Thank you, Your work is very thorough. I am using Mac OS X 10.6.6 and Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) for Mac Version 2.1.0. Presently, no luck connecting to my remote desktop using IP or computer name. I can connect using version 1.0.2 and I can connect via Windows 7 on another machine, so I know the connection works. Somehow, there is a user name/password/or domain that is not transferred or read correctly. I am posting this just in case others are experiencing problems with RDC for Mac 2.1.0 and are seeking help or know the answer.
Mike
12 years ago
Hi,
Can’t get this to work at all.
I have a laptop connected wirelessly – justs does not work.
Was hoping to use RDC to remote connect to in-laws PC many miles away.
This works for computers in the same network. If your in-laws computer is in another network and has an IP which is not accessible from your network, then it will never work.
For such connections you should use other solutions like TeamViewer.
It will work, but you’ll need to configure the remote end to accept connections. (and as said below teamviewer will be simpler)
i.e. remote public IP, if it is static ‘great’ you can use this if not you’ll need the end user to give it to you when connecting this can be done by them googling whatismyipaddress this will show the user their current public IP address, or you can setup dyndns on their router.
You’ll also need to configure port forwarding on port 3389 to the internal IP address of the remote PC on their router, again if this is dynamic and their enviroment changes alot this may change. but theres no harm in them having a static one internally.
Ronald Willey
12 years ago
Mike: Try to find the older version of RDC 1.0.2 for the mac. It works, regardless of network. I have tried the current version of RDC on our internal network, and still failed to get it to connect with my office PC. There is one tip, or a missing link in the code itself, that is preventing us from success with RDC 2.1.0. I suspect that it is related to a handshake between the two platforms, one side is sending a username/password combination that the other side does not understand.
Keith Butten
12 years ago
Running Lion on iMac with Thunderbolt display, would like RDC to be available in a dual screen mode, is this supported? What options do I have?
Thank you
Alex Currie
12 years ago
This is a great tutorial but it has one flaw.
RDC does not work as advertised with XP SP3, Vista and I am told with Windows 7. You can spend hours trying, there are people who will lead you through a huge registry change on the discussion forums and in the end you will be banging your head against the wall.
Save yourself the agony. Either pay someone to transfer your stuff or buy a portable HD (if you don’t have one) big enough to cover your current HD and just move the stuff.
Apple was next to useless in support here. The answer I got was there was a virus in my PC which Norton and McAfee did not find in full system scans.
I was told by a service guy at a store that with Windows 7 it may be possible to export to a Mac by initiating the move from the PC vs from the MAC
Wow, buddy! I have this installed in my Mac, used with Snow Leopard and now on Lion and have no problems whatsoever! I love it. I also use to connect to my office over Cisco VPN and works perfectly without any hassle.
If you cannot connect then there might be reasons for it.
1. Windows Firewall
2. in Windows, you have to enable the Remote Desktop by checking the check-box and not the remote assistance. They are two different things. You right click on the My Computer and goto properties and there you find the Remote tab.
3. Of course, in my case Norton gives me lot of headache. Especially, when I use the Parallels it doesn’t even recognize the .exe files for windows. I had to uninstall to make it work. So, yes these Virus software definitely create lot of headaches.
4. Never ever trust the service rep. They are so stupid, when they don not know how they have to respond they will just make up some things and give you the wrong directions. Just follow your own instinct and google it and you will find tones of help.
Lauriena
12 years ago
When I was running OS X 10.6, I had not problems getting RDC to work. But now that I have upgraded to an iMac with OS X 10.7, my connection seems to get dropped on a fairly regular basis. If I am away from my desk for more than 2 or 3 minutes, or if I minimize the RD screen to do something locally on my iMac, I get disconnected. The message I am getting is “Someone with access to the Windows-based computer may have ended the connection, or the Windows-based computer has dropped the connection” And I know that no one at my office is accessing my computer while I am working.
I am connected via VPN to my work network, and have no problems with the VPN connection. It is the RDC connection that keeps dropping. I have even tried running a “mouse jiggler” program on the Windows based PC, but that does not help.
If I go back to OS X 10.6, no issues (I have this on another iMac and on my MacBook Pro), but it happens multiple times during the day when on OS X 10.7.2
I spend 8+ hours a day connected to my work computer, two provinces away, so this is becoming a huge hassle.
Vincent D'Souza
12 years ago
Great product and I love it. Of course it needs a few tweaks but lets hope that they will come out in the coming releases…. 🙂
rick
11 years ago
Just wanted to say thank you for posting this; I was having a lot of trouble connecting and your tut made it happen!
This is a very helpful tutorial but I’d like to note that you should also set port forwarding in the wireless router to the default 3389 and enter your wireless IPv4 address, and also be sure your firewall settings allow access to RDC.
