remote desktop problem?

Question

I'm using xp pro and my remote desktop use to work then I updated my routers firmware linksys wrt54g and I updated remote desktop to 6.0 And it quit working so I rolledback the firmware on my router and remote desktop to 5.1 and it still doesn't work My router is port forwarded to the correct port and windows firewall is allowing it as well. Why could it have stopped working and can someone tell me how to get it back. If you need anymore info let me know

I changed my default port from 3389 and the port I am using is forwarded in the router. RDC Tells me that the client cannot connect to the remote computer. also the router is still pointed to the computer I am trying to connect to.

Answer 1

Check that the forwarded port is still pointing to the correct internal IP address. If you reset the router after the firmware change, DHCP might have assigned the computer with remote desktop a different IP than it had previously, so the port would not be forwarding to the correct place.

Try telnetting from another PC to your IP on that port and see if you're getting a connection at all. And if you haven't already, try rebooting the PC to make sure that the remote desktop service is running properly.

Answer 2

There are several potential issues.
1. The firmware upgrade could have installed incorrectly and the rollback did not repair the problem. The fix is to reinstall the firmware upgrade, then hard-reset the router (yes, I know you'll have to reconfigure).
2. Same for the remote desktop upgrade. If the rollback didn't fix it, roll back up.
3. I've seen lots of instances where the settings are "correct", but don't function. Sometimes setting them wrong, then back to correct, solves this issue. Unmap your ports, then re-map them on the router. Close your firewall ports then reopen them.
4. You could have another firewall program (Norton Internet Security is notorious) that is blocking your remote desktop. Check third-part software. Some of these even reconfigure your router without your knowledge.
5. The issue could be at the other end of your remote desktop connection.
6. We often put remote desktop on non-standard ports so intruders can't easily hack our clients. If you were set on a non-standard ports, the upgrade could have "restored" you to defaults.
There are lots of potential headaches here. Much easier to diagnose if we had a look at your system; even remotely.

Answer 3

You probably need to open up port 3389 on your Linksys router.