VNC (XP Client to Mepis Server)
Posts: 6
I have been trying to get NX to work, with no luck (see http://www.mepis.org/node/11244) so I thought I'd try VNC.
To my surprise, I succeeded 
)
For anyone else who wants to control a Mepis session from an XP PC, here's what I did :
0) enable vncserver in the package manager
1) login as a normal user, and enter 'vncserver'
2) it will prompt you to define a session password, which will be used for a challenge to the client
3) now you will find some new files have been created in a new directory called ".vnc" subordinate to your home directory. You need to edit the one called 'xstartup', replacing the character string after the first "&" (can't remember what it was) by the string "startkde" (if you dont do this all you'll get is the console session)
4) disable the Mepis firewall by selecting the "advanced" tab (you can enable it again after once things are working)
5) download/install a VNC Viewer (client) for the XP PC. I tried two (both free) - 'TightVNC' and 'RealVNC'. When you run these, they both prompt you to enter the server IP address and a port number, but beware - while RealVNC wants something like "1.2.3.4:5902" (where 1.2.3.4 is the server IP address), TightVNC expects "1.2.3.4:02"
i.e. TightVNC takes the VNC TCP port (5900) for granted and just wants you to specify what I believe is the VNC terminal number (2 in this case), while RealVNC expects the TCP port + terminal number. This threw mw for a while. I ran 'ethereal' on the Mepis PC and TightVNC was showing a port number of 11802 (5900 + 5902 - makes sense now)
Note that, in my case, both PC's are on the same LAN so disabling the firewall wasn't a big deal for me.
Some Additional Info
Posts: 5513
Yes mick12345678, vnc is a very useful cross-platform tool. I have found that realvnc works better with Mepis though.
I have made it a little easier to launch vncserver on my Mepis box by doing the following:
First, you can modify your /home/youraccount/.vnc/xstartup file to start kde automatically. Here is my xstartup file (the lines beginning with "#" are commented out from previous tests:
So the "startkde &" causes kde to be started in the background (of an initially opened ssh session).
Next, I have a "bin" directory in my home account into which I place any of my scripts. One of them is vncserver.sh. Here is the file:
Place it in /home/youraccount/bin and mark it executable. Then you simply have to enter "bin/vncserver.sh". This will start the server on port 1 with an 800x600x24 size (I don't like the vnc view to take up my whole screen). You can make a desktop icon to turn this into a "shortcut" so you don't have to type so much
If, for some reason you need to stop things, you can do so by logging into your remote system via an ssh session and issuing "vncserver -kill :1".
Also, if you want to share the "main" KDE screen, i.e. you are currently logged onto the "remote" system from the console and have KDE running then port :1 is not the same port. To see the "real" screen, enter "the.ip.address.wanted:0" or "the.ip.address.wanted:5900" (realvnc).
If you already have vncserver running on port :1 you may or may not have problems. I normally do not have "Desktop Sharing" enabled because it is a security problem.
Oh, and you don't need to "disable" the guarddog firewall. You can "enable" vnc as one of the protocols
Jon
Edit: Oops, sorry, I forgot to put the information in regarding "Desktop Sharing"
To enable desktop sharing (this is a security breach), go to the "K" menu and choose Desktop Sharing.
Click the Configure button.
Choose the Access tab.
In the Uninvited Connections section at the bottom:
Check Allow uninvited connections
Check Announce service on the network
Check Allow uninvited connections to control the desktop
Enter a passowrd and click OK all the way out.
Now, "port 0 or port 5900" should allow remote control of the "real" KDE dekstop.