Remote Desktop Connection, OS 10.4.11

I got a new computer at work today. Unfortunately I can’t connect to it. I’m using Remote Desktop Connection 2.0 (beta) on my Mac, which is running OS 10.4.11. Since this it a G4 machine, that’s as high as I can go. The new PC is running Windows 7.

Here’s what happens: I start RDC. I get to the screen on my office PC that has an icon and my username. Below that is a box for putting in the password. When I click on the box or do anything, I get the beachball and a minute later I get a dialogue box saying I’ve been disconnected from the computer, and would I like to reconnect? This happened today at the office, when I went to a café to test the connection on their wi-fi.

Our IT guy could connect using RDC when my computer was hooked to the ethernet. He has a wireless device that he can plug into his MacBook Pro, and he was able to log in by connecting to my computer with RDC on his computer. He said that the signal at the café was probably weak. (It wasn’t exceptionally strong, but I was able to browse the Dope there at lunchtime.) I know my signal at home is not weak.

Is there some sort of incompatibility between RDC and Windows 7? I could not find a new download that mentions Windows 7.

Is there another RDC-like program I can use to connect to my office computer?

Web browsing is a lot more forgiving of a weak signal than something like RDC is. A web page loads and then is done, and it doesn’t care if it loads slowly. On the other hand, RDC needs a roughly real-time stream of information to work.

I use OS X 10.6 and RDC to Windows Server 2008 and have had no problems. I also sometimes use an RDC app on my iPod to connect. However, the wireless signal upstairs is often weak and so my iPod does sometimes have connection problems.

RDC has some options for adjusting the speed of the connection that might help you. If you sometimes connect from ethernet, you might have those set to expect high bandwidth that the cafe can’t provide. You can try adjusting the connection settings down to 256k or even 56k and see if that helps.

I don’t see an option for connection speed. Unfortunately I can’t use OS X 10.6 unless I buy a new computer. I don’t really want to spend $3,000 right now. (Because my next computer will be better for video editing.)

I’ve been connecting to my PC with RDC for a few years now. But it’s not working with the Windows 7 computer.

I’m using “Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Client for Mac” version 1.03 (040913)
I think it came with Office 2011, but it might be a version I downloaded.

When I open it, there’s a window that has a box to type in the computer address for the connection. Below that is a disclosure triangle and the word Options. If I click on that, there are several tabs of options. The last one is Performance. A drop-down menu has pre-sets based on the connection speed, and a set of check boxes to pick individual features manually. Whatever version you’re using should have a similar set of options somewhere.

I’ll check it out after the air show. I have a suspicion that it will require OS X 10.5 or higher, but I’ll see what it says.

I may have to ask for my old computer back so that I don’t have to make a 220-mile r/t commute every day.

I had an email waiting for me when I got home from the air show (which was just now). The IT guy suggested using the automatic logon preference in RDC. I don’t like auto-logon, for security reasons, but it worked.

Well, the good news is that I can connect to my computer. The bad news is that I can’t do anything.

I tried to do some work today, and it appears that anything that requires typing into cells (e.g., Start => Search, entering data into an Excel cell, Find & Replace in Excel) disconnects me from my computer. I’ve emailed the IT guy, and I hope he’ll try to do these things using his new MacBook Pro. If he can, and if there is no solution that can be used with my G4, then I may have to buy a ‘work computer’. I’ve emailed my tax guy (who may or may not answer) to ask if a new MacBook Pro can be written off as an employee business expense.

IT Guy emailed. He found a forum discussing my problem. (And he found this thread, too! :stuck_out_tongue: waves ) He sent me a link to an older version of RDC, and I’ve installed it. I was able to log on and to do the things I couldn’t do in my last post. He may have just saved me a couple-thousand dollars!

fingers crossed