How can I remotely access the desktop of a Windows 7 Home Premium from a Mac Lion?

Question

I need to access my development machine from a Macbook Air laptop running Lion.

I've tried downloading the Remote Desktop Client from Microsoft for the Mac but unfortunately the W7 Home Premium doesn't support Remote Desktop access.

Is there another way?

Solution 1

Use a VNC Server on your W7 PC.

TightVNC is free and easy to set up. http://www.tightvnc.com/download.php

Back on the Mac you can connect through the VNC protocol, from the Finder (Go > Connect to Server...).

E.g.: vnc://<your_pc_address>[:<port>]

FYI: OS X is using the Screen Sharing application to connect to the VNC server.

Solution 2

I like TeamViewer myself, I use it on all my PC and do remote service with it.

Solution 3

I use LogMeIn to do this. Both computers will have to be connected to the internet for this to work.

Solution 4

Google Chrome's "Remote Desktop Beta" works amazingly well and is cross platform compatible, as long as you have Chrome installed.

It does have some quirks, but it's at least worth a look.

Solution 5

There's a hack to allow Remote Desktop connections on Windows 7 Home Premium. It involves running an installer which modifies a system DLL. Here's a link to the guide: http://www.missingremote.com/guide/how-enable-concurrent-sessions-windows-7-service-pack-1-beta

If memory serves, you will have to create an account on that site and log in to download the installer. It's a hack, but I've had success using it before.

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Comments

[Kenny Evitt]

I couldn't see anything with Screen Sharing. This post suggested connecting to the VNC server using a web browser (e.g. <your_pc_address>:<port>) and then running the Java viewer applet.

[Aditya Mittal]

Thanks this method worked smoothly in the first shot for me and I'm able to control the screen from both computers. I accessed from the browser vnc://mypcaddress :)