Turn on Remote Desktop in Windows 7

"I use Remote Desktop all the time to connect to my Windows XP computer. I recently got a new computer with Windows 7 and I can't figure out how to make Remote Desktop work. What do I have to do to turn on Remote Desktop in Windows 7?"

Microsoft made some changes to the way Remote Desktop works starting in Windows Vista. As you discovered, Remote Desktop is disabled by default in Windows 7 and Windows Vista. Fortunately the process to enable Remote Desktop in Windows 7 is fairly easy.

To turn on Remote Desktop in Windows 7 follow these simple steps:

You need to access the System control panel, which you can get to either with the keyboard shortcut Windows Key + Pause/Break, by Clicking Start > Control Panel > System & Security > System and then clicking Remote settings on the left side or by Clicking Start, right-clicking Computer and choosing Properties and clicking Remote Settings. Any way you choose you end up at the Remote System properties.

manage Windows 7 Remote Desktop settings

Once you have the Remote settings open, you want to choose one of the radio buttons that enables Remote Desktop. There are two options for this, one with better encryption than the other. If you need to access your computer from Windows XP, you will want to choose the middle radio button. If you will only access your computer from Windows Vista or Windows 7, the second option (third radio button) will work. I should note that this last option will also work if you want to use Remote Desktop with an iPad.

manage Windows 7 Remote Desktop settings