Remote Desktop

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  • chris_j_hunter
    Automated Home Legend
    • Dec 2007
    • 1713

    Remote Desktop

    we're running Windows 8.1 Pro now, on the 24/7 Cortex PC, and trying to work (editing, reviewing, etc) from our laptop (MacBookPro) but can't make it work - we downloaded the relevant extensions from MS Windows Store & Apple AppStore, but from either end the attempt to Connect always fails ... various postings here infer others are doing this already, so - is there perhaps an obvious trick we might be missing ?
    Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 9 February 2015, 07:38 PM.
    Our self-build - going further with HA...
  • toscal
    Moderator
    • Oct 2005
    • 2061

    #2
    Try Log me in. Its not free any more but is a lot less hassle than trying to get remote desktop on windows to work properly. And its handy if you are somewhere other than your home network.
    Another one to try which is free is Avain Waves RD, but I think this is only for Windows based machinery.
    If you want to go the remote desktop route then try this.
    IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.
    Renovation Spain Blog

    Comment

    • Paul_B
      Automated Home Legend
      • Jul 2006
      • 608

      #3
      Originally posted by chris_j_hunter View Post
      we're running Windows 8.1 Pro now, on the 24/7 Cortex PC, and trying to work (editing, reviewing, etc) from our laptop (MacBookPro) but can't make it work - we downloaded the relevant extensions from MS Windows Store & Apple AppStore, but from either end the attempt to Connect always fails ... various postings here infer others are doing this already, so - is there perhaps an obvious trick we might be missing ?
      Chris,

      How have you enabled RDP on the Windows 8.1 machine? If you bring up a command prompt [cmd] then type netstat -an do you see Local Address with port 3389 listening? Have you tried connecting with IP address rather than hostname?

      Paul

      Comment

      • Aristoteles
        Automated Home Jr Member
        • Jan 2013
        • 32

        #4
        Since you are connecting from a MBP, I assume you are using MacOs which Im not using myself, but happened to stumble upon a solution that might work for you:

        've managed to connect to the 8.1 preview build 9431 with my Mac Remote Desktop Connection.
        Here's what I did:
        Make sure the firewall allows the RDP connection (already stated before)
        Open the Management Console (mmc.exe)
        Add the 'Local Computer Policy' snap-in
        Goto:
        - Computer Configuration
        - Administrative Templates
        - Windows Components
        - Remote Desktop Services
        - Remote Desktop Session Host
        - Security
        Change the following two settings from their default (be aware that there might be a reason that MSFT has decided to set them to default. It might be advisable to revise those settings after a new Mac RDP client has been released)
        - 'Require use of specific for remote desktop (RDP) connections' from 'Default' to 'Enabled', then select 'RDP' in the options pane
        - 'Require user authentication for remote connections by using Network Level Authentications' to 'Disabled'
        Restart the 'Remote Desktop Service' or simply restart the computer
        Voila! I can use my Mac RDP client 2.1.1 (110309) with Windows 8.1 build 9431

        /Glenn

        P.S. I prefer Team Viewer in case I don't want to/cannot use RDP (it's free).
        Last edited by Aristoteles; 10 February 2015, 04:08 AM.

        Comment

        • chris_j_hunter
          Automated Home Legend
          • Dec 2007
          • 1713

          #5
          Paul -

          netstat listed nineteen connections as established, but nothing is said to be listening & port 3389 is not mentioned ... tried again a few minutes later, same result but just five connections ...

          we’re using Cortex Mobile, from the MBP, so both computers are clearly communicating - but trying to connect via RDP, too, fails, Cortex Mobile on or off ... Remote Desktop is listed in the second page of the Start screen, but not when we go into the Systems Properties dialogue box ... beginning to wonder if it actually is the Pro version of Windows 8.1 we have !

          another nightmare, now, though, is that the PC is of a sudden demanding a password on start-up, so Cortex auto-start no longer happens ! We created a MS Windows Store account, to download the Remote Desktop extension, and now, having just restarted the PC (to see if it made a difference, which it didn’t, other than this) it now demands the same password before the PC will get going after Restart ...

          WAF rather low at the moment !

          Chris
          Our self-build - going further with HA...

          Comment

          • chris_j_hunter
            Automated Home Legend
            • Dec 2007
            • 1713

            #6
            Glen -

            thanks - we fell at second hurdle though, because couldn’t find the snap-in ...

            did try various others, in case it now has a new name, but no luck ...

