In Mac OS X, how do I make a Remote Desktop connection to a Windows computer?

Using Remote Desktop, you can access a computer from a remote location. To connect to a Windows computer from another Windows computer, see In Windows, how do I use Remote Desktop to access my remote computer? To connect to a Windows computer from a remote computer running Mac OS X, see below.

To enable Remote Desktop, you must have administrative rights on the computer you want to use as the host (e.g., the computer to which you will connect from a remote location), which must be running one of the following versions of Windows:

• Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate
• Windows Vista Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate
• Windows XP Professional

Before making a remote connection, first enable the Remote Desktop feature on your host computer, and then install Remote Desktop Connection client software on your client computer.

Enabling Remote Desktop

To enable the Remote Desktop feature on your host (Windows) computer:

1. From the Start menu, select Control Panel (or Settings, and then Control Panel). Double-click System.
   
   
2. In Windows 7 and Vista, click Remote settings. In the "Remote Desktop" section, select one of the two options to allow connections from other computers.

   In Windows XP, select the Remote tab. Select Allow users to connect remotely to this computer.

3. To choose which users will have remote access, in 7 and Vista, click Select Users... , or in XP, click Select Remote Users... . Typically, all administrators of the computer will have access by default. Each user must have a password before you can allow remote access.
   
   
4. When you are finished, click OK. Your computer will now be able to accept incoming Remote Desktop connections.

Installing Remote Desktop Connection client software

You can download the Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) client for Mac OS X from Microsoft Mactopia.

Opening a connection

1. Launch Remote Desktop Connection.
   
   
2. In the Remote Desktop Connection window, in the "Computer:" field, type the DNS name or IP address of the destination host.
   
   
3. Click Connect.
   
   
4. In the window that appears, enter your username, passphrase, and domain.
   
   
5. Click OK to start your session. When you log out of your Windows session, the RDC application will close.

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