G Gabriel
11 years ago
Keyboard input not working : Any reason that the keyboard input would not work from the Mac once the connection is made and successful. It allows me to run an executable on the Windows side, but when the application prompts for username and password , keyboard input from the Mac does not work.
thanks
What you are seeing – is it a UAC prompt? If yes, then you cannot remotely type input to it. You must change it default settings, as advised here: How to Change User Account Control (UAC) Levels.
Not a UAC prompt. The application that is running on the Windows side has a prompt for a username and password to use the Windows app. If I remote into the same Windows system from a Windows system then it all works fine (starting the app and logging in with the username and password for that application).
Was hoping that even though the application itself does not run on a Mac, that a remote connection from a Mac to the Windows system it would work.
It is a UAC prompt. 🙂 Try the configuration I suggested. It might help to lower the UAC level a bit.
However, do not turn off UAC. You will expose yourself to security problems.
janko
11 years ago
hi,
i’m trying to print via rdp from win7 location back to mac, but i can’t see the printer.
When the RDC is on to enter your remote computer’s name/ip, on the top left corner click on RDC->Preferences. There you see the Printers icon, click on it and make sure the check box next to “Use a printer that is connect to the Mac” is checked and the correct printer is selected from the drop down below. If you are already connected remotely you may have to disconnect and reconnect but I will leave it up to you to verify.
Also, on the second thought, have you installed the printer on Win7 yet? Since you said, it works on winXP, you might have forgotten to install printer on Win7…
Pip
11 years ago
Using Remote desktop my “line in” and all recording inputs are disabled.
Although system sounds remain, I cannot get access to a receiver input plugged into the sound card. Is there any way around this?
Aliasgar Babat
11 years ago
Thank you for the above mentioned steps in regards to establishing remote connection between windows and MAC computers. The above mentioned steps work for computers in the same network. For computers in different networks, one can deploy on premise remote support appliance such as RHUB or Bomgar appliances. It works on both MAC and Windows computers.
Alfred Gaskin
10 years ago
Hello all, there is a new version of Microsoft Remote Desktop on the App Store. This version works brilliantly with OS X Mavericks. Hope this helps.
Cheers.
Martin
7 years ago
Hi can you help I can connect to my windows PC at work from my MacBook but I would like to save my credentials but whatever I try when I connect it always asks for my password I have highlighted add user information to keychain but still no joy Thanks
Mike
6 years ago
Hello all, just to let you know that the application discussed in this article is no longer available from Microsoft website. They now provide Microsoft Remote Desktop using Apple’s App Store.
KB
4 years ago
That works like a charm. But the HP printer i have at home prints everything duplex – i can’t find how to change it. Loaded single print settings on mac but they aren’t crossing over to remote PC. i have tried a restart. HAve you struck this before?
Jim
3 years ago
Sorry, forgot to fill out the name and email for the message just sent.
Thank you, Your work is very thorough. I am using Mac OS X 10.6.6 and Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) for Mac Version 2.1.0. Presently, no luck connecting to my remote desktop using IP or computer name. I can connect using version 1.0.2 and I can connect via Windows 7 on another machine, so I know the connection works. Somehow, there is a user name/password/or domain that is not transferred or read correctly. I am posting this just in case others are experiencing problems with RDC for Mac 2.1.0 and are seeking help or know the answer.
Hi,
Can’t get this to work at all.
I have a laptop connected wirelessly – justs does not work.
Was hoping to use RDC to remote connect to in-laws PC many miles away.
Mac OS X 10.6.7
This works for computers in the same network. If your in-laws computer is in another network and has an IP which is not accessible from your network, then it will never work.
For such connections you should use other solutions like TeamViewer.
It will work, but you’ll need to configure the remote end to accept connections. (and as said below teamviewer will be simpler)
i.e. remote public IP, if it is static ‘great’ you can use this if not you’ll need the end user to give it to you when connecting this can be done by them googling whatismyipaddress this will show the user their current public IP address, or you can setup dyndns on their router.
You’ll also need to configure port forwarding on port 3389 to the internal IP address of the remote PC on their router, again if this is dynamic and their enviroment changes alot this may change. but theres no harm in them having a static one internally.
Mike: Try to find the older version of RDC 1.0.2 for the mac. It works, regardless of network. I have tried the current version of RDC on our internal network, and still failed to get it to connect with my office PC. There is one tip, or a missing link in the code itself, that is preventing us from success with RDC 2.1.0. I suspect that it is related to a handshake between the two platforms, one side is sending a username/password combination that the other side does not understand.
Running Lion on iMac with Thunderbolt display, would like RDC to be available in a dual screen mode, is this supported? What options do I have?
Thank you
This is a great tutorial but it has one flaw.
RDC does not work as advertised with XP SP3, Vista and I am told with Windows 7. You can spend hours trying, there are people who will lead you through a huge registry change on the discussion forums and in the end you will be banging your head against the wall.
Save yourself the agony. Either pay someone to transfer your stuff or buy a portable HD (if you don’t have one) big enough to cover your current HD and just move the stuff.
Apple was next to useless in support here. The answer I got was there was a virus in my PC which Norton and McAfee did not find in full system scans.
