i have remote desktop and have been using it quite frequently....so today i was using it....quit the program for about 10minutes...went to open it back up and now it cant connect......no prefs were changed, the other computer is still on and logged off, i tried restarting both, but i just cant connect.......i get the "Client could not connect to the remote computer" error.....i dont see what could be causing this
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
remote desktop quest
- Thread starter derajfast
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Does the Windows system have a firewall enabled? What about automatic updates? I believe that one of the updates will turn the firewall back on without warning you 
hmm i see.....could you walk me through how to disable it again? im not by the computer, and dont remember offhand, so i have to walk my sister through it so she can.....thanks......just explain it to me like you would a 6 year old, since shes 8 and isnt all that great with computers....i havent used a PC in awhile so i dont remember althought i could figure it out if i were in front of one
well i gave her a website that told hr how to disable it, and she did......and i still cant connect.......i dont know what else to do! i really really need this and wont be home for another 2 weeks...... so are there any other things i could do?
So you're in a different physical location? Have you had it working from there before, or just from at home?
Are you running it with port forwarding through a router? The local ip for the Windows box might have changed somehow...
Is she behind a home router that may have it's firewall on? Have you considered that mayber her ISP has blocked your access (or the port) used for remote control? Can you ping the computer or see any other ports on it?
no the firewall is disabled, and no one touched the computer......it was working absolutely fine.....i disconnected, and tried reconnecting and now i cant connect anymore......i was disconnected for like 5 minutes and couldnt reconnect.....the IP is the same, no one played with the internet settings, the computer accepts remote desktop access, and the port forwarding setup hasnt changed since i last used it
Distance doesn't matter.
Open Terminal.app, type:
ping ip_address
Where ip_address is (get ready for it), the IP address.
If it looks similar to this (stop the ping with Cntl-C):
Then it's alive on the network, meaning it's not blocked or off or whatever.
If you get anything else however, it's blocked, not there, wrong IP address, whatever.
Or for the GUI-impared, use /Applications/Utilities/Network Utility.app, select the ping tab, etc.
Open Terminal.app, type:
ping ip_address
Where ip_address is (get ready for it), the IP address.
If it looks similar to this (stop the ping with Cntl-C):
Code:
yellow% ping 17.254.0.91
PING 17.254.0.91 (17.254.0.91): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 17.254.0.91: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=1.068 ms
64 bytes from 17.254.0.91: icmp_seq=1 ttl=255 time=0.281 ms
^C
--- 17.254.0.91 ping statistics ---
2 packets transmitted, 2 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 0.281/0.675/1.068/0.393 msThen it's alive on the network, meaning it's not blocked or off or whatever.
If you get anything else however, it's blocked, not there, wrong IP address, whatever.
Or for the GUI-impared, use /Applications/Utilities/Network Utility.app, select the ping tab, etc.
Could be a couple of things..
1) The ISP doesn't allow ICMP packets.
2) The router doesn't allow ICMP packets.
3) The IP address is wrong.
4) The computer isn't on.
5) The computer's firewall is on and isn't allowing ICMP packets.
Mainly, they're all things that don't help you very much, other than to tell you that FWIW the comptuer is NOT there, which is why you cannot connect with RDC.
My next suggestion is to go to Network Utility.app and choose the "port scan" tab, put in the IP of the box, and choose ports between 1 and 500, and let 'er rip.
1) The ISP doesn't allow ICMP packets.
2) The router doesn't allow ICMP packets.
3) The IP address is wrong.
4) The computer isn't on.
5) The computer's firewall is on and isn't allowing ICMP packets.
Mainly, they're all things that don't help you very much, other than to tell you that FWIW the comptuer is NOT there, which is why you cannot connect with RDC.
My next suggestion is to go to Network Utility.app and choose the "port scan" tab, put in the IP of the box, and choose ports between 1 and 500, and let 'er rip.
ok but it connected before and just stopped.......the IP address is right, the computer is on but logged off, it allows remote connections......ive had my sister d ouble check for me....is there a way the port forwarding settings somehow ''automatically'' reset themselves or something?
derajfast said:
Just because you think this is the setup doesn't mean it is...
There's a bajillion variables with networking, so sometimes one wee thing changes and everything that you could do before, now you cannot do.
The IP address could have changed unless you're paying for a static IP. That's the nature of DHCP addresses. Just because the checkbox says "allow remote connections" doesn't mean it actually is. Adn you keep saying "port forwarding" is there a home router involved that was forwarding packets from the outside world to this PC? If so, if someone reset it, or maybe powered it off, or if the router is out to lunch completely, all these things can effect your ability to get to it. The best thing? Take the router out of the loop for testing purposes.