[Scott F.]

Hiya guys!

I haven't done a search on this yet but I thought you guys might help me sift narrow my choices down before I start the actual search.

What I'm looking to do is remotely operate Foobar (which resides on my server) from my laptop. What I'm going to do is run a USB cord from my server to a USB DAC which is connected to my HT system (they are about 7' apart  separated by a wall). I'd like to use my laptop as a remote to choose playlists and select music.

I'm running Windows XP SP2 on both machines. My network is wireless.

Is there an integrated feature on XP that lets me do this (something in sharing?) or do I need a commercial program like PC Anywhere or PC Remote? Is there a Freeware program that works fairly well?

TIA!

[mgalusha]

You can use remote desktop. It's built into XP and works quite well.

On the machine you want to control right click on "my computer" and select properties. There will be a "Remote" tab. Check the "Allow users to connect remotely to this computer". If you log on with an account that does not have administrative access you will need to allow that user to login. If you're using the default XP security (there really isn't any) then you should be good to go.

On the client machine, the remote desktop client is under Accessories -> Communications -> Remote Desktop Client. Bring it up, enter the name of the machine you want to log into and you're good to go. Note that it will disable the keyboard on the remote machine while you are connected.

If this doesn't work there are lots of help pages on the net about using it.

mike

[lcrim]

Mike's advice is solid.
I would also recommend a free downloadable program called UltraVNC available @
http://www.uvnc.com/
It is an easy to use remote control software that that allows you to see and interact with the remote desktop as  if you are there.  Must be installed and configured on both PC's.  The online help files are complete and straightforward.  I like it very much.

[Scott F.]

Mike, Larry,

Thanks for the help!  I'll try both and see which works the best.

[mgalusha]

VNC works great as well. Either one should give you what you're looking for.

[JEaton]

If you're running Windows XP Professional on the server then it has built in Remote Desktop.  If I recall, it's disabled by default.  Go to Control Panel > System > Remote to enable it.  The client software (for the laptop) can run on any Windows operating system and can be downloaded from:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/tools/rdclientdl.mspx

If you're not running XP Pro, then you'll need third-party software, such as one of VNCs.