexpected there. I'll confess not to understand the purpose of
the encryption--perhaps this encrypts data between your end node and the
cable companies upstream connection, so that your signals cannot be easily
eavesdropped by others on the same cable segment. That should be a Good
Thing, and shouldn't interfere with the data.

If you have web and email connectivity, but cannot ping, I'd have to believe
that there is a proxy involved on the part of the ISP--have you talked to
them about what you are trying to do and the particular symptoms that you
see?
 
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