RE: Virtual Access to a Computer

["Paul Gordon" <paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>
> At the moment our desktop PC (rather large and old) is on 24/7 in the
> study. Sounds fine except its next to the bedroom and the whirring is
> starting to become annoying.
>
> Since it only stores DVD's / Music etc the idea is to get rid of the
> monitor and put the tower in the cupboard under the stairs. That way
> rather than run wirelessly I can attach it via cable to the router in
> the hall. The hope is that it will improve streaming capabilities to
> XBMC.
>

[Paul Gordon]
Watch out for ventilation / heat issues... - if this cupboard isn't
ventilated in any way, it's liable to get pretty hot in there with a
large PC running 24/7. This may well start to cause problems with
overheating and reliability, and even if not, will likely degrade the
life MTBF of all the components... However, the idea is a good one, and
you're correct in expecting better performance from a wired connection
over a wireless one, - just so long as you aren't putting it on a measly
10MB wired connection!


> Unfortunately that means drilling a hole in the bottom stair to run
> the cable through.
>
> I'm still going to want remote access to the desktop PC via the
> laptop. Any free programmes that will allow you to do that without
> having to 'accept' remote access from the desktop computer? All
> computers running Windows XP.
>

[Paul Gordon]
VNC does this in just about any combination of remote/host OS's,
however, if your XP machines are PRO rather than XP Home, then they are
capable of being remote desktop hosts without any additional software,
and XP Pro's built-in remote desktop is *very* fast, - much faster than
using VNC or alternatives like PC-Anywhere in my opinion. The only
downside is that the host & remote can't be accessed at the same time,
-
i.e. when a remote desktop client is accessing it, the local screen is
locked. Since you plan to run it headless however, this isn't going to
be a problem.
XP Pro's remote desktop can be se set up to connect without requiring
any "accept" action at the remote host.
FYI: XP Home edition *CAN* be a remote desktop client, but it can't be a
remote desktop host (although I believe I've heard of hacks on the web
to add this ability back in to XP Home).


> In addition, just a small point - I presume it won't matter having the
> desktop PC relatively near the mains gas point which is also under the
> stairs.
>
[Paul Gordon]

I certainly hope not, - considering the amount of kit I've got sitting
next to my gas meter!..

> Advice much appreciated!