            Chris
            Our self-build - going further with HA...

            Comment

            • chris_j_hunter
              Automated Home Legend
              • Dec 2007
              • 1713

              #7
              toscal -

              many thanks - gave it a go, but falls down a few steps in, because Remote Desktop fails to appear in the Systems Properties dialogue box - and yet it was certainly installed, and is listed in second page of the Windows 8 Start screen ...

              Googling into Apple Discussions & MS help areas shows we might not be alone, only we're using latest versions, later than they had problems with, so would expect bugs to have been fixed !

              Chris
              Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 10 February 2015, 07:05 PM.
              Our self-build - going further with HA...

              Comment

              • chris_j_hunter
                Automated Home Legend
                • Dec 2007
                • 1713

                #8
                hmmm, following Glen's suggestion, we downloaded TeamViewer & gave it a go - it also fails to connect !

                odd, because Cortex Mobile works fine, between the same two computers !

                tried both ways, with computer name & with 192.168.xx.xx

                Chris
                Our self-build - going further with HA...

                Comment

                • chris_j_hunter
                  Automated Home Legend
                  • Dec 2007
                  • 1713

                  #9
                  PS: OK got TeamViewer working - sure it said it could work when installed at one end only, but then realised that was unlikely !

                  So, got it onto the 24/7 PC as well and, once also realised that it was the TeamViewer ID rather than the 192.168.xx.xx address we had to enter, all became fine ...

                  so, many thanks for the suggestion !
                  Our self-build - going further with HA...

                  Comment

                  • Paul_B
                    Automated Home Legend
                    • Jul 2006
                    • 608

                    #10
                    To get Windows to login automatically you need to add some registry keys:

                    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\AutoAdminLogon = 1 Create string value if none exists
                    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\DefaultUsername = local user account create string value if none exists
                    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\DefaultPassword = password for user above create string value if none exists

                    Note, you may not have created a local account by the sounds of it but a Microsoft Online Account. This is probably not what you want in your setup so you could follow the following to create a local account - http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/win...in-windows-81/

                    I can't find a one line script to check that Remote Desktop is enabled and that the firewall allows connection but you could double check your config against - http://www.guidingtech.com/13469/how...-in-windows-8/

                    When you try to connect from your Mac try the IP address rather than hostname

                    Paul

                    Comment

                    • chris_j_hunter
                      Automated Home Legend
                      • Dec 2007
                      • 1713

                      #11
                      Paul -

                      many thanks - that opened a whole new world !

                      we had a double problem, LockScreen + Login Password, both interceding ... neither had made a showing before, in all the time since we’d got the PC up & running, several weeks ago, and we’ve Restarted many times - always a very quick process, until this time, after downloading & installing MS Remote Desktop, from the Windows Store, when it took a while to happen, and gave us a sense of foreboding, which was consummated when they presented themselves ...

                      Karam had anticipated we might have LockScreen problems, and pre-armed us with this :



                      which worked well, leading to us to make our first addition to the Registry - so a few bells rang, when you made your suggestion, viz :

                      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\AutoAdminLogon = 1 Create string value if none exists

                      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\DefaultUsername = local user account create string value if none exists

                      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\DefaultPassword = password for user above create string value if none exists

                      along the way we found a quicker way to get into the editor (Windows 8.1 Start screen, second page, the Apps screen, type regedit into the search box & click what’s found) ...

                      having done that, your file structure comes up ... but only as far as Windows NT, there being no CurrentVersion folder below that ...

                      not sure, but maybe you meant us to add the rest (?)

                      in the meantime, however, we found this :



                      which led us to type NetPlwiz into the Apps page search box - clicking the result then gave us a check-box based way of getting-rid of the need for Password on Login ...

                      finger’s crossed, but can't Restart just now - SWMBO says she needs the house to keep working !

                      we still can’t get MS Remote Desktop to work, via its name or via its IP address ... the two computers are communicating (Cortex Mobile works fine), but trying to connect via Remote Desktop fails (message being to check that the PC is on & available on the network, and that RD is enabled) ... Task Manager lists Remote Desktop as running, so presumably it is enabled (!), but it doesn’t show up in the Systems Properties dialogue box (which is where the check-boxes to enable it etc would be) ...

                      OTOH, TeamViewer is working well ...

                      many thanks

                      Chris
                      Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 11 February 2015, 02:22 PM.
                      Our self-build - going further with HA...

                      Comment

                      • spellinn
                        Automated Home Sr Member
                        • Dec 2007
                        • 53

                        #12
                        It's these kind of issues (which are only going to get worse with each release of Windows) that worries me about the longevity of Cortex as a viable home automation controller. You have to faff about so much to get Cortex to auto-start, mess with the registry to get auto-logon to work and RDP either doesn't work or kills the audio. It's hardly smooth sailing just to get to the GUI.

                        If Cortex ran as a web service, with a full GUI provided through a web page, and proper restful API then all these problems would go away.

                        Whilst I've got a considerable investment in Idratek hardware, Cortex having to run on a Windows OS, and administered by the console, is to me the weakest link in the system (which otherwise is excellent).

                        I hope Idratek have plans afoot to remove these legacy dependencies...

                        Regards


                        Neil

                        Comment

                        • chris_j_hunter
                          Automated Home Legend
                          • Dec 2007
                          • 1713

                          #13
                          yep, the logic for Windows was probably clear-cut, at the time ... but for us it’s always seemed an unfortunate choice, not to say a very unwelcome overhead, time & money. Chaos & indiscipline seem to be endemic - lots of diving-in & doing, too little thinking it through first, meaning (for the user) lots of inconsistency, lots of digging deep, lots of working-around ... we were using Windows XP, now we’re using Windows 8.1, first impressions of the move were positive, some good ideas - only they turn out to be mostly half-baked, as though the team weren’t totally on-board and/or time ran out - eg: quite like the new Start pages, but managing content is a nightmare (very easy to delete, very hit & miss, mostly miss, to add new items), and having to undertake an archaeological dig to discover hidden subroutines just to be able to (eg) switch password-protect on start-up back off after some small auto’ updates were taken on-board (regular Defender Definition updates) is just ridiculous !

                          the web-service approach sounds interesting, Cortex is pretty deep stuff, can have a lot to do, and needs to be responsive - could it cope ?

                          Chris
                          Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 19 February 2015, 04:10 PM.
                          Our self-build - going further with HA...

                          Comment

                          • spellinn
                            Automated Home Sr Member
                            • Dec 2007
                            • 53

                            #14
                            Originally posted by chris_j_hunter View Post
                            the web-service approach sounds interesting, Cortex is pretty deep stuff, can have a lot to do, and needs to be responsive - could it cope ?

                            Chris
                            One could split Cortex into modules...a core module that need "realtime" performance (providing the serial port comms, responding to IdraNet messages) and those UI tasks which display or modify configuration which can get a lower priority. Other modules such as logging, API, Web GUI, Mobile GUI, Security Camera etc could be given their own priorities, or even be designed to be able to run on remote systems, ensuring the core module wasn't starved of resources by less important tasks.

                            At present Cortex appears to be a big monolithic beast with everything baked into a single exe (I'm probably vastly oversimplifying Vivian's code here!)

                            An alternative could be to make more use of Reflex where the majority of the realtime stuff happens in the modules themselves, and there's Idranet > IP gateway module (with embedded ARM or similar) that provides the core Cortex module and has a guaranteed level of performance (as it's self-contained and doesn't have the overheads of Windows and whatever else is installed there..AV etc).

                            Cheers



                            Neil

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                            • Paul_B
                              Automated Home Legend
                              • Jul 2006
                              • 608

                              #15
                              Sorry disagree fundamentally. Setting up Cortex on Windows is not that difficult. Running one machine and remoting to another is not a common task nor one that most users attempt then add in a Mac. Windows doesn't want you to be running an interactive application as a service, for one it isn't secure. But that doesn't mean you can't and it isn't that difficult to find out how. I've run MacOS, Linux and Windows, each system has numerous frustrations as soon as you move outside of the standard, default or ecosystem. As soon as you need to do something complex you need to start learning and digging into the OS. Microsoft has had to change things from Vista because no-one was following recommendations and best practice, so the default status quo had to change. Start Windows 8/8.1 with a Microsoft Live Account and it most just works with auto-sync and easy install of apps from the store. My Cortex machine runs 24x7 on a low power PC (10W) 1.6Ghz processor and 2GB RAM with no problem, it also runs DNS and an SMTP relay.

                              I do agree that Cortex needs to re-worked as a service for the backend and database, the front-end being a separate application or a web interface which is capable of running remotely.

                              Just my 2p's worth

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