I was told by a service guy at a store that with Windows 7 it may be possible to export to a Mac by initiating the move from the PC vs from the MAC
Wow, buddy! I have this installed in my Mac, used with Snow Leopard and now on Lion and have no problems whatsoever! I love it. I also use to connect to my office over Cisco VPN and works perfectly without any hassle.
If you cannot connect then there might be reasons for it.
1. Windows Firewall
2. in Windows, you have to enable the Remote Desktop by checking the check-box and not the remote assistance. They are two different things. You right click on the My Computer and goto properties and there you find the Remote tab.
3. Of course, in my case Norton gives me lot of headache. Especially, when I use the Parallels it doesn’t even recognize the .exe files for windows. I had to uninstall to make it work. So, yes these Virus software definitely create lot of headaches.
4. Never ever trust the service rep. They are so stupid, when they don not know how they have to respond they will just make up some things and give you the wrong directions. Just follow your own instinct and google it and you will find tones of help.
When I was running OS X 10.6, I had not problems getting RDC to work. But now that I have upgraded to an iMac with OS X 10.7, my connection seems to get dropped on a fairly regular basis. If I am away from my desk for more than 2 or 3 minutes, or if I minimize the RD screen to do something locally on my iMac, I get disconnected. The message I am getting is “Someone with access to the Windows-based computer may have ended the connection, or the Windows-based computer has dropped the connection” And I know that no one at my office is accessing my computer while I am working.
I am connected via VPN to my work network, and have no problems with the VPN connection. It is the RDC connection that keeps dropping. I have even tried running a “mouse jiggler” program on the Windows based PC, but that does not help.
If I go back to OS X 10.6, no issues (I have this on another iMac and on my MacBook Pro), but it happens multiple times during the day when on OS X 10.7.2
I spend 8+ hours a day connected to my work computer, two provinces away, so this is becoming a huge hassle.
Great product and I love it. Of course it needs a few tweaks but lets hope that they will come out in the coming releases…. 🙂
Just wanted to say thank you for posting this; I was having a lot of trouble connecting and your tut made it happen!
Glad to be of help!
This is a very helpful tutorial but I’d like to note that you should also set port forwarding in the wireless router to the default 3389 and enter your wireless IPv4 address, and also be sure your firewall settings allow access to RDC.
Keyboard input not working : Any reason that the keyboard input would not work from the Mac once the connection is made and successful. It allows me to run an executable on the Windows side, but when the application prompts for username and password , keyboard input from the Mac does not work.
thanks
What you are seeing – is it a UAC prompt? If yes, then you cannot remotely type input to it. You must change it default settings, as advised here: How to Change User Account Control (UAC) Levels.
Not a UAC prompt. The application that is running on the Windows side has a prompt for a username and password to use the Windows app. If I remote into the same Windows system from a Windows system then it all works fine (starting the app and logging in with the username and password for that application).
Was hoping that even though the application itself does not run on a Mac, that a remote connection from a Mac to the Windows system it would work.
It is a UAC prompt. 🙂 Try the configuration I suggested. It might help to lower the UAC level a bit.
However, do not turn off UAC. You will expose yourself to security problems.
hi,
i’m trying to print via rdp from win7 location back to mac, but i can’t see the printer.
if i try it on winXP works fine.
any ideas?
When the RDC is on to enter your remote computer’s name/ip, on the top left corner click on RDC->Preferences. There you see the Printers icon, click on it and make sure the check box next to “Use a printer that is connect to the Mac” is checked and the correct printer is selected from the drop down below. If you are already connected remotely you may have to disconnect and reconnect but I will leave it up to you to verify.
Also, on the second thought, have you installed the printer on Win7 yet? Since you said, it works on winXP, you might have forgotten to install printer on Win7…
Using Remote desktop my “line in” and all recording inputs are disabled.
Although system sounds remain, I cannot get access to a receiver input plugged into the sound card. Is there any way around this?
Thank you for the above mentioned steps in regards to establishing remote connection between windows and MAC computers. The above mentioned steps work for computers in the same network. For computers in different networks, one can deploy on premise remote support appliance such as RHUB or Bomgar appliances. It works on both MAC and Windows computers.
Hello all, there is a new version of Microsoft Remote Desktop on the App Store. This version works brilliantly with OS X Mavericks. Hope this helps.
Cheers.
Hi can you help I can connect to my windows PC at work from my MacBook but I would like to save my credentials but whatever I try when I connect it always asks for my password I have highlighted add user information to keychain but still no joy Thanks
Hello all, just to let you know that the application discussed in this article is no longer available from Microsoft website. They now provide Microsoft Remote Desktop using Apple’s App Store.
That works like a charm. But the HP printer i have at home prints everything duplex – i can’t find how to change it. Loaded single print settings on mac but they aren’t crossing over to remote PC. i have tried a restart. HAve you struck this before?
Sorry, forgot to fill out the name and email for the message just sent.
Jim
Thanks