Problem with Remote Desktop

[Number8]

Last week, my WinXP desktop had no problem connecting to my WinXP laptop via
Remote Desktop.
I was on the road for 5 days; now, back in the office, the desktop can't
connect to the laptop.

As far as I know, I haven't changed anything on the laptop (although it
appears obvious that something changed....)
I have disabled the firewall on the laptop, but still can't connect.

My home network consists of 3 desktop computers connected via ethernet cable
to a router, and one wireless laptop.

Any ideas on what would cause this sudden onset problem?

TIA...

 

[R. McCarty]

If you check Network Connections is the Wireless Connection shown
with any numbers ? Like Wireless Network Connection 3. It's possible
since your travel that a new Wireless Network was created. Do all the
PCs share the same Workgroup name ? From the desktop if you use
Network browsing do you see the other computers ? What happens if
you open an RD session with the laptop's IP Address ?

Final question - Could someone have reset your Router and lost any
customization settings, like Port Forwarding Port 3389 ?

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Last week, my WinXP desktop had no problem connecting to my WinXP laptop
via Remote Desktop.
I was on the road for 5 days; now, back in the office, the desktop can't
connect to the laptop.

As far as I know, I haven't changed anything on the laptop (although it
appears obvious that something changed....)
I have disabled the firewall on the laptop, but still can't connect.

My home network consists of 3 desktop computers connected via ethernet
cable to a router, and one wireless laptop.

Any ideas on what would cause this sudden onset problem?

TIA...

You need to state clearly what your setup is:.
- Is the desktop connected to the same network as the laptop or do you make
a connection via the Internet?
- Does the laptop have a fixed internal IP address?
- Do you connect via a VPN?
- If you connect via the Internet, does the desktop have a fixed external IP
address?
etc. etc.
- Does the laptop have a fixed IP address or does it use DHCP?

 

[Number8]

Thanks for the reply. Answers in-line....

If you check Network Connections is the Wireless Connection shown
with any numbers ? Like Wireless Network Connection 3. It's possible
since your travel that a new Wireless Network was created.

Only one "Wireless Network Connection".

Do all the PCs share the same Workgroup name ? Yes.

From the desktop if you use Network browsing do you see the other
computers ? Yes.

What happens if you open an RD session with the laptop's IP Address ?

That's how I connect -- via IP. I have local IP addresses (192.168.0.x)
assigned to each computer via the router so I can reliably route SVN stuff,
VNC, etc.

Final question - Could someone have reset your Router and lost any
customization settings, like Port Forwarding Port 3389 ?

I don't think I had any specific port forwarding for 3389, but I have set it
up now, and still can't connect to the laptop.

 

[Number8]

You need to state clearly what your setup is:.
- Is the desktop connected to the same network as the laptop or do you
make a connection via the Internet?
- Does the laptop have a fixed internal IP address?
- Do you connect via a VPN?
- If you connect via the Internet, does the desktop have a fixed external
IP address?
etc. etc.
- Does the laptop have a fixed IP address or does it use DHCP?

-- All computers are on the same local network, managed by the router.
-- All computers have fixed local (192.168.0.x) addresses, set in the
router. (The IP addresses are atached to the NIC.)
-- VPN is not in the picture.
-- N/A
-- As above, laptop has fixed local IP address.
In the Remote Desktop Connection dialog, I use the laptop's IP address:
192.168.0.252. This has been working for months, until yesterday.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

-- All computers are on the same local network, managed by the router.
-- All computers have fixed local (192.168.0.x) addresses, set in the
router. (The IP addresses are atached to the NIC.)
-- VPN is not in the picture.
-- N/A
-- As above, laptop has fixed local IP address.
In the Remote Desktop Connection dialog, I use the laptop's IP address:
192.168.0.252. This has been working for months, until yesterday.

Thanks for the reply.

OK, let's do some tests on your laptop PC:
- Click Start / Run
- Type the three letters cmd
- Click the OK button
- Type the following commands:
ipconfig{Enter}
(Confirm that the IP address is 192.168.0.252)
ping 192.168.0.252{Enter}
telnet 192.168.0.252 3389 {Enter}
- Report what happens in each case.

And now on the desktop PC:
- Click Start / Run
- Type the three letters cmd
- Click the OK button
- Type the following commands:
ping 192.168.0.252{Enter}
telnet 192.168.0.252 3389 {Enter}
- Report what happens in each case.

Note also the following:
- If your PCs have fixed IP addresses then these addresses are set by
Windows on each PC. They are not set in the router.
- Port forwarding is irrelevant in your case. It is only used when external
data packets must be forwarded to a specific internal PC.
- Workgroup/domain settings are irrelevant for this exercise. The laptop's
IP address is the only thing that matters.

 

[Number8]

OK, let's do some tests on your laptop PC:

- Click Start / Run
- Type the three letters cmd
- Click the OK button
- Type the following commands:
ipconfig{Enter}
(Confirm that the IP address is 192.168.0.252)
ping 192.168.0.252{Enter}
telnet 192.168.0.252 3389 {Enter}
- Report what happens in each case.

And now on the desktop PC:
- Click Start / Run
- Type the three letters cmd
- Click the OK button
- Type the following commands:
ping 192.168.0.252{Enter}
telnet 192.168.0.252 3389 {Enter}
- Report what happens in each case.

Note also the following:
- If your PCs have fixed IP addresses then these addresses are set by
Windows on each PC. They are not set in the router.
- Port forwarding is irrelevant in your case. It is only used when
external data packets must be forwarded to a specific internal PC.
- Workgroup/domain settings are irrelevant for this exercise. The laptop's
IP address is the only thing that matters.

On the laptop:
-- IP is 192.169.0.252
-- ping is successful
-- telnet is NOT successful:
[C:\Temp]

telnet 192.168.0.252 3389

Connecting To 192.168.0.252...Could not open connection to the host, on port
3389: Connect failed

On the desktop PC:
-- ping succeeds
-- telnet fails, same message as on laptop.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Number8]

Last week, my WinXP desktop had no problem connecting to my WinXP laptop
via Remote Desktop.
I was on the road for 5 days; now, back in the office, the desktop can't
connect to the laptop.

As far as I know, I haven't changed anything on the laptop (although it
appears obvious that something changed....)
I have disabled the firewall on the laptop, but still can't connect.

My home network consists of 3 desktop computers connected via ethernet
cable to a router, and one wireless laptop.

Any ideas on what would cause this sudden onset problem?

More info:
The Telnet service was disabled. Now set to Automatic, it won't start when
I try to explicitly start it ihn Computer Management.
Terminal Services was set to Automatic. When I try to explicitly start it,
I get the message that the service started then stopped.

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

More info:
The Telnet service was disabled. Now set to Automatic, it won't start
when I try to explicitly start it ihn Computer Management.
Terminal Services was set to Automatic. When I try to explicitly start
it, I get the message that the service started then stopped.

Perhaps the Event Viewer tells you why the "Terminal Server" keeps stopping.