Calm down… I meant it will be easier for ME to take screenshots of the Mrs Laptop setting for you to compare with your brothers.
Oh well… no harm done. 
It’ll be helpful for other people I guess. Here’s his current settings as they stand…
EDIT: The “advanced settings” at the bottom for Home/Work are the same for Public.
Click for bigger photo
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6151/6224613021_2b78ef8a19_z.jpg
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6107/6225132524_febba77ee1_z.jpg
I think I’ve found out what’s wrong. Versions of Windows lower than Professional don’t come with “Remote Desktop” so I’ll need to install a “patch” to install the missing things it needs to install Remote Desktop.
You can read about the patch here: http://www.tenniswood.co.uk/technology/windows-home-server/update-how-to-enable-remote-desktop-in-windows-7-home-premium/
EDIT; You’ll find the latest patch here - http://www.multiupload.com/RS_Q2UUOYW0Y6
RDP maybe … but VNC /Samba should still work … I’ll still put money on this being a router /port forwarding issue.
I’d take that bet and give you good odds! If it’s internal the router should just be passing all traffic onto the specified IP, but then I know you would know that, so I am curious as to your reasoning! Maybe I should just :-X
I’ve had success with this while experimenting with ktlou last night, not on her machine (some problem there that is still unresolved) but with mine, by installing the RealVNC server on an XP box and using xtightvncviewer on the Ubuntu (11.10) box. It was a bit laggy, but I logged in to Windows OK. If you want more information on the steps I took I’d be happy to oblige.
I have a problem the other way around, which is winding me up a bit… hope you don’t mind me hijacking this post… if you would rather I start a new thread, let me know, but it is kind of related!
I have installed xrdp on the ubuntu machine, to RDP from Windows 7 (pro x64) to the Ubuntu machine. Windows RDP obviously finds the Ubuntu box and gives me a ‘Login to xrdp’ window. I select the module: sesman-Xvnc and provide auth details, and get the following output:
connecting to sesman ip 127.0.0.1 port 3350
sesman connect ok
sending login info to sesman
xrdp_mm_process_login_response: login failed
Any idea as to why it won’t authenticate me, as it all looks golden up to that point… and yes, I’m definitely providing the correct login 
Ta,
Tony
[Edit]
Corrected a couple of typo’s (M$ haven’t released Windows 9 yet!!) and added subtext for clarity
[/Edit]
Hmm… Not to sure on your problem teebee, but I’ll have a look into it. Gonna go test this patch to see if it works. Here’s hoping.
Good luck
Hmm… No success, it’s final. Home versions of Windows don’t support RDP. The patched didn’t work either. Oh well.
I'd take that bet and give you good odds! If it's internal the router should just be passing all traffic onto the specified IP, but then I know you would know that, so I am curious as to your reasoning!
You’re right … I must have been having a “moment” there … I did mean to correct that posting after ktlou asked the same question last night, but seem to have forgot
I’m somewhat at a loss with BkS’s issue … we’ve set up networking on his Win7 and Ubuntu boxes exactly as mine are … and the Win7 box is still invisible … which leaves -
a) some third party software blocking local inbound trafic
b) the Win7 firewall not switching off … even when told to do so
c) a weirdly behaving router … doubt it if the Win7 box can ping the Ubuntu box
d) and this is certainly possible … something I’ve overlooked
BkS … did you ever try checking for third party firewalls such as AVG etc and disabling them as the damn thing should at least respond to a ping with ALL firewalls off ?
have you got 2 Windows boxes, and can they see/ping each other ? … if so which versions of Windows ?
teebee … I’ll have a play with XP ↔ Ubuntu RDP when I get the chance …
connecting to sesman ip 127.0.0.1 port 3350 sesman connect ok sending login info to sesman xrdp_mm_proces s_login_respon se: login failed
127.0.0.1 is the loopback adapter … it’s trying to connect to itself … is this intentional, or some kind of self test before setting up the “proper” connection ?
Like I’ve said before, he isn’t running any third-party programs and he knows to stay well clear from AVG and the likes. There’s only some of my editing software on there and Vuze. He doesn’t even run anti-virus. I’ve checked my router, I even port forwarded port 3389. Like I said, Microsoft have stated that “Home” versions of Windows does not support RDP.
The only versions with the "server" of Remote Desktop is Professional and Ultimate. Home Premium does NOT have this.
Thanks for having a look at my issue Mark, pain in the bum it is… I keep having to move
BkS you are right, RDP is supported only in Windows 7 Pro and Ultimate… I was curious of the outcome when you mentioned a patch, as I have not come across this! Hey - ho.
As Mark says, if RDP is not supported, it won’t stop some other VNC software working, such software relies on RFB, which I’m pretty sure is available to all versions of Windows. Not sure which version to use, as I have never tried a VNC client/server in Win 7, maybe tightvnc will do the job, though there are others.
I agree with Mark that the inability to ping the Windows box is puzzling at best and that if you are unable to get a ping response their is either a) some software firewall at work, or b) the OS has some configuration preventing inbound connections. Personally, I would plug for the firewall being the culprit.
I note from your earlier posts, that McAfee Personal Firewall is installed. IMHO this is pretty poor software and I have in the past seen things I am unable to explain when the McAfee Firewall is on… I think it is to do with the ability it has to trust devices in the network (or not), which sometimes won’t turn off when the firewall is shut down. Anyhow, my recomendation would be to uninstall this, not disable it. If you want to install a software firewall, my recomendation would be Comodo… it includes defence+, which is a pretty effective mechanism for protecting unauthorised registry changes…and the firewall turns off properly when you tell it too!
Try and ping with McAfee uninstalled, and if you still get nowhere, make sure to have a look and see if the Windows Firewall is switched off, as I noticed that there was no mention of this in the previous discussion… probably becuase it was just too obvious, but it’s worth me asking
We did try shutting down the Windows firewall (in chat I think) … made no difference ???
But I agree … uninstall McAfee AND disable the Windows firewall … then see if you can ping the Win7 box from Ubuntu before re-enabling the Windows firewall if you wish … if that works we can always add an exception to the Windows firewall and install Avira or similar (that’s whats on the Mrs Lappy, and that has no problem) … if it would make you feel happier, you can disconnect from the interweb whilst you do this, but if you’re behind a NAT router I wouldn’t worry too much.
IMO, a third party software firewall is pretty unnecessary unless your NOT behind a NAT router, and/or are using some pretty “iffy” software … but your choice
Problem is, McAfee came with the OEM install, and now won’t remove itself. There’s no trace of it in the registry, program files, uninstall/add programs. I’ve tried using the cleaner supplied by McAfee’s support site if such things happen, but it won’t budge and there isn’t any spyware/malware because I checked with Malwarebytes. 
I’m windows knowledgeable, but this just baffles the heck out of me. Just FTR, I uninstalled McAfee the day he got his computer.
Excellent, I hate it when system builders do that… I bet it’s a Packard Bell!
Try this and see if it will give you access to uninstall… the portable version at the bottom of the page is most useful.
Actually… His the nicknamed Acer “Gold”. It’s just an Acer 5738Z model number: MS2264. Stupid thing. I hate his laptop, it’s worse than mines and mines is near enough 3 years old.
Not as bad as Packard Bell, but still not where my money would go
Let me know if you need any pointers using Revo.
Sorry mark, I missed your question :
127.0.0.1 is the loopback adapter .. it's trying to connect to itself .. is this intentional, or some kind of self test before setting up the "proper" connection ?
I noticed that, though by that point I had already reached the VNC server on the Ubuntu box from Windows and was attempting to login to a user account remotely, so I didn’t question the use of the loopback address. I assumed that was how sesman (session manager?) sent the user details to its own host. Seemed logical enough, but maybe it is not supposed to function like this? IDK ???
I was going to have a further fiddle shortly, I’ll post back if I get anywhere, though it is now a fumbling in the dark exercise where my greatest hope is that I don’t break something
OK, I gather you can connect from Ubuntu (client) to the XP (server) using RDP … but the issue is connecting to the Ubuntu (xrdp server) from the XP RDP (Remote DesktopConnections client ?
First I must explain I did this from a Win7 box (not XP), but I pretty much followed the instructions here:
http://ubuntuwiki.net/index.php/Xrdp,_installing
and it worked perfectly.
I must also say ATM I’ve only set up the “Active Session” connection … NOT the “Clean Session”, so ATM it will only work with an active Ubuntu session (ie.the user actually loged on to Ubuntu)
Maybe it will help you too ??
BTW, it looks like you were right about what the loopback is doing
fyi; never use VNC if you can help it, it’s probably the worst thin client in the history of thin clients.
To connect to a Windows machine use the “Terminal Server Client” aka “tsclient” aka “rdesktop”.
To connect to a Linux machine, download “NX” from nomachine.org, the two user license if free.
The trick for RDP connections to modern windows machines is to make a hole in or down the Windows firewall.
NX generally “just works” so long as you can get a working SSH connection to the remote server.
It seems MP is onto something here. I just tried using tsclient, and I managed to connect to (well what looked like anyway) a “login” screen for Win7 RDP. Although the user account I tried to connect too, said it was the wrong password?
So MP if you could maybe explain in a little bit of detail, how would I use TSclient to connect to my brothers Win7 Home Premium machine?
What I put in:
Computer: 192.168.0.3
Protocol: RDP
Username: what do I put in here? (left blank)
Password: put the password for the other machine in here
Domain: what do I put in here? (left blank)
Client Hostname: what do I put in here? (left blank)
[b]EDIT: Never mind. I have it working! Thanks a lot MP!!!
what I used:
Computer: 192.168.0.3 (This is the static IP for the other box).
Protocol: VNC
Username: (not the account name but the actual username. you’ll find this under the users folder in the C:\ drive.)
Password: The password I set up for the VNC server.
Domain: left it blank
Client Hostname: left it blank
[